Freelancing Resources
Freelance Work Exchange
Guru.com
eLance
Craigslist
![]() |
![]() |
One of the easiest mistakes to make in your freelance business is over or under pricing your services.
One skill you need to learn to develop is how to set your rates. This skill requires a balance of your experience, skills, the client's budget and how much profit you want to make. Yet it sounds more difficult than it is.
You won't get actual numbers very often, and there's good reason for this. Appropriate fees change over time and can also vary by region. It's very difficult to say you should charge $x per hour when you have so much experience and are using a particular skill. Rather, it is better to consider the factors impacting you as an individual, not what averages are.
It can take a lot of nerve to charge what you are worth. I do think it is easier to underestimate your worth than overestimate. It pays to remember that it is hard to raise your prices once your customers get used to paying low prices, but if you can justify charging higher prices you can still get a good amount of work.
Graphic Designer's Guide to Pricing, Estimating & Budgeting can help you to decide what your work is worth.