How to Price Freelance Services Right
A practical way to price your freelance work based on time, costs, and client value, without undercharging or losing profit.
By the Hylance editorial team · Updated
Key takeaways
- Calculate your hourly rate: the income you need plus business expenses, divided by the billable hours you can actually sell.
- Then price the outcome, not the hours, with a fixed fee that covers the work and leaves room for revisions.
- Offer three packages: basic, standard, and advanced.
- Raise your price when you’re fully booked for two straight weeks or most clients accept without negotiating.
The most common mistake freelancers make at the start is pricing a service based on what others charge, not on what it actually costs them to deliver it. The result is a lot of work, little profit, and quick burnout.
Calculate your hourly rate first
Start with the monthly income you need, add your business expenses such as subscriptions, equipment, and internet, then divide the total by the billable hours you can actually sell in a month, not all your working hours. You’ll likely find the number is higher than what you’ve been charging.
Then move to pricing by outcome
Clients are not buying your hours. They’re buying a result: a ready-to-use logo, a page that sells, an article that ranks. Once you know your hourly cost and the average time the service takes, set a fixed price for the outcome that covers the work and leaves room for revisions.
Three packages are better than one price
- Basic: the smallest scope you can deliver with full quality.
- Standard: what most clients actually want, and the package designed to feel like the natural choice.
- Advanced: faster delivery or wider scope for clients who need it and value it.
When should you raise your price?
Raise your price when you’re fully booked for two straight weeks, or when clients accept your offer without negotiating in most cases. Raise prices for new clients first, and keep the old rate for repeat clients for a transition period.
Remember that platform commission is part of your cost. Check the rate on the policies and rules page and include it in your calculation before setting your final price.
A numbers example
Let’s say you need SAR 6,000 (about $1,600) per month, and your business expenses are SAR 600 (about $160), so your target is SAR 6,600 (about $1,760). If you work 160 hours a month, you still won’t sell all of them: some time goes to replying to clients, writing proposals, learning, and marketing. If you actually sell 90 hours, your hourly rate is 6,600 ÷ 90, which is about SAR 73. A service that takes six hours including revisions should not be sold for less than about SAR 440 (about $117), before adding platform commission.
These numbers are only an example of the method. Plug in your own numbers, and you’ll see whether your current price really covers your time or whether you’re working at a loss without noticing it.
What counts as service time?
- Reading the request and asking the initial questions before starting.
- The actual work itself.
- The revision rounds included in the price.
- Preparing the delivery files and explaining how to use them.
- Replying to messages during and after the order.
Most freelancers only calculate the second item, then wonder why the month ended and the income came in lower than expected.
How do you respond when someone asks for a discount?
Don’t lower the price while keeping the same scope, because that means your first price was never real. Instead, offer a smaller scope at a lower price: one concept instead of three, delivery in one week instead of three days, or no source files. That way, the client gets a price that fits their budget, and you protect the value of your time.
Common pricing mistakes
- Copying another seller’s price without knowing what it includes or how long it takes them.
- Offering unlimited revisions. Set a number, and charge for anything beyond it.
- Forgetting platform commission when calculating your net income.
- Pricing a large project like ten small projects without accounting for the extra coordination and follow-up time.
- Keeping the same price for a full year even though your speed, experience, and tool costs have changed.
Tie every price to a result the client understands
Clients accept the price more easily when they can clearly see what they’re getting. Instead of writing “Logo design for SAR 300 (about $80),” explain what’s included: three initial concepts, two revision rounds, print-ready and social media files, and delivery within five days. The clearer the offer, the less discussion there will be around the number.
Test the new price before rolling it out
Don’t raise the prices of all your services in one day. Start with one service and watch for two or three weeks: did orders drop? Did the type of clients change? Do you now have more time to deliver each order with better quality? If demand stays close to where it was, the new price is acceptable, and you can apply it to your other services. If orders stop completely, review your description and examples first. The problem may be the offer, not the number.
Price add-ons the same way you price the service
- Rush delivery interrupts your work on other orders, so it should have a clear surcharge on top of the base price.
- Each extra revision round should have a fixed price the client knows in advance.
- Source files and extended usage rights are separate add-ons if they’re not included in the package.
- Requests outside the agreed scope should be priced as a new order, not treated as a favor.
Written add-ons with clear prices protect you from the phrase that drains freelancers’ time the most: “just a small edit.”
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Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my hourly rate as a freelancer?
Start with the monthly income you need, add your business expenses like subscriptions, equipment, and internet, then divide the total by the billable hours you can actually sell in a month, not all your working hours.
When should I raise my freelance prices?
When you’re fully booked for two consecutive weeks, or when clients accept your offer without negotiating in most cases. Raise prices for new clients first.
Should I include platform commission in my price?
Yes. It’s part of your cost. Check the rate on the policies and rules page and include it in your calculation before setting your final price.
Ready to put this into practice?
Browse Business services on Hylance and order what your business needs, with escrow that protects both sides. Or create an account and list your first service in minutes.
