Stuck between charging per project or per hour and it's tearing my budget apart

Last month I took a flat $500 web design gig that ended up taking 30 hours, but 3 years ago a per-hour project paid me double for half the work. Which pricing model actually keeps you from losing money in the long run?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_morgan14d agoMost Upvoted

Used to be all about hourly billing until a client paid me fast for a 5 hour job that saved me from a whole month of stress. That flat rate stuff sounds nice but it backfired hard on you. Now I mix it up - hourly for unknown projects, fixed price if I'm real sure about the scope. What made you pick flat $500 in the first place?

matthewking14d ago

Oh man, flat $500? I was young and arrogant and thought I knew everything about the project. Turns out I knew nothing and the client kept adding little "quick things" that ate up my life for two weeks. Learned that lesson the hard way and now I'm with you on mixing it up. Hourly for anything I don't fully understand, but I'll do fixed price when I've done that exact same thing ten times before and can spot all the hidden traps. Your story about getting paid fast sounds like a unicorn to me, most of my flat rate disasters end with me working for minimum wage and regretting everything.

the_mary14d agoMost Upvoted

You said "that flat rate stuff sounds nice but it backfired hard on you" and I get why you think that, but I see it differently. Flat fees force you to get good at estimating and actually knowing your process inside out, which makes you better over time. When I pick a flat rate, I'm not guessing - I'm betting on my experience and the fact that I can usually finish way faster than the client expects. Yeah, sometimes I eat it on a project that drags out, but I factor that into my pricing so it evens out in the long run. The real win is clients love knowing exactly what they'll pay, so they trust you more and refer you without hesitation. I think hourly sounds safe but it keeps you stuck trading time for money, while flat rate lets you charge for the value you bring, not just the hours you sit there.