How to come up with prices for freelance work?

[akurtula]

Hi

After being unemployed for some time I might start looking into working freelance until I find a full time job. But I just remembered that I do not have any idea of how much to charge, or how it work, for example:
1 - if a client needs a redesign
2 - fixing bugs
3 - coding their idea
4 - design and coding a site
- as you can see I am just making this up because I have no idea about this

Are there any resources where I can refere to. Or does it all depend on the client budget? Do they just set the price, like "I have £xx.xx take it or leave it"

Also I am a beginner in terms of commercial experience, so does that mean my prices should be lower?

Basically I need to have an idea of how much to charge so that I do not look too cheap or to expensive.

Can you recommend me anything, as you can see I dont know anything about this.

- Thanks

[RichardAskew]

Akurtula

Best place to start:

Identify your annual outgoings and work out what you would be happy to earn per annum after you have removed these costs (remember to factor in tax).

Work out what this equates to per hour, what ever you charge scale it out to a full-time wage (early on you won't be able to get enough work to do eight hours a day though) and ask yourself are you satisfied with that?

The tough bit is working out what you can charge for your experience, get some quotes from local freelancers and see how you compare. Consider pricing yourself a little higher to give the impression that you are better, you don't want to compete on just price.

Finally, never accept a job because something is better than nothing. You have to be motivated by the reward and if a company is offering a low reward, work quality will decrease and you'll find it difficult to increase your rates with that company.

Good luck

Richard

[righteous.ninja]

The best way is to compare it what other people are offering.
Visit sites like rentacoder.com or freelancer.com and get a feel for what the work you are planning on doing costs.

[Mikl]

The best way is to compare it what other people are offering.
Visit sites like rentacoder.com or freelancer.com and get a feel for what the work you are planning on doing costs.

I agree with that first point.

But be cautious about using websites to get information about what other peopel are charging. If you are based in, say, western Europe or North America, the figures you see on the likes of Rentacoder will not be relevant, because most of them will be from countries like India where incomes are very much lower. You need to look at figures from other freelancers in your own region, or even your own city.

By the way, Rentacoder.com is now vWorker.com.

Mike

[alphaomegalady]

Join freelancer sites so you can compare other freelancers' fees. Then you can estimate your fee which also based on your previous works. Sometimes you need to make your own standard too.

[akonal78]

I am working in a SEO company. i am also doing any kind of link building.but i really want to be freelancer. so that i can work my own choice. so i also want to bidding in a freelancer website. but still i can't create my profile. so please help me how i create my profile in freelancer website.

[Tranker]

Look at what other people are doing for a general guide, but also factor the quality of your work...

Most people start by charging too little. So if you feel you are professional at your work and create a lot of value to your clients, I say start high and lower according to a good sample size. Another way of looking at it is by how much value you bring to your clients. Example: If a redesign of their crappy website will help them get 10 more leads a month, and every lead is worth $300 to them you could price at $2,000 and explain they will cover it in less than a month.

[James twinli]

You should think what you would offer others if they are in your situation and having knowledge exactly equal to you. If you want to compare quotes, then you should refer to freelancer.com or odesk.com

[bajajriya]

I am working in a SEO company. i am also doing any kind of link building.but i really want to be freelancer. so that i can work my own choice. so i also want to bidding in a freelancer website. but still i can't create my profile. so please help me how i create my profile in freelancer website.

visit freelancer site and sign up complete with your skill and bid the project which you want to work.

[akonal78]

thanks bajajriya, i am very happy for your advice and i also follow your instruction and try to my best and hope this is to be very helpful for me.