Flat rate vs hourly... which one actually saved my bacon?

I had a client last year in Denver who wanted a logo and website package. I quoted a flat rate of $2,500 and thought I was golden... then the revisions started piling up. After 14 rounds of tweaks I barely broke even on my time. Now I'm wondering if hourly would have been smarter for that kind of open-ended work. Has anyone else run into this split where one pricing style felt like a trap?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.jesse4d ago

Oh man, you just reminded me of this nightmare client I had who wanted "just a quick landing page"! I did flat rate for $800 and they ended up wanting me to rewrite the copy six times AND learn some weird custom form plugin they found on Reddit. @skyler_kelly69 is totally right about mixing methods though. I actually had a buddy who did flat fee for the first concept then switch to hourly for revisions and it worked great for him. Now I just put a hard cap on revision rounds in my contracts, like three rounds max then its hourly after that. Still stings when you break even on a project you thought was gonna be easy money.

the_faith4d ago

Something I don't see mentioned is how much the pricing method affects the client's behavior. When you charge hourly they tend to second-guess every small ask because they see the meter running. With flat rate they act like its all-you-can-eat revisions. The real trick might be giving a flat rate with a built-in buffer for three rounds then a separate retainer fee for anything beyond that. That way they feel like they got a deal but you don't lose your shirt either.

skyler_kelly694d ago

Ngl, that's exactly why I lean toward hourly for anything with 'revisions' in the scope. Flat rate feels great up front but it can turn into a trap when clients think endless changes are included. Mixing a flat rate for the initial concept with hourly after that might be the sweet spot to keep everyone happy.