Freelance Rate - The Neverending Quest for the Right Rate
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Freelance Rate - The Neverending Quest for the Right Rate
I am starting to go for freelance jobs which are per hour basis, but I really have no idea what I'm worth. I see people advising "Charge whatever you are comfortable with" all over the place, but I can't answer that either. I was wondering if you could post your crudentials, and a figure that you charge per hour. Thanks!
- Chris Corbyn
- Breakbeat Nuttzer
- Posts: 13098
- Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:57 am
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contracting is expensive -- $100 an hour. If calculate what your time is worth add in other expenses -- taxes, ss, medical insurance and everything else an employer might provide you with -- I'd say you have to go for making somewhere around that figure. But on the other hand if you're freelancing part-time and don't worry about insurance you could probably go for half that and be more than okay. But what do I know I've had all of one freelance job that's still not finished. --LOL
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thegreatone2176
- Forum Contributor
- Posts: 102
- Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2004 1:27 pm
Its all relative.
I've had multi-year projects that I've done for the love of it - for free. I've had single-day projects that I would have paid to not have to do (day job, etc).
In between, there is a substantial range in fees. For me, it basically comes down to "How much do I think my spare time is worth", which is usually also relative to how much I earn in my 'day job'.
When I was unemployed, I was very un-picky about what work I would do, and for how much. Now that I am employed, my spare time is very valuable to me.
Also, as another poster said, area matters.. I've seen coders in europe and asia willing to work for pennies on the dollar in comparison to coders in the US. Then again, I've seen some California coders that charge 2-3x as much as other regions.
As a general statement, I consider programming php for anything less than $50 an hour "cheap". Granted, that puts the salary at over 100k a year, but its not salary - its the cost of your *spare* time, not a day job. Plus there are gaps between jobs, and so on.
I've had multi-year projects that I've done for the love of it - for free. I've had single-day projects that I would have paid to not have to do (day job, etc).
In between, there is a substantial range in fees. For me, it basically comes down to "How much do I think my spare time is worth", which is usually also relative to how much I earn in my 'day job'.
When I was unemployed, I was very un-picky about what work I would do, and for how much. Now that I am employed, my spare time is very valuable to me.
Also, as another poster said, area matters.. I've seen coders in europe and asia willing to work for pennies on the dollar in comparison to coders in the US. Then again, I've seen some California coders that charge 2-3x as much as other regions.
As a general statement, I consider programming php for anything less than $50 an hour "cheap". Granted, that puts the salary at over 100k a year, but its not salary - its the cost of your *spare* time, not a day job. Plus there are gaps between jobs, and so on.