What to Charge as a Freelance Designer

With a strong portfolio and positive feedback you can start to charge decent rates for your freelance design work.

Here is some more information below to give you an idea of what you can charge for what type of work:

The type of service you offer is a big deal as well. Do you code your own sites in CSS? Do you provide SEO or social media services? Do you design products and offer schematics? Do you project manage? Do you offer PR and marketing services? Search engine optimization?

Tip: After doing a bit of research, start with a number you think is fair. Then see how your prospective customers respond. If everyone is jumping at the chance to hire you, maybe your price is too low. If customers tell you it's too high, and you're having trouble landing business, either the price is too high, or you're not making a compelling enough argument as to why it should be that price. Test and revise your rate offering!

Here are some very general rates for certain classes of designers. Note: these are ballpark numbers. Adjust for your situation:

Student / Self-Taught Beginners – $20 – $30/hour
Designer – Senior Designer – $35 – $50/hr
Senior Designer – Creative Directors – $75 – $150/hr
Design agencies – $200 and up

How do you decide what you charge for your time spent on a custom design?

Article Source: Freelance Graphic Designer's Resource

Image Source: Mo Riza on Flickr