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Ask HN: Standard freelance web development rates

49 points by kiraken ↗ HN
I've been a freelance web developer for a while now, just something i do alongside college to help myself out. I've been getting work through freelancer all this time which i noticed is way too cheap comparing to the real thing. I was getting ready for a while now to start an online portfolio and start getting work through it, but i have no idea how much web developers usually charge, and no idea either where to get clients. So any help is appreciated I create:

-Website templates

-E-commerce websites

-Wordpress/Joomla themes

-Some SEO from time to time

-Adding responsiveness to websites

-Website designs

-Dynamic websites

If any experienced web developer could tell me how much they usually charge for any of those services i'd be very grateful

32 comments

[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 87.8 ms ] thread
icpmacdo
To add to this I would be interested in know what the standard rate is for remote backend development, I know PHP and Node. Also is there much work online for hybrid app development? That's what I have the most experience with.
IpV8
I charge whatever I can get! Rates also have to do with where you are, who you know, reputation, and what other offers you have on the table. That being said, here is what I would estimate each at:

-Website templates I buy all of mine from themeforest for like $30. I don't see why anyone would do otherwise unless they needed something really custom. I don't like designing website templates, so I would charge $200/hr (a.k.a. I'll never do this)

-E-commerce websites $75/hr

-Wordpress/Joomla themes Again buy themes from themeforest cheap. Wordpress site maintenance and installation seems to go for $20-$50/hr around here.

-Some SEO from time to time Experts will charge as much as $100/hr, basic stuff like putting meta tags in or running a google ads campaign could go as low as $20/hr

-Adding responsiveness to websites Nowadays this often means starting from scratch. I try to quote for the whole project on something like this, but to give you an idea I would say around $40 an hour (give or take 20)

-Website designs Same as above. ~$40

-Dynamic websites I'm assuming this means webapp? I charge around $85/hr for webapps. Usually using angular. I also have started putting the webapps through cordova/phonegap, which is an easy upsell.

And to icpmacdo's point: -remote backend development Same as webapps, around $85/hr seems to be the magic number. This is VERY dependant on who you know and where they are located.

Note: All of my rates may seem high for people who find projects online, not in person. They may seem low for experts in their given field. Also, I find the larger the company, the higher the rate. For backend work you could probably get double that if you are an expert in large corporation java work.

mathgeek
" so I would charge $200/hr (a.k.a. I'll never do this) "

Just to emphasize how much rates can vary for many reasons, $200/hr was my base rate when I freelanced circa 2012.

pan69
Doing "what" located "where"? An hourly rate is totally subjective to what you do and where you do it.
mathgeek
Standard freelance development, as that's what was requested in the OP. All located in the US.
BlakePetersen
Can you provide information as to where you are located? These rates seem pretty low IMO, and you speak to location being an important variable, it would be helpful to know what region you're referencing.
IpV8
I am in New England (USA). These rates are a reflection of what I've seen companies are willing to pay, not necessarily what I'll accept. For example, I have not found an effective way to get more than about $40/hr for Wordpress maintenance, so I have shifted to more backend and webapp work. Also, these rates are more of an average. Depending on the length, stability, and enjoyability of the project, I may be willing to work for more or less money.
Jhsto
Where do you find work?
IpV8
Local tech meetups, friends, and family, and local tech meetups.
moron4hire
>> Rates also have to do with where you are, who you know, reputation, and what other offers you have on the table.

Rates have nothing to do with where you are. I don't live anywhere near any of my clients. They get charged the same rate, regardless.

I also don't change my rate for different types of work. I'm not a different person doing the work. I don't care if $100/hr is ludicrous to make a WordPress theme. If <theoretical client> wants me to make that WordPress theme, it'll be $100/hr. If <theoretical client> doesn't like that, they shouldn't ask me to make WordPress themes for them. That simple.

Moral of the story: you charge the rate that gets you out of bed in the morning. If the only rate that got me work was $5/hr, then I'd not be in this business. I like programming, so I will probably always do it for myself in some capacity, but I work as a programmer only in so much as it pays.

Who you know is correct, which is why going through eLance- or Odesk-like sites don't work. You make the big money in consulting by getting in some where and delighting the hell out of your client, to the point that they want to hire you as an employee but you stick to your guns and say "no, but I am jacking up my rates on you."

The three pillars of sales are: 1) get customers in the door, 2) get them to buy, 3) get them to come back again. You make the most money, in consulting, on the 3rd pillar. You can successfully ignore #1 and #2 for most of your career if you get lucky with a good client and continue to hit #3.

Gustomaximus
Out of interest how long does it take to implement a template website? I guess this is a 'how long is a piece of sting' but assume standard small business brochure and/or eCommerce website and a client that knows what they want and organizes content upfront so not huge amounts of revisions.

I ask as I have paid for a few websites at complete project rate and I'm curious the workload involved.

kiraken
Implementing a template should take less than an hour. Creating it however is a different thing
pauletienney
I work in Paris, France. I charge 500 € / day for web dev. I charge 600 € / day for consulting.
ritonlajoie
Hi ! I am also in Paris. Would you mind dropping me an email ? my info are in my contact page. Thanks !
slamus
Same Here, just finished my studies and I work usually for around 60€ / Hour for quick jobs (less than a Week). But I prefer to charge for full projects than by hour, since my work is more finally more of an web agency than a standard developer.
ovi256
Another Parisian here. Email's in profile info, don't be afraid to write or add me on LinkedIn. Cheers.
[dead] revmoo
-Website templates 500-2000

-E-commerce websites 10000 to start

-Wordpress/Joomla themes 2000 to start

-Some SEO from time to time ?? SEO is bullshit

-Adding responsiveness to websites Too vague to estimate

-Website designs 500 to start

-Dynamic websites 2000 to start

nfriedly
I haven't freelanced since starting my current position, but I was charging a flat $125/hr for the previous couple of years. I mostly do JavaScript/Node.js stuff and turn down the majority of the work that comes my way.
BlakePetersen
I used to charge different rates for different things, but then I realized my time is what's valuable, not so much the task I'm doing. So I switched to $200/hr and stopped wasting time and energy figuring out whether I should be clocked in for this rate, or "that task really falls under that category", or classifying tasks/justifying rates. It's all so much more simple and the client really doesn't care either way I've come to find.

Also, I am based in the SF Bay Area and most of my freelance clients are in California for reference.

TamDenholm
This is the right attitude, i dont know why people's time differs in value depending on the task they are performing, you're still paying that person for their time. I understand that some tasks have a lower general market rate, but if the client specifically wants YOU, then you charge YOUR rate.

Whether the client wants you to create a complicated application doing statistical analysis, make a wordpress site, or sweep the floors, if they want YOU to do it, then they pay YOUR rate.

cpursley
I tell clients that I charge $150 per hour as an anchor. But most of the time price out projects as sprint based deliverables, not hours.
AdrianRossouw
I worked backwards from my target salary, divided by the amount of workdays in a year, with an added 15% contracting rate modifier.

So if I wanted to make 90k/y, my day rate would be :

> (90000 / 230) * 1.15 = $450 per 8-hour day.

PS: I don't like selling time in less than 4 hour batches either.

gk1
I wouldn't recommend doing this.

What does your target salary have to do with the value of your work?

midnightmonster
It's also a really naive calculation in that it assumes you will be able to fill nearly every working day out of the year with a full day's worth of paying work. When are you going to pursue leads, develop your sales funnel, learn new tech, and file your taxes?
charlesnw
Um. You work for money. Generally one should have a target amount of money in mind (based on a budget). I rather like the calculation. I'll use it next time I do consulting.
gk1
Of course you should have a budget, but what does that have to do with the value you're providing as a consultant?

If you're asked why your hourly rate is $X, are you going to reply "because I have expensive hobbies?"

jnbiche
Do you think this is how companies price their goods?

I mean, sure you should calculate a bare minimum rate. But you should charge as much as the market will bare.

dingodoo
It depends on what your portfolio looks like, honestly. If you've got a bang-up portfolio, by all means do the $150-$200/hour people are recommending.

If your portfolio needs a little more polish, charge lower to get the experience.

When I started freelancing, I would purposefully undercharge and over-deliver, and let the client know that.

If you need to turn work down while you wait for those kinds of higher-paying gigs to come along, you can always sharpen and hone your skills by creating ecommerce templates for theme stores, and make money off of those sales.

It may not be the _most_ profitable, but it will keep you in practice in-between clients. The most important thing is that you remain prolific in your work and create a large body of content.

Not for them, but for your own skill set.

egeozcan
Near Stuttgart, prices are around 1000€/day (+/-500€, depending on the experience), billed by quarter-day increments.
mlmonkey
Not to hijack the thread, but: what are typical rates for Machine Learning freelancing gigs?
mngutterman
Kiraken mentioned not knowing how to get new clients. That's something I tend to have issues with as well. Any suggestions?
cweagans
I don't do any visual design work, but I'll convert designs to HTML/CSS, though. I specialize in backend development and prefer taking that work when I can. For that, I charge $175/hr.