How to you determine your hourly rate ? What is reasonable rate.

[holymell]

I started off at $15/hr and then raised it by a dollar every time I was too busy to take on new projects (now I only raise it by a quarter because it's getting up there).

But you have to decide for yourself what you're worth. I should have started higher, but didn't get any hourly work until I hit $22/hr anyway.

I figured what amount I could live off without eating hot dogs or cat food every day and went from there.

Edit- for practical advice, look at other contractors in your field with your level of expertise and see what they charge.

[faisal-xoniaa]

What if you don't cook and just how to use the microwave ?  Does this mean I have to add a couple of dollars for each meal I buy?

[holymell]

Look, I was just telling you what works for me in this scenario.

If I want to apply for a job at a lower rate than is currently posted on my profile I fill in the rate I will do that specific job for in the proposal for that job.

If you prefer to advertise the lowest rate you would command, go for it. It's your choice.

If you don't know how to cook, you are spending more money buying individual meals? I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at with this analogy other than if you only know how to microwave, you shouldn't go about calling or advertising yourself as a cook.

Edit, never mind. Your goals may certainly differ from mine and that's ok! I think you were trying to make a joke and not be rude. My apologies.

You can do whatever works best for you. I think the best place to determine your rate is in your proposals to specific jobs.

Jobs vary in time invested and effort invested and that doesn't change whether you have one skill or twenty skills.

[faisal-xoniaa]

How do you determine your rates on the proposal before knowing the details of the project?

[holymell]

I don't. I tell the client in my proposal that my rate is a placeholder until I know more information.

[tlsanders]

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@Melissa C wrote:
I don't. I tell the client in my proposal that my rate is a placeholder until I know more information.

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 Or, just skip over postings that don't provide adequate information. There are exceptions, but it's typically not a good sign about a client if they write a one line posting with none of the pertinent information.

[petra_r]

With hourly jobs it does not matter to me whether the job is difficult or easy, or whether the client described it adequately, my hourly rate stays the same because the only difference is that the difficult ones tend to take longer.

The value of my hour's work does not change...

[tlsanders]

Petra, that's one of the main reasons I dislike hourly work.

[petra_r]

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@Tiffany S wrote:

Petra, that's one of the main reasons I dislike hourly work.

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 Haha 😄

I like both. Seriously, I mix and match and will generally go with what the client prefers.

Like everything, both have advantages and disadvantages. A healthy mix works for me.

[faisal-xoniaa]

What does it mean when a completed project says:

Project completed in 3 hours, between Oct 2017 -  Feb 2018, 75$/h, earned $225, "

If its three hours project, then why four months ?

[petra_r]

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@Faisal A wrote:

What does it mean when a completed project says:

Project completed in 3 hours, between Oct 2017 -  Feb 2018, 75$/h, earned $225, "

If its three hours project, then why four months ?

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 Maybe the client left the contract open because they thought there might be more work coming, which then never materialised, or simply forgot to close the contract.

[lucioric]

Fixed price projects get the same earning although the project extends more and more, although, in the other hand, hourly projects may lead to client disatisfaction if you put so many hours without solving his needs. I think that the best deals are hourly projects, and at least for non US living persons lead to a decent income, whereas sometimes working at fixed price projects does not give you enough for the rent and the bank payments (with the cards at full). Although fixed price projects leaves you with less stress, feeling you more free to take your time to get the results (with a limit). But about money, unless you give the procedure to turn sand into gold in one day, at least by my experience, are not kind of a deal, moreover if you are very optimistic on the timings, or if your client believes you can tur water into gold for 75 USD. 

[charles_kozierok]

It's almost impossible to answer this question because it depends on many criteria, some of which only you know about yourself.

It also depends on your approach. As you've seen, some people charge the same hourly rate and that's it. Others, like me, change the rate they charge on a job. I use a complicated and somewhat subjective system to decide what to charge for a job, which sometimes takes into account literally dozens of different factors.

The best thing to do is to look for people in your area of expertise (sorry, I can't access your profile) and then experiment to see what works.

[petra_r]

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Charles K wrote: Others, like me, change the rate they charge on a job. I use a complicated and somewhat subjective system to decide what to charge for a job, which sometimes takes into account literally dozens of different factors.

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 I just use 2 factors.

1. How overworked am I already? The more I have on, the higher I quote (on fixed price) in almost a hope the client will balk at it. IF they still want it, at least it is worth my while to not sleep.
2. How much do I WANT to do it. Sometimes, just sometimes, something comes along that is just too great to not do. That is the only time I compromise on price.

[bundie702]

Petra, you and I think alike. I usually skip jobs that say, "I need a book edited," and give no details, like fiction/nonfiction, genre/subject matter, length, etc. Other jobs with more detail, I tell them I need to see at least part of the manuscript to determine my bid because it's unwise to agree to do a job sight unseen (unfortunately, I learned that one the hard way), and if I'm busy, as I am now, I will throw out a higher rate just to see if the client bites, knowing that it's no big deal if they don't or that I won't get a lot of sleep if they do but will be happy when the pay comes in... 

[samanta_l]

My start was rocky compared to other freelancers, I started in the English-Spanish translation group and rates aren't exactly high. The initial rate I had posted was considered too high, so I did my research on other freelancers in the sector and how much they were charging per hour and moved on from there, assessing what I needed to get by each month.

Nowadays, my rate changes according to the project and the service asked from me. It can go higher or lower depending on that, and if the prospective client doesn't provide a good description through the chat, the job just isn't for me.