Pricing is the single most anxiety-inducing part of starting out — too high and there's no work, too low and the work isn't worth doing. This lesson gives an actual starting method instead of a guess.
| Model | Best for | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Open-ended or evolving work where scope isn't fully known upfront | A client may worry about an open-ended bill; requires honest time tracking |
| Fixed price | Well-defined deliverables (a logo, a 5-page website, a specific feature) | Scope creep (covered later in this course) can quietly turn a good rate into a bad one |
A simple, honest formula for a starting rate: figure out a target monthly income, divide by realistic billable hours per month (not total hours — administrative time, proposals, and finding clients aren't billable), then adjust down slightly to stay competitive while still new. Billable hours are almost always lower than expected once non-billable work is accounted for — often only 20-25 hours a week even for someone working full-time hours.
Estimate realistic hours for the whole project, multiply by the hourly rate, then add a buffer (commonly 15-20%) for the inevitable back-and-forth and small revisions a fixed-price project always includes.
A rate far below market rate doesn't just mean less money — it actively attracts clients who value cheapness over quality, invites more revision requests (since the perceived stakes feel lower), and makes raising rates later feel like a bigger jump than it should. Charging a fair, if modest, rate from the start attracts better clients and sets a healthier trajectory.
Starting low is a strategy, not a trap — if it has an exit plan
It's normal and expected to price lower in the very first few projects to build reviews and a track record — the goal is a clear plan to raise rates as soon as that track record exists, not staying at the introductory rate indefinitely.