When To Raise Your Freelance Rates

You should increase your prices every two years, at least

Having too many offers from clients can be a good problem to have. Even though it may seem like an impossible thing to achieve, you’re going to get there sooner or later.

This happened to me a few years back. I received two incredible offers from two different clients for full-time gigs. 

When I was just about to accept the offer from one client, the other client made a better offer. Then when I went to inform the first client, he made an even better offer. 

The clients ended up in a bidding war. It was quite funny since usually it’s the other way around when applying for freelance gigs. 

They kept making better offers to top the other. And it went on for a while until one client gave up. I ended up getting a really great gig at an even better price than I asked for.

Looking back, I realized how low my rates were back then. These two clients kept making better offers because they knew I was cheap. Or at least I was offering a service worth more than the price I was asking for.

This was a good lesson that I had to learn the hard way: The importance of reevaluating your freelance rates.

Especially with the rising inflation rates, even freelancers need to review their rates at least every two years.

This is even more important for freelancers working with international clients. When you’re getting paid in US Dollars, you also have to account for the currency exchange rates.

As a rule, now I review my rates every two years. I don’t always raise my prices but I check for the current currency exchange rates and also take into account the inflation and cost of living. And then decide if it’s necessary to raise my prices.

Most freelancers are so concerned about finding their next gig that increasing prices is the last thing on their minds. 

But, don’t sell yourself too short. In fact, it could be one of the reasons you’re not landing more job offers.

See you next week!

-Roshan

PS: If you’re interested in learning about freelancing, check out my free start guide. Or grab my book, Freelance Like a Pro.