Used to charge $50 for a logo until I saw someone else's pricing breakdown

Back in 2019 I was doing logos for $50 flat on Fiverr and thought that was just how it worked. I saw a post from a graphic designer in Austin who charged $800 for a basic logo package and I honestly laughed at first. Then I actually looked at what she included - 3 rounds of revisions, vector files, brand guide, the whole deal. I started raising my rates slowly, like $75, then $100, then $150. Last month I quoted a local coffee shop $400 for their logo and they said yes without even negotiating. I still feel weird charging that much sometimes but my work got better when I had more time to spend on it. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized your old rates were just way too low?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lucas4d ago

Wait, do you think higher prices actually make your work better? I gotta push back on that a little. I get why people raise their rates, but pretending like you NEED to charge more to do good work feels like justifying the price tag after the fact. I've seen plenty of $50 logos that were clean and smart, and I've seen $800 logos that were hot garbage. The price doesn't make the designer suddenly develop skills they didn't have before. If you're a solid designer, you can do solid work in 2 hours or 10 hours. Charging more just means you're getting paid more for the same skill set, not that you're magically unlocking better work. Honestly, it sounds like you were just undercharging before and now you're overthinking it. The coffee shop said yes because $400 is still a bargain for a local biz, not because your work got way better.

casey3424d ago

You mentioned "my work got better when I had more time to spend on it" and that really hit home for me. It's not just about charging more for the same thing - the higher price lets you do a better job, which makes clients happier and brings in more work. I had a similar experience with my own pricing. I used to rush through jobs to keep them cheap, but when I raised my rates I could spend extra time getting details right and the quality shot up. Now I see low prices as a red flag more than anything, because you can't do good work for pennies.

caseywalker3d agoMost Upvoted

@casey342 nailed it. Lower prices used to mean I'd skip the little things just to get it done fast. Now I actually have room to explore ideas and tweak stuff until it feels right. The coffee shop client told me they came back because the menu felt more thoughtful, not because it was cheap. Price sets the vibe, and good work needs space to breathe.