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Is there someone from Great Britain who can help me understand how much pay should I ask for as a freelance web designer in case I start offering my services in the UK?

Is there a minimum amount that will not unfairly compete with British IT companies or other freelancers? How much should this minimum be?

By searching the internet I found this:

...you could be looking at the following price ranges in the UK from a reputable web agency:

  • A small static web site with approximately 5-10 pages, design, coding, content and content optimisation, W3C Strict compliance: £2,000 - £5,000
  • As above with 20-30 pages £4,000 - £8,000
  • Content managed web site allowing you to add pages, upload content and images and create search engine friendly pages with compliant code output 8,000 - £15,000
  • Bespoke database or e-commerce web site with specific requirements and content-management facility £10,000+

Source: http://www.the-escape.co.uk/reference/how-much-should-a-website-cost/

Given this scenario, how much a freelancer should ask for in comparison so that I get business without undercutting myself?

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  • This question is impossible to be answered.
    – Peter MV
    Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 9:46
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    @PeterMV let's have patience. For sure there is someone with experience on the market who will have the will on writing down some comparisons.
    – Avram Cosmin
    Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 10:16
  • You might want to give this a read. Because web freelancing has a low barrier to entry and finances may be less stable, It'd be hard to undercut prices too much without a significant risk to your own expenses.
    – Chris Forrence
    Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 17:44
  • Hey Avram, I don't think we can give you actual figures, as that just differs from scenario to scenario, but I did edit your question a bit to clarify it and go along with how people are answering, which is to focus on the process of determining price. Hope this helps and thanks for participating!
    – jmort253
    Commented Apr 19, 2014 at 16:20

3 Answers 3

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You've done good research on how much you should charge. You can follow those guidelines.

You might have to undercut at first to prove your credibility. There are plenty of web designers out there, but do research on how many are in the area that you live. Nobody is going to hire someone who is untested until they prove that they can do the job. Freelancing is highly dependent on a portfolio. Since you seem to be new, I'd recommend approaching some high profile clients and offering to do a job for cheap.

There might not be a minimum amount, but if you set your prices too low, people might expect a rush job from you. You should make it clear that you're doing so to build up your reputation.

If you don't have a portfolio, aim for the lower end, but never the bottom! That is, if the range is around $4000-$8000, charge around $4500 to $5000.

Once you're at a stage where you have so many projects that you have to continually reject some, you can start charging higher prices. Reputation pays a lot, and with a strong reputation, you can charge around $9000 for a job where the expected range is $4000-$8000.

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  • I'm impress by your answer. Is precisely on the point. Thank you!
    – Avram Cosmin
    Commented Apr 21, 2014 at 9:25
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The main reason that companies will undercut prices is to take a short-term loss, drive competitors out (since they can no longer compete in that market), then raise prices again, since they now have an effective monopoly in the area. However, since the barriers to entry for web designing are pretty low, it is easy to enter and exit the market (in comparison to, say, manufacturing). You can undercut prices, but it wouldn't heavily affect other companies.

At the end of the day, you should charge money dependent on the market and your level of expertise. Feel free to use the guide that you found, but it shouldn't be the end-all be-all. Keep in mind that incoming work may be unstable, so you need to take that into consideration.

One thing you can do to determine a price is to use a calculator (such as this) to see how much you need for your comfort.

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  • Thank you! I love your opinion. Very much. I usually charge based on many factors: complexity of the work, past experience, customer welfare, work load, market equilibrium. And right now "current market equilibrium" is what I'm interested in (from the stand-point of a newcomer on the British market). This will help me integrate and avoid unpleasant losses.
    – Avram Cosmin
    Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 23:16
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We live in a global economy. Your price is your price. Your expertise is your expertise. There's no such thing as an unfair price. Unfortunate for some and fortunate for others --- that will always be the case no matter what kind of business you're talking about.

Don't worry about what the next guy is earning until you have a bona fide reason to. If your expertise validates your price, that's all that matters in the end.

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    I wouldn't say it applies to all cases (especially when manufacturing or retail is concerned; look at mom-and-pop stores closing when big box stores invade). That being said, you are correct in that your level of expertise should play heavily into the price.
    – Chris Forrence
    Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 22:52

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