Freelance RateSetting a rate as a graphic and web designer
How this work is usually priced, where the unpaid hours hide, and a worked example you can change to your own numbers.
How this work is priced
Designers usually quote a fixed price for a logo, a set of social posts or a site, because clients want a number up front. The risk is scope: a logo with no limit on drafts or a site with endless small changes can eat the whole margin.
The unpaid work
Hours that no client pays for here include briefing calls, mood boards that are not used, extra draft rounds, file preparation and handover, font and asset licence checks. They are the reason a billable share of 55% is used in the example, not 100%.
Costs to count
Design software subscriptions, stock and font licences, a computer and a second screen, storage and backups, hosting for demos. Each belongs in the yearly costs box.
A worked example
These figures are made up to show the working in US dollar. Use your own.
| Take-home wanted | $60,000 |
| Business costs | $6,000 |
| Profit needed before tax and savings (25% + 10%) | $92,308 |
| Income to bill in the year | $98,308 |
| Billable hours (46 weeks, 40 hours, 55% billed) | 1,012 |
| Hourly floor | $97 |
| Day rate floor | $777 |
What changes the answer
- If your billable share falls by 10 points to 45%, the hourly floor rises from $97 to $119.
- If you take 3 more weeks off, it rises to $104.
- If your costs are 25% higher than you planned, it rises to $99.
A tip for this work
Sell stages: discovery, first concepts, a fixed number of revisions, final files. Put a price on each stage so a client who stops early still pays for the work already done.
Try your own figures
Common questions
How do I stop endless changes on a design job?
State the number of draft rounds in the quote, say what counts as a new brief, and price extra rounds by the hour. Most clients accept a limit that is written clearly before the work begins.
Is a deposit normal for design work?
Yes. Many designers ask for a part of the fee before starting, because the first concepts take time that is lost if the client leaves. Use the deposit box in the project calculator to see the amount.
Keep going
Example figures on this site are made up to show the working. They are not market rates or averages. Tax, social-insurance, sales-tax and holiday rules differ by country and change, so this site does not state them: ask the tax authority of your country or an accountant. Checked 14 November 2026.