The Beginner's Pricing Problem
When you're just starting out, you have no track record to point to and no frame of reference for what the market pays. So most beginners do one of two things: they either undercut everyone to win work ("I'll do it for $15/hr, I just need experience"), or they throw a number at the wall and hope it lands.
Neither is a strategy. Both tend to end in resentment.
Here's a better starting point.
Start With What You Need, Not What You Think You Can Get
The biggest mistake beginners make is starting from the market and working backward. "Senior developers charge $150/hr — I'm not senior, so maybe $40?"
That logic anchors you to a comparison that doesn't account for your situation: your income goal, your expenses, how many hours you'll actually work, and what taxes will take.
Instead, start here:
- What do you need to earn net each year? (Think: rent, food, bills, a little savings)
- How many weeks will you work? (Subtract vacation, sick days, the month you'll spend getting clients)
- How many hours a week? (Total hours — not just billable)
- What percentage of those hours will actually be billed? (Be honest: 50% is realistic when starting out)
- What's your effective tax rate? (At minimum, 15% self-employment + income tax)
Run those numbers through the SoloRates calculator. Whatever comes out is your floor. You cannot price below it and survive.
On Undercharging to "Build a Portfolio"
Working for free or near-free to build a portfolio is occasionally justified — one or two projects, explicitly framed as portfolio work, with a defined endpoint.
What is never justified is running a full client workload at below-floor rates for months because "I need the experience." That's not building a career; it's subsidizing clients at your own expense.
Give Yourself Permission to Charge
The market does not know or care that you're a beginner. If you deliver value, you're entitled to be paid for it. The rate you charge signals your professionalism to clients — and to yourself.
Set a rate you can defend with math. Then go earn it.