Bonsai has got your back
Freelancing, for the most part, is a great gig. In most respects, you have the ability to pick your own projects and set your own schedule.
One other factor, is that you sometimes have to set your own rates for projects. This determination of what to charge can often be confusing.
Bonsai has developed an interactive tool to create and e-sign freelance work contracts. The website also allows you to explore freelance rates.
Pick your category and go from there
The exploration of rates is broken down into four categories: role, skill, experience, and location. These four categories are then broken down into sub-categories: role (development or design), skill (development: full stack, front-end, back-end, DevOps, iOS, and Android; design: graphic/logo/print, UX/UI, web/mobile, 3D modeling, and product design), experience (1-3 years, 3-5 years, 5-10 years, 10+ years), and location (U.S. West Coast, U.S. East Coast, U.S. Midwest, and U.S. South).
Never underprice yourself again
Once you have selected the subcategory under each category that applies to you, a graph will appear that displays the corresponding average hourly rate. For example, if you have development, full stack, 1-3 years, and U.S. West Coast selected, the average hourly rate falls somewhere between $80 and $100.
Bonsai explains that freelancers are notorious for under pricing their work. This is due to the fact that there is a lack of available data on market rates.
Their goal is that the data they provide will help freelancers appropriately price their work.
Do your research
Most of the data collected comes from Bonsai Contracts, which is the website’s tool for creating and e-signing bulletproof work contracts. This was supplemented with private and public data sets, such as user surveys and submissions by users.
The site recommends that the freelancer use this data in conjunction with other resources. The data can be helpful as a directional indicator to see if a freelancer is above, below, or within the average of pricing. In addition, this data can be used as a way to justify rates with clients.
A free tool for your utility belt
Bonsai operates as a free tool to allow freelancers to get the most out of their work. Determining what to charge per project can be tricky, and sometimes even awkward, so it is helpful to have averages to compare.
