Let's talk about freelance rates

General Discussion
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Hello everyone,
I know this is a sensitive topic, and this might not be the right place to talk about rates but we are all on the same boat so why not?

The reason why I’m posting here is to gauge -more or less- what the current rates are in our industry. I haven’t raised my freelance rates in 3 years and I just can’t find any information on the internet on this topic. I’m reading anywhere from $30 to $300 an hour which is only confusing me.

So the questions are:

  • How much do you think a senior product designer could charge per hour?

  • Also, what is your pricing model? eg: hourly rate, day rate, retainer, by project…

If you could share your thoughts, this information will hopefully be useful to other people as well.

Thanks!

3 Likes
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Average Pricing for Different Types of Product Design

Project Type Hourly Per Project
Concept Design $45–$105 per hour $100.00 and up
Product Design $45–$105 per hour $100.00 and up
Mechanical Design $45–$125 $5,000–$10,000
Industrial Design $45–$150 $5,000–$10,000
Prototyping $50–$120 $2,000 and up
Electronics Design $100–$150 $10,000 and up
Architectural Design $35–$75 10% of total building cost
4 Likes
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Ohhhh, so expensive.

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If i charge this much in my country, noone is going to hire me. :sweat_smile:
I guess it is all country specific.
You should charge according to the value you provide for your customer which you evaluate at the beginning of the project. I like to charge according to the project.

1 Like
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I also charge by the project, even if I want to try to switch to weekly rate.
FYI I read a tweet by designer Dann Petty. He was mentioning rates about 200$/h for high quality web design. Not even his rates, someone else’s. I don’t charge anywhere near to that, but I think it’s important to try and raise your rates after every project and see what happens. Otherwise you might end up undercharging your all career.