Is £25 an hour too little to charge?

[JamesBarnsley]

Is £25 an hour too little to charge for a freelance web developers / programmer?

[Senff]

It completely and totally depends on your skills and the quality of what you deliver, and probably also your experience.

In general, I would say it’s alright.

[chrisburton]

@senff Lol? That’s extremely low. Even for just starting out.

@jamesbarnsley It is. @Senff is correct that it depends on your skill level and ability but 25 is too low. Why did you come to the conclusion of 25?

[TheDoc]

‘Just starting out’ is relative. He could be an industry vet and is only just getting into freelance for the first time.

I’m assuming the opposite is true here, however. It all comes down to your skill level. Talented people charge more than people that aren’t as talented. While £25/hour is low, it’s not necessarily out of line with his peers.

You’ll need to take into account cost of living as well. It’s not so black and white.

Having said all of that, James: if you start one more thread asking about how much to charge I am going to blow up the internet.

[Senff]

Extremely low…..? Well maybe its a lot different in the UK then. In my experience, $40 (the equivalent of £25) is low end, maybe average, here in Canada. I’ve seen people charge anywhere between $25 and $100 here, but most people I know are around $50.

[JamesBarnsley]

I have had people tell me that most people they meet charge £40 an hour here in UK, however most of the people I have met charge between £20 and £30.

I have heard people say big figures, but really have I found it to be the case is what I am saying. I have just quoted a client at £25 an hour and the client asked me if I could do it for £20. So it just goes to show that even £25 is to expensive for some people.

[JamesBarnsley]

@ChristopherBurton maybe you could tell us what you charge and what you think the average is?

[chrisburton]

@TheDoc Ha!

@JamesBarnsley Gray is right with his points also.

Perhaps that client is cheap? I agree with negotiating but that still seems a bit low. My rates are completely private but an average graphic designer would be charging anywhere from $75+. I would assume that a developer could charge just as much.

[TheDoc]

The client asked for £20 because he doesn’t want to pay as much.

[chrisburton]

You can’t make everyone happy.

[JamesBarnsley]

Yes, no I totally agree with the high rates etc, why would I agree to my own poverty?

But it just depends whether there are clients / people out there willing to pay it, if there are I have not meet any of these clients yet however I am quite new to the game.

[theacefes]

Set your price based on your skills and experience and if they can’t afford it, don’t take the job. Cheap clients tend to expect the most for some reason, and many of their requests are outlandish and unreasonable relative to what they want to pay you.

[chrisburton]

The hourly rate is not about profit. It’s about what it will cost you to do the work.

[chrisburton]

That doesn’t make sense to me at all.

[theacefes]

@ChristopherBurton: I kinda feel like we’re all entitled to share our opinions to help answer the OP’s question. Being antagonistic for the sake of imposing your experiences on others as “the right way to do it” doesn’t seem like an ideal way to answer the poster’s question. Josh’s way may not be your way and if it doesn’t make sense, try explaining in what ways it doesn’t make sense to you. That way, we can all possibly learn something new. :)

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