You’re starting out as a freelance Graphic Designer. How much will you charge your clients? There are a lot of ways to calculate and it can be confusing. I’ll share what I feel is the simplest way. I suggest charging either a flat rate or a flat rate plus hourly.

There may be small projects that you charge a flat rate for. For example, a simple edit to a photo in Adobe Photoshop. You know the work will not take you very long. So you set up flat rate and just charge that price. Other projects can be more tricky. You don’t know exactly how long the project will take.

Don’t sell yourself short with a flat rate. The project could take a lot longer than you expected and you would end up under selling yourself. For this type of project it is best to decide on a flat rate plus hourly. The flat rate is charged upfront (like a deposit) and the hourly rate is your fee per hour. Now you will be able to make sure that you cover the cost of the time spent. Also, you can make sure that you’re going to get paid even if they decide they don’t want to continue with the project anymore for whatever reason.

Another tip is to make sure that everything is down in writing. I also suggest creating a price list with all of your rates.

Now you know at least two ways to charge your clients. As you become more familiar with freelancing you may determine your own rate scale that works best for you.