Now you can finally determine your specific hourly rate. Divide your salary by billable hours. In our example we divide $62,500 by 1,750 to come up with a rounded number of $36 per hour. When bidding on a project that asks for a flat fee, simply figure out how many hours it will take you to complete while taking into account other associated costs.

Salary (h) __________ / billable hours (e) = your hourly rate __________

Room to Move

Your hourly rate is not set in stone, and you can increase or decrease it for various projects. Why would you do this? While smaller companies and publications have smaller budgets, larger publications and companies pay more. That article you wrote for a small web business and received $150 for might make you $700 with an established publication.

Are all Freelancers Created Equal?

Think of the pricing structure at your local salon. There are usually three categories of stylist each with a different price range: stylist, designer and master designer. A stylist is a new beauty school graduate while a master designer is a pro with thrilled customers and years of experience who demands a higher price. Of course no one is going to pay a stylist the going rate of a master designer since a stylist doesn’t have the skills to provide that level of experience. For this reason, new freelancers usually charge a lower fee than seasoned pros, as they build a portfolio and reference list.