How do I calculate freelance rates as a solopreneur?

To calculate freelance rates, add up your annual business expenses, desired salary, and taxes, then divide by your realistic billable hours. This ensures your freelance business covers costs and generates profit. Many freelancers also add a buffer for non-billable time like admin, marketing, and professional development.

What is a fair freelance fee benchmark?

There is no universal freelance fee benchmark. Reports like Payoneer’s Global Freelancer Income Report and Malt’s Freelancing in Europe provide averages, but they lack context such as location, seniority, and sector. Freelancers should combine benchmark data with personal financial needs, market demand, and business skills to set rates.

Should I charge hourly, daily, or project rates?

Hourly rates work well for short, flexible tasks. Daily rates provide stability for ongoing work. Project-based fees are best for complex deliverables, tying your income to the value of the work. Many freelancers mix these models depending on client and scope.

How do freelancers in Europe set their prices?

Freelancing rates in Europe range from €190 per day to over €1000 depending on sector and experience. For example, Belgian freelancers often benchmark against other professions: €80/hour for accountants and €150/hour and more for senior consultants. Solopreneurs should carefully assess their market positioning.

What business skills help freelancers earn more?

Freelancers with strong business skills such as negotiation, client management, financial planning, and entrepreneurship command higher fees. These skills are essential for solopreneurs looking to grow their freelance business and unlock earning potential.

How do I know if my freelance price is too low?

Signs include being overbooked, clients quickly accepting quotes, or struggling to hit income goals despite working long hours. If clients describe your rates as 'too good to be true,' it’s likely time to raise your fees.

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Elina jutelyte - 10 SEPTEMBER 2025

Unlock Your Earning Potential: A Practical
Guide to Freelance Fees Benchmarking

For freelancers, solopreneurs, and independent professionals, from graphic designers and copywriters to event managers and consultants, setting the right freelance rates is one of the most important business skills for freelancers.

Many guides suggest benchmarking your fees against industry reports or market averages. While this approach may provide a rough reference point, the reality of pricing in the freelance business is much more nuanced. This article explores why fee benchmarks should be treated with caution and how freelancers can create a pricing strategy that reflects their skills, goals, and value.

Why Freelance Fee Benchmarks Fall Short

Benchmarks are often presented as industry standards. Yet for freelancers, those numbers can mislead more than they guide. Reports rarely capture the full reality of freelancing: location, niche, seniority, part-time versus full-time, or even client budgets.

When you ask yourself, “Is my pricing adequate?”, you’re really asking, “Adequate for whom?”

Adequate for you — covering your expenses and fueling your growth.
Adequate for the recruiter — meeting their procurement budget.
Adequate for the client — matching their perception of value.
Adequate for the market — competing fairly without a race to the bottom.

This complexity is why freelancers should treat benchmarks as information, not commandments.

Lessons from Freelance Practice

As a freelancer in event management and marketing, I learned this lesson firsthand. Early on, I calculated my fees based on my fixed expenses and a profitability margin. To test my positioning, I compared my prices against agencies, offering clients the same level of quality at a more affordable rate. My pitch? Hire me as a flexible extension of your team.

The reality check came later. I discovered I was undervaluing my work. Over the years, my rates doubled and sometimes tripled. I experimented with both hourly and project fees, depending on client needs and project scope. Some clients found my prices “very reasonable,” while others called them “CEO-level.” That feedback confirmed one thing: pricing is always subjective.

The Problem with Annual Reports

Like many freelancers, I turned to annual freelancer income reports. But most were frustratingly vague. They presented figures without context: no clarity on sector, country, or level of expertise. A global average means little when you’re a solopreneur navigating a specific niche.

For example, Payoneer’s 2022 Global Freelancer Income Report cites an average hourly rate of $28 (€24), while YunoJune’s 2023 Freelancer Rates Report lists an average daily fee of £438 (€500). Malt’s Freelancing in Europe 2022 shows ranges from €190 to €1000 per day, depending on sector.

These numbers can be useful to recruiters budgeting for freelancers but are too scattered to serve as a freelancer’s compass.

I'd recommend checking rate info databases, created by communities, built by freelancers, for freelancers, with greater transparency.

For example:

How Solopreneurs Can Approach Pricing Strategically

Here are key considerations for solopreneurs looking to refine their freelance business pricing strategy:

1. Look Beyond Benchmarks

Treat benchmarks as broad signals, not price ceilings. If your business skills, experience, and positioning justify higher rates, don’t let “average” figures drag you down. Not every client will match your pricing model, and that’s fine.

2. Understand Your Market

Map your competition, but also your client base. Ask yourself: are you targeting startups with limited budgets, or established corporations with dedicated departmental funds? This distinction matters.

For example:

Replacing an agency = bigger departmental budget, more flexibility.
Replacing an individual employee = HR or procurement budget, tighter constraints.

3. Avoid Overcomplicating Pricing

While value-based pricing is often recommended, it may not be suitable for all freelancers, especially those who are new to the field. If you’re unsure how to assess the value you bring to a company, consider charging per day or per hour.

For instance, in Europe (Belgium), €10 per hour is akin to what you might pay a cleaner or babysitter, while €80 could be the rate for an accountant, and €250 or more might be the fee for a lawyer.

These are ballpark figures to help you gauge where your services may fall on the pricing spectrum.

4. Consider Project Complexity

Match your rate to the complexity of your freelance work:

Low complexity: a one-off logo, a simple event task.
High complexity: a brand-wide rebranding, a full event strategy project with multiple stakeholders.

5. Build Your “Pricing Profile”

Business consultant Robert Vlach, author of The Freelance Way, recommends developing a personal pricing profile.

His model looks at factors like debts vs. assets, financial reserves, pre-sold services, availability, and industry comparisons. This self-assessment helps freelancers align pricing with their broader freelance business strategy.

6. Use Peer-Based Resources

Platforms like Wethos offer access to pricing templates and case-based recommendations from other freelancers. For a small fee (around €10/month), you can benchmark against real-world data from fellow solopreneurs.

The Real Benchmark: Your Business

Ultimately, the best freelance fee benchmark isn’t in a PDF report: it’s in the way you run your freelance business. Pricing is a dynamic process, shaped by your experience, your financial goals, and the market realities you face as a solopreneur.

Here’s the mindset shift: freelancing isn’t just about delivering services - it’s entrepreneurship. Your rates are not just numbers; they reflect your business skills, your positioning, and the unique value you bring to every client.

Don’t hesitate to learn from fellow freelancers in the Freelance Business Community, exchange insights, and continuously test your approach. That’s how you’ll build a pricing strategy that grows with you and ensures your freelance business remains sustainable and profitable.

Continue Learning from Solopreneurs

The key takeaway: benchmarks are guides, not rules. As a seasoned freelancer and solopreneur, your ultimate benchmark is your own business: its goals, its sustainability, and its ability to showcase your entrepreneurial value.

Want more perspectives? Continue exploring this subject inside the Freelance Business Community.

Unlock Your Earning Potential: A PracticalGuide to Freelance Fees Benchmarking