Symphony.

I know this subject maybe a bit off topic but i was wondering if anyone had any good resources for pricing for freelance websites?

Thanks

Hmmm, that’s a really hard question that I think every freelancer and every company struggle with. Truthfully, many times it comes down to the question “What is the company going to be willing to pay, and how much am I willing to do for that amount?”

FreelanceSwitch is a good blog that covers a lot of issues like pricing yourself. I did a quick search there and came up with this post that has a “Pricing Yourself” section.

Freelance switch has an hourly rates calculator that should work just fine for you.

That being said, in my experience it’s better to quote the total price instead of hours and then if they go beyond spec to quote them how much it would make to do it differently.

Of course, this all assumes you can estimate how long it will take you to do something. That took me years to figure out but I now have a pretty safe formula that works well for me:

Take the time you think it’s going to take you and double it. That’s your best-case scenario. Add 50% to it and that’s closer to what you’ll actually do. Double that and you’ve got your worst-case.

Find somewhere in between those three numbers that feels right to you. Some clients are really easy to work with and are going to give you what you ask for when you do but others won’t. You have to account for that.

In the end I tend to charge by the ever importan maxim, “How much do I need in order to get by until my next gig?” and go from there.

What are your monthly outgoings, what do you need to earn to break even or make profit, and how much of the month do you expect to be billing? Put those into a calculator and you’ll get a number that works for you.

Take the time you think it’s going to take you and double it. That’s your best-case scenario. Add 50% to it and that’s closer to what you’ll actually do. Double that and you’ve got your worst-case.

Perfect. This is the simple truth.

good advice, doug. my friend says he charges a baseline of $2500 which covers the first ten hours and some additional leg work before he really starts getting into the nitty gritty. if the client is willing to pay that baseline, then awesome, if not, nothing is really lost nor wasted.

i’d also make sure to get things in writing - even if it’s just with your friend (some advice i need to take myself). this way both parties will have clear expectations as to what is covered and what will be extra.

“No sir, I cannot build you a functional clone of Tweetie for $200…”

Often having that base cost there is a really, really good idea. Most of my contracts are iPhone/iPad work, so my base figure is a little higher than wdtan’s friend - but the intent is the same: to weed out the prospective clients who are serious from the ones who are just going to waste your time.

Beyond that, the calculator that Doug mentioned above is a really good place to start.

i’d also make sure to get things in writing - even if it’s just with your friend (some advice i need to take myself). this way both parties will have clear expectations as to what is covered and what will be extra.

Agreed. Get everything in writing. Have records of it and before you put pencil to paper or finger to keyboard you get that contract signed and down-payment. I usually go for 50% up front and 50% on completion with the addition of any extra fees incurred.

Thanks guys! all these are very helpful tips