Freelance Graphic Design Rates : A Guide To Set Yours

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Graphic Designers cost $25–$35/hr.

As a freelance graphic designer, it’s essential to establish an appropriate rate for your skillset. Many aspects are unique to you that you must consider while making these set charges. Picking a number out of thin air will not help here. It should be something that benefits you and your client.

All of this is true regardless of how experienced a freelancer you are, and finding an answer to this question, especially if you’re a novice is even more difficult. In this article, we will cover different strategies to price yourself.

Make sure to read this article if you’re a novice freelance graphic designer – how to price your services for the first time.

Factors To Consider Before Deciding On Your Freelance Graphic Design Rates

Let’s talk about how to tailor pricing to your job and your clients’ demands now that you have a few benchmarks to work with. It’s not as simple as taking the above standards and running with them—they’re only a starting point.

You’ll need to consider numerous other factors while determining your actual freelance graphic design rates. Are you just starting off? Do you need the inflow for sustainability? Are you okay if your career takes a little while to kick start? All this plays a role in helping you set the base.

1. Your level of expertise

Perhaps the most obvious—you shouldn’t charge $20 per hour if you’re new to freelance but have a decade of graphic design experience. On the other hand, if you’re designing your first logo, you shouldn’t charge $850 for the service.

2. Details and scope of the project

The most essential factors of your prices, especially if you’re quoting by project, are the size, depth, complexity, timetable, and other details relevant to each job.

3. Time Involved

Whether you choose hourly pricing or not, you must consider how long the job will take to ensure that your prices are profitable.

4. The project’s worth to your client

Charging based on the cost of completing a job is one of the most common mistakes freelancers make (in terms of time, effort, and other expenses). Clients employ you because of the value they’ll gain from the finished product, and your fees should reflect that.

5. Value that the client can provide

The value conversation is reciprocal as well. If a client can provide consistent, regular work, or if the brand equity of working for them will help you establish authority in your sector, those factors can influence your final rate.

6. Overhead expenses

Freelancing comes with its own set of costs, such as the health insurance you’ll require and the software you’ll need for your job. To guarantee that your freelance business is viable, keep those costs in mind when choosing your fees.

7. Market/Competitor pricing

Investigate market rates in your niche, as well as charges based on your level of experience. Before giving a client a rate, get as much information as possible about the project. You can also inquire within freelance graphic designer networks to find out how much your peers charge.

8. Cost of frequent revisions

Make sure you mention and inform your client about revision prices. Also, make sure you don’t give away too many adjustments for free, or else the client will ask for further revisions, which you will have to complete.

Read more about how to deal with frequent client revisions.

9. What are you bringing to the table

It’s all too easy to undervalue yourself. When you’re not busy enough and need the job; when you’re negotiating with a customer you really want to work with; or simply when you’re not confident enough in your abilities and the value your work provides to clients. Setting rates that allow you to earn your worth requires an understanding of that value.

Now that you’ve established a basic pricing strategy and a few benchmarks, it’s time to get down to business—set rates.

It’s fine if you still feel like you’re piecing together estimations from a variety of sources. Setting your prices isn’t a precise science, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It all comes down to determining the optimal rate for you and your customers based on the information you have.

Moreover, your charges are never set in stone—you can negotiate with clients you truly want to work with, modify your pricing system if it doesn’t work for you, and increase or decrease your costs as you go.

You’re now ready to determine your pricing, armed with this knowledge. We’ve included some tried-and-true advice below to assist you.

What Should A First-Time Graphic Designer Charge?

Given the criteria outlined above, we believe a decent starting hourly pay for a true beginner freelance designer should be in the range of $10–$15 per hour. However, as your experience and skill level improves, it’s critical to gradually boost your pace.

Moreover, we favor per-project pricing over per-hour pricing. Even if you begin by charging by the hour, as your firm grows, you can transition to project-based rates.

Over and above, per project would be profitable because as you gain experience, you will be able to accomplish design work much more quickly than when you first started.

Average Hourly Rate For Freelance Graphic Designers

When most graphic designers first start their freelance careers, they work on an hourly basis. They estimate how many hours they work will take and multiply by their per-hour rate to quote potential clients.

As they don’t have to account for the details of unique projects, hourly rates are one of the simplest ways to compare pricing.

However, they may vary widely depending on the designer’s experience. A newbie freelance designer may take more than an hour to develop a graphic, whereas an expert one will take less than an hour. As a result, it’s best to base the pricing on experience.

Accordingly, PayScale estimates the overall average to be $29.55 per hour all around the globe.

Based on those estimations, we believe $10-15 per hour is a decent starting point for beginner pricing.

Looking out to hire a Freelancer Graphic designer? Check out the most skilled graphic designer on the Refrens platform.

Project-Based Freelance Graphic Design Rate

It’s a little more difficult to compare project-based design rates against one other. They differ depending on the sort of labor, its scope, and other factors. With that in mind, we’ve compiled some broad estimates of usual freelance graphic design pricing for popular jobs.

$5,000–$7,500 For Basic Website Design

The above estimate is for a typical high-quality site with 5-6 pages. Even by your standards, web design rates vary a lot. The number of pages, whether the site is bespoke or based on a template, and the design complexity of the website favicon can all result in significant pricing differences.

$200 and $2,500 For E-book Designing

The average cost of converting a copy into a completely designed and formatted ebook is roughly $1,000. The complexity of the design and the number of pages are the most important criteria in this case.

One of the cheapest design jobs is social media graphics. Graphic designers say they can charge as little as $5 per graphic and go up to $40–$65 for more experienced designers and more intricate designs. Notably, freelance graphic artists frequently offer this type of project as part of a package deal, such as eight designs for $80.

$75 – $450 For Business Collateral

Beginner graphic designers, charge as little as $75 for things like flyers, brochures, and business cards. Graphic designers with more experience may charge around $450 for these assets.

$400 – $800 For Package Designing

The cost of package design is entirely dependent on the needs of each client. It also relies on the complexity of the design and how it will be displayed on the package. The starting fee starts at $400 and goes up from there.

When Can A Freelance Graphic Designers Raise Their Rate?

Hopefully, now you’ve figured out how to position yourself and the quality of clientele you want to cater to. You know whether you’ll charge per hour or per project, and you’ve established a price range for both.

For freelance graphic designers, there is no yearly Christmas bonus or automatic cost-of-living boost. You must be the one who ensures that your rates rise over time.

Your fees should increase as you gain more experience and establish a name for yourself in your industry or specialization. You can add more value to your clients if you have more experience. It also means that your time and availability will become increasingly limited. It’s time to raise your rates due to simple supply and demand.

Unfortunately, there is no set formula for raising your freelance rates, but you should make a plan to do it on a regular basis. Develop a standard procedure for defining new rates and communicating them to clients when the time comes to increase your fees.

So, how do you know when it’s time to accomplish something? Here are some telltale signs that you’re ready to raise your rates:

It’s the start of a new year.
You’re flooded with work requests.
You’ve consistently delivered excellent results for clients.
You’ve improved your skills.
You’ve found your niche and have established yourself as an expert.
You’ve implemented procedures or tools to make it easier for clients to work with you.

Check out how to raise your prices as a freelancer in this article

It’s time to raise your prices if any of the scenarios above apply to you. While critical, we understand that changing your rates can be a scary proposition, especially if you have frequent clientele who are accustomed to paying your current rates.

Conversations about money in general, and particularly those about raising your rates, are unsettling and frightening. However, they’re an important aspect of building a successful freelance graphic design firm. So, here are a few pointers to make the procedure go more smoothly:

Overcommunicate with clients and be proactive. Increases in interest rates should never be unexpected.
Connect the higher rate to the higher value you generate.
Allowing repeat clients to stay at a historical rate while increasing fees for new clients is a good idea.
Assure clients that you will not increase your rate after each project. Including a pricing guarantee or lock-in for a specific amount of time (such as six months) might help clients relax.
Offer to meet in the middle of your new pricing is outside the client’s budget and you don’t want to walk away.
Be willing to let go of clientele you’ve outgrown. It’s understandable that not everyone will be able to afford your work.

Learn the 7 client communication skills that every freelancer should practice.

Wrapping Up

There’s a lot that goes into determining your graphic design rates as a freelancer. While there is no one-size-fits-all pricing plan for freelancers, you may take efforts to ensure that your prices allow you to earn your worthwhile and determine that you are not overcharging your clients.

With the advice and benchmarks provided above, hopefully, you’ll be able to find the best freelance graphic design prices for yourself. Now, that you have got an idea of how much graphic designers make, what are you waiting for?

Use Refrens to find clients who will value your work and respect your prices.

How much should I charge as logo designer?

On average, a professional logo designer may charge anywhere from $50 to $150 per hour, while some may charge a flat fee that ranges from $100 to $500 or more, depending on the scope of the project.

How much should I charge for basic website design?

On average, a basic website design with a few pages and minimal customization can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500. However, this cost can increase significantly for more complex designs that require more pages, advanced functionality, or a custom-built content management system.

How much should I charge for e-book designing?

On average, e-book designers may charge anywhere from $100 to $500 or more, depending on the scope of the project. This may include creating a custom cover design, formatting the text, and designing any additional graphics or illustrations required.

How much should I charge for business cards?

On average, designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 or more for a basic business card design. This may include creating a custom design, selecting appropriate fonts and colors, and ensuring that the design is print-ready.

How much should a UX designer charger?

On average, UX designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 per hour, depending on their experience and the complexity of the project. Alternatively, they may charge a fixed project fee that can range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the scope of the project.

How much should I charge as a UI designer?

On average, UI designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 per hour, depending on their experience and the complexity of the project. Alternatively, they may charge a fixed project fee that can range from $5,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the scope of the project.

How much should I charge for flyers?

On average, designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 or more for a basic flyer design. This may include creating a custom design, selecting appropriate fonts and colors, and ensuring that the design is print-ready.

On average, designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 or more for a basic social media graphic design. This may include creating a custom design, selecting appropriate fonts and colors, and ensuring that the design is optimized for social media platforms.

How much should I charge for poster making?

On average, designers may charge anywhere from $50 to $200 or more for a basic poster design. This may include creating a custom design, selecting appropriate fonts and colors, and ensuring that the design is print-ready.

How much should I charge for brochure designing?

On average, designers may charge anywhere from $500 to $2000 or more for a basic brochure design. This may include creating a custom design, selecting appropriate fonts and colors, and ensuring that the design is print-ready.

How much should I charge as illustrator?

On average, illustrators may charge anywhere from $50 to $150 or more per hour, or a flat rate per project that can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.