What should I charge for freelancing?

Most freelancers set a price by guessing or copying someone else. Build it instead: add up what the project costs you — your hours at your rate, plus any software, licenses, or other direct costs — then add a markup for overhead and profit. The markup is what covers the software subscriptions, insurance, and unpaid admin time a salary used to hide.

Price a project the way contractors actually do it: add up what the project costs you, then add a markup for your overhead and profit. Fill in your numbers — your bid updates as you type.

What this project costs you

Materials & supplies ($) — your cost for everything you'll buy for this project

Other direct costs ($) — fuel, equipment rental, disposal fees, permits

Your labor

Not sure what to charge for your time? Employed graphic designers earn a median of about $30.27/hr (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A self-employed labor rate is typically higher — roughly $45–$60/hr (about 1.5–2×) — because it also has to cover self-employment tax, the benefits an employer would otherwise pay, and the hours that cannot be billed.

Hours this project will take

Your hourly labor rate ($) — what your time is worth per hour; e.g. $45–$60

Hired help ($) — paid to a helper or subcontractor; leave blank if solo

Your markup — overhead & profit

This is where your business actually makes money. Industry standard is roughly 20–30% overall for contractors; solo operators often need the higher end to cover insurance, tools, truck, admin time, and slow weeks. Adjust to fit your business.

Markup on your costs (%)

Materials & supplies	$0
Your labor (0 hrs × $0)	$0
Hired help	$0
Other direct costs	$0
Your costs (subtotal)	$0
Markup (30% — overhead & profit)	$0
Bid price	$0

Pricing method and standard percentages from contractor-industry sources (Angi, Buildern, NAHB): overall contractor markup 20–30%, materials markup 7.5–35%, labor markup 25–50%, recommended profit margin 15–25%. A markup is a percentage of your costs; the resulting margin (share of the bid that's profit) is lower — both are shown above. These are general benchmarks, not a guarantee for your market.

What your markup has to cover

The markup in your bid covers the costs no single job shows. For freelancing, your overhead typically includes software subscriptions, a laptop upgrade every few years, health insurance, coworking or home-office costs, accounting fees, and marketing. None of that appears on one job, but all of it is paid out of the markup added to every job. Published contractor guidance (Angi, NAHB) puts a typical overall markup at 20–30%.

Be realistic about your hours

A full-time freelancer rarely bills 40 hours a week. Between proposals, invoicing, email, and finding the next client, 20–28 truly billable hours a week is normal. If you assume 40, your rate will come out unsustainably low.

Freelancer pricing FAQs

Why should my freelance hourly rate be well above my old salary ÷ 2080?

Because a salary came with employer-paid payroll tax, benefits, paid time off, and a full pipeline of work. On your own you cover both halves of Social Security and Medicare (15.3% self-employment tax), buy your own benefits, and only bill part of your working time — often 50–70% of it. Setting your hourly labor rate at roughly 1.5–2× your old wage, then adding a markup for overhead, is a common starting point.

Should I charge hourly or per project as a freelancer?

Per project usually earns more once you are fast at the work, because you keep the gains from your own efficiency. Use your hourly labor rate internally: estimate the hours a project will take, multiply by your rate, then add a 10–25% buffer for revisions and scope creep.

How often should I raise my freelance rates?

Review at least once a year, and any time you are booked more than about 80% full for two months straight. Consistent overbooking is the market telling you that you are underpriced.