Ask HN: What to pick for an hourly freelance rate?

[ceeK]

I'm a student iOS developer and I've just completed paid freelance work (paid by the project). It was ridiculously cheap as I needed a portfolio, but my client is now asking for my hourly rate to continue. I'm not sure what to give them, or any future clients.

Here are the details: I have a portfolio of two previous freelance applications (price essentially free to boost portfolio), an app on the app store (Firework Flare) and have had an internship at an app agency (worked on apps for Unilever).

What would you expect me to charge for part-time freelance work?

Thanks HN!

[rkuykendall-com]

$30/h

I just made that up, really I have no idea. I do have some good advice from my path so far though. I started working small jobs about 5 years ago at $10/h, and now I've done a few jobs at $50/h.

First, focus less on nailing the perfect hourly rate, and more on steadily increasing your hourly rate as time goes on. Your portfolio and skills will grow constantly, as will your self-confidence.

Second, when you increase your hourly rate, give existing clients a bit of a discount at first. This way, you can establish yourself at a new rate with new clients, and your existing clients feel like they got in on the ground floor, instead of feeling like they had the rug pulled out from under them.

Finally, if there's a job you don't want, quote a price that would make it worth it. I might not want to do project x, but at a high enough rate, I'll smile through the whole thing.

I've done all this in a bit of a vacuum, so I'd love to hear feedback on my experiences from older and more knowledgable HNers.

[basisword]

Charge what you can get away with. There are clients who can pay you $25 per hour which isn't too bad. However you wouldn't charge clients that can throw money at a project the same price. It's not always easy to tell but for the best clients money isn't the first concern - a good product is and they're willing to pay a lot more. Try not to leave money on the table.

Also don't waste time with small projects. I recently worked out that for clients projects under around $500 I was working a lot harder than for clients projects over $500. Small projects tend to be run by people with little experience who think they can get a lot more for there money than they should - in the end you work out with an hourly rate of $5. This is the biggest lesson I've learnt freelancing. It's basic 80/20 rule stuff but took me a while to think about.

(Of course if you're charging directly by hour rather than per project that's less of a concern).

[robflynn]

I usually just roll with the formula of: "Whatever you would want your yearly salary to be divided by 1000."

Want $100,000? Charge $100. Want $50k? Charge $50.

In practice, however, I fluctuate around. I have some clients that I charge $20 or $30/hr and some that I charge $50, $75, $100, or $125.

I have since filtered out the $20 & $30/hr clients. I gave them a discount for about a year and told them that any new work after that time would be at a minimum of $50. One of the clients left, the other stayed with me. Those lower tier clients were left overs from when I was first getting into freelancing and just needed to make some money and get some clients.

I'm very tired today, so I apologize if this is kind of rambling and all over the place.

[grueful]

Make up a number. Double it ASAP. Then double it again.

Then move to daily billing, or project-based billing if you have a lot of high-similarity work with relatively time-definite scoping. Either way, not hourly.

For a developer, floor should be like $50 if you are REALLY new, and totally lack confidence to pitch any other way. Then with the doubling after you have some success to bolster your confidence.

Typical rates for iOS are north of $100, often well north (think multiples). Really, really north if you use project-based billing and leverage a domain specialization.

[adidash]

This might be a bit heavy for you but will be helpful should you decide to take up freelance "full time" - http://www.microbusinesshub.co.uk/freelance-rates-calculator...

[fsk]

Charge what you can get.

Do you have too many clients? Raise your price.

Do you have not enough clients? Keep looking and don't raise your price, or lower your price.

[munimkazia]

Start with $50 per hour, and see where it takes you. If you have more work than you can handle, slowly start increasing it.

[chc]

Average rate for iOS development is about $100 an hour.

[greendata]

Don't work for less than $50/hour.

[rufusjones]

There's no such thing as a "student developer". If they pay you, you're a pro. There are only good and bad pros. Get into the habit, right now, of thinking and acting like a consultant running your own business. If they're paying you money, they expect you to behave like a pro.

Setting a bill rate is the third most important skill a consultant can have. (#1 is ability to do work, #2 is ability to promote yourself). You have four goals:

1. To work steadily enough to make a good living, but not get overwhelmed by assignments.

2. To build a base of clients you enjoy working for-- who do not cheat you or drive you crazy.

3. To do interesting work that you enjoy, which also builds your skills.

4. To make the world a better place or become famous.

You use those factors to modify your standard bill rate. If you want the project, you reduce it. If you don't want it, you bump the rate.

Since I don't know WHERE you are (how much competition you have, or how much local businesses expect to pay), it's silly for me to give you a figure. SF or NYC means you charge one rate; Nashville or Pittsburgh means another.

A simple way to get a feel on the local market is to call up the 2-3 biggest body shops (technical temp agencies) in the area, say you're a project manager for a big local firm that wishes to remain confidential (so they're not overwhelmed with unsolicited offers) and are looking for 2-3 iOS developers-- a senior guy, an entry-level and a decent worker. Ask what the current rates are.

In less than an hour, you'll have enough information to give you local market rate-- low to high end. (This is not "dishonesty"-- it is "growth hacking" for your company.)

Your line when asked will be "It depends on the project. My rates run between [entry-level] to [high-end], but it depends on what the project is and how much time you want. If you're looking for a ballpark, let's say [average]."

Nine times out of 10, the client already has a budget and just wants some idea of whether you fit in it.

Some people will say "Great!"-- which means they're willing to pay you the midpoint you gave them.

Some will say "Well I can only pay you $$$$" (a dollar amount, not a rate). Now you know the budget and can immediately say "Tell me about the project" (so you can cost it and see if you can do it for a decent rate).

Big places will usually tell you what their standard rate is.

And when someone immediately begins haggling about money, run. You don't want them.

Once you have that, you use the following rules:

1. NEVER ever EVER do fixed-price jobs. The minute you do rework, you lose. Find out what the project is and figure out, based on your time estimate, if you can get a reasonable rate for that. If so take it. Otherwise, pass.

2. Discount for projects that require large blocks of time. 8-hour projects are hard to schedule and they often require as much pre-sale time and hand-holding as 40 or 500-hour projects. That's time you're not billing or learning, so give then no breaks.

3. Discount if the name of the company sounds like someone you'd want as a client or in a portfolio. (Not too much-- big places expect to pay market rate.)

4. Discount if the task sounds fun or like a good learning experience (if it's a learning experience, you charge less because you assume you'll blow stuff).

5. If you've you've heard bad things about the company or you don't really want the work, sock em.

Some of the other advice here is pretty good, but these are the basics that will take you through a career.