After looking for clients, the majority of freelancers, especially beginners, face the common question, “How much to charge?” Keep in mind that your strategy when it comes to your pricing is a subtle balance of the needs of your target clients, your value, as well as the bigger competitive market.
When you charge a very low rate, there’s a possibility that you won’t be paid for the value you’re offering. And, in contrast, if you set a high rate, you may end up losing a lot of projects and clients as there are many freelancers out there that offer lower rates.
Setting an hourly rate doesn’t have to be difficult. You must reassess your rates occasionally to make sure they remain consistent with the value given while staying competitive. The good thing about being a freelancer is that you have the flexibility and freedom to charge your hourly rates. Don’t overthink because your rate isn’t written in stone.
Through this post, you’ll learn how much you should charge using a freelance hourly rate calculator. But, aside from that, you’ll also learn other tips and strategies to help you determine a price that you’re comfortable charging.
How To Use Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator To Calculate Your Rate
To make things a lot easier, consider using a freelance hourly rate calculator. With this tool, all you need to do is enter the details of your top priorities. From there, you can determine what’s the ideal hourly rate for your freelance service. But, the result you’ll obtain doesn’t need to be stable for a long period. For instance, if there’s an adjustment on your expense, you can go back to the calculator you’ve used before and update your hourly charge.
Nevertheless, here’s a step-by-step on how to use the freelance rate calculator:
1. Set The Currency You Want To Use
Of all your calculations, make sure to consider the currency as the constant. Here, you can use the option that you can use comfortably to enter your expenses. So, it’s highly recommended that you choose your local currency. Then, afterward, convert the results to EUR, USD, or other common currencies.
2. Enter Estimated Costs
In this step, you’ll need to state all your expenses, as well as regular payments. However, if you’re not certain how much you usually spend, you should come up with reasonable monthly amounts for your expenses.
3. Add Other Details Associated With Your Workplan As A Freelance
Here, you’ll need to add other important details, like the billable and non-billable hours. For you to have an idea regarding your days off, consider asking yourself these questions:
- Will I be going on a business trip?
- How many hours will I be willing to work every week? (For this question, keep in mind that not each hour you’re available is considered a billable hour.)
- Will there be times when I’ll be sick?
- Will I take any holiday or vacation time?
On the other hand, you’ll also be asked how much your anticipated profit margin is. It’s a crucial decision that’ll significantly affect your hourly rate when using this calculator. When determining this part, make sure that you focus on the percentage that can offer you adequate income when all expenses are deducted. Thus, take into account your plans, current lifestyle, and your savings value.
By following the steps above, you’ll have an idea as to how much you should charge.
Other Ways To Calculate Your Hourly Rate
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Know Your Value
To ensure that you’re charging reasonable prices for your freelance services, you’ll need to understand your value. You can base the price depending on the value you offer to clients. If you’re wondering how to determine your value, you can reflect on your skill levels and experience.
Remember, your expertise isn’t an expense; it’s an investment. It means that the more experience you possess, the higher the cost you can charge. Your skill’s complexity and rarity will play an important part in your pricing strategy. Nevertheless, if you can show the return on investment and level of quality, you can set higher prices for your work.
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Seek Help From Professionals
If you still can’t decide how much you should charge, consider asking professionals. However, this method is quite difficult. It’s because the majority of veteran and experienced freelancers won’t disclose their rates to their fellow freelancers for a competitive reason.
Thus, you can’t directly ask them regarding the prices. It means you’ll need to take an unconventional method wherein you need to act as a client asking for quotes. For instance, assuming your client wants you to become a content marketer, but you don’t know how much to collect. What you’ll need to do is reach out to various established freelancers as a client through email, and then ask for a quote about the project. Another way is to post jobs on freelancing platforms as a client. From there, you’ll learn more about how other freelancers are pricing their works. You’ll also learn how they make proposals.
Although it’s sneaky, this works. Nevertheless, not all freelancers are judders. Some people are willing to help other freelancers, too. Thus, don’t be scared to ask.
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Understand The Rate For Your Service
For this, you’ll need to do research and check the rates of your competitors. On websites like Glassdoor and Upwork, you’ll obtain an idea of the hourly rates of freelancers. When your rate seems consistent with others in the market, then you have a decent starting place. But, if it’s too low, you may be ignoring your skillset. And, if it’s too high, it is recommended that you reassess your salary goals and expenses.
Conclusion
Working as a freelancer can offer many benefits. When setting an hourly rate for your freelance service, remember that there’s no right price because, at the end of the day, it’ll all come down to your experience, skills, as well as the quality of work you provide. Once you begin gaining more clients and more experience, consider experimenting with various prices. Sooner or later, you can ask for a higher rate and you can even double your prices.
As long as you’re satisfied with what you’re earning for the work you’re offering, there’ll never be wrong rates.
