What are we gonna talk about:

Why Freelance Pricing Feels Confusing
Common Freelance Pricing Models
How to Set Your Freelance Rate
Freelance Rate Benchmarks from Abillio (2021–2025)
Smart Pricing Strategies
How Abillio Helps You Focus on Work (Not Paperwork)
Conclusion
FAQs

Setting your freelance rates isn’t just about picking a number that “feels right.” It’s about building a sustainable business, communicating your value clearly, and making sure you’re not leaving money on the table.

But between rising client expectations, growing global competition, and shifts in remote work, pricing today feels more complicated than ever. That’s where real data, not guesses, can give you the edge.

At Abillio, we’ve analyzed four years’ worth of freelance invoice data (2021–2025) across industries to help you understand how other freelancers are charging, and how you can set smarter, fairer, and more profitable rates this year.

Why Freelance Pricing Feels Confusing

There’s no “official” freelance rate guide. No magic calculator that spits out your perfect number.

Your rate depends on a lot of things:

• Skills and years of experience
• Industry demand
• Project complexity
• Client location and budget
• How you position yourself and communicate value

And unlike full-time employees, freelancers cover their own taxes, insurance, admin time, and downtime. 

Pricing without factoring that in? You’re setting yourself up to earn less than you deserve.

💡Quick Insight: On average, freelancers report that only about 60% of their working hours are billable. The rest goes to admin, prospecting, marketing, and unpaid prep work.

If you only price based on time spent “doing the work,” you’re missing the bigger picture.

Common Freelance Pricing Models

There’s no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to freelance pricing. The best method depends on the type of work you do, how predictable the scope is, and how you prefer to manage risk.

Here’s a breakdown of the three most common pricing approaches freelancers use, and what to consider with each.

1. Hourly Pricing

Charging by the hour is simple and transparent. It’s still the most common model for beginners or ongoing support work. Clients like it for flexibility, and it works well when you’re doing ongoing work, ad hoc support, or small consulting tasks.

But the downside? It ties your earnings to time. And it doesn’t always reflect the value of experience. Just because something takes you 30 minutes doesn’t mean it’s only worth €25.

Use this model if:

• You’re working with a client long-term and tracking effort makes sense
• The scope is unclear or subject to change 
• You’re offering advice, making small updates, or jumping in when needed

Avoid if:

• You’re fast, but underpaid for your expertise
• The project is outcomes-driven and better measured by results than time spent
  

2. Project-based pricing

With this model, you set a fixed price based on the overall scope and deliverables. Clients like it because it’s predictable. You benefit if you’ve done similar projects before and can estimate accurately.

It can work well if you want to disconnect income from hours, but only if the scope is clear and you’ve protected against endless revisions.

Use this model if:

• You can clearly define what’s included (and what’s not)
• You’ve done similar projects and can estimate effort and timing
• You want to remove time tracking from the equation

Watch out for:

• Scope creep without compensation
  Underestimating the effort (especially with new clients)

3. Value-Based Pricing

Some freelancers charge based on the impact the work creates, not the time or scope. This approach requires a clear understanding of the client’s business goals, and the confidence to frame your work in terms of value.

It’s harder to pull off without trust or experience, but when it works, it shifts the conversation away from costs and toward outcomes.

Use this model if:

• Your work directly affects business metrics (e.g. conversions, growth, revenue)
• You’re confident discussing ROI with clients
• You’re offering a strategic outcome, not just a service

Good for: Experienced freelancers, strategic roles (e.g., rebranding a company, creating revenue-generating content).

Example: Charging €5,000 for a website that helps generate €50,000 in new business.

Skip it if:

• The project is small or the client is focused strictly on deliverables
• You’re not yet in a position to quantify your impact clearly

How to Set Your Freelance Rate

1. Define Your Annual Income Goal

Work backward from your financial needs. Include living expenses, business costs, taxes, and savings.

2. Estimate Billable Hours

On average, freelancers realistically bill between 1,000 to 1,400 hours per year once you account for downtime and non-billable work.

3. Calculate Your Baseline Rate

Example: €60,000/year ÷ 1,200 billable hours = €50/hour.

4. Compare with Market Benchmarks

Research industry standards and adjust based on your niche, expertise, and the type of clients you’re targeting.

5. Revisit Regularly

As your skills grow and your client list strengthens, your rates should reflect that. Reassess at least once a year.

Freelance Rate Benchmarks from Abillio (2021–2025)

Over the past five years, freelancers invoiced more than €18.9 million through Abillio. That covers thousands of projects across dozens of industries, and gives us a clear picture of what contractors are actually charging, based on real payments, not guesses or self-reported rates.

To help both businesses and freelancers better understand pricing trends, we looked at the average hourly rates billed on the platform across 15 key service categories. All figures are shown excluding VAT and converted to euros for consistency.

This breakdown gives you a solid benchmark if you’re budgeting for freelance work or reviewing what you currently pay.

Disclaimer: The data shown below is based on invoice descriptions and industry tags entered by Abillio users. Since some users may have entered broad or non-standard service descriptions (e.g. “team building” listed under Sports & Fitness), the average hourly rates may not always reflect the typical market rate for individual professionals in that field. Please interpret the figures as general indicators rather than exact benchmarks.

Smart Pricing Strategies

• Use minimum project fees: Even for “small” jobs, set a minimum threshold to make sure your time is valued properly.
  
• Charge more for complexity: Niche skills or urgent deadlines deserve a premium.
  
• Offer value tiers: Different pricing packages depending on deliverables, speed, and extras.
  
• Introduce late fees: Small penalties for overdue invoices encourage faster payments.
  
• Review rates regularly: If you haven’t raised your rate in a year, it’s time to reassess.
  

And if a client asks, “Can you do it cheaper?”  Remind them that doing it right the first time costs less than fixing it later.

How Abillio Helps You Focus on Work (Not Paperwork)

Freelancers don’t just lose time sending invoices, they lose focus switching between admin, follow-ups, and figuring out compliance. That time adds up, and it’s rarely billable.

Abillio takes that weight off your shoulders, so you can spend more hours doing what actually earns you money, not chasing payments or filling out tax forms.

Self-billing invoices
No templates to fill, no manual admin, just confirm the hours or amount, and it’s done in seconds.

Recurring invoices & automated reminders
Set it once, and let it run. Abillio tracks payment status and sends follow-ups, so you don’t have to chase clients or send awkward nudges.

Payment tracking
See what’s paid, what’s pending, and what’s overdue at a glance, no more messy spreadsheets or guessing.

Global payouts in local currency
Get paid in EUR or your preferred currency, without fees eating into your income or delays from international transfers.

Built-in service agreements
Every invoice comes with a legally sound agreement, confirming your contractor status and protecting both sides.

Conclusion

When invoicing takes minutes (not hours), you get more time to deliver great work and more freedom to raise your rates with confidence.

Setting the right freelance rates is part strategy, part self-awareness, and part market knowledge. Backed by real-world data from Abillio, you now have a better foundation to price yourself competitively and confidently in 2025.

And remember: your rate is not just about what you do, it’s about the value you bring.

With the right tools for invoicing, payments, and compliance, you spend less time on admin, and more time doing the work that actually grows your business. Abillio helps you do exactly that.

It gives you that quiet structure, the kind that keeps everything moving, without getting in your way. 

FAQs

1. How do I negotiate freelance rates with clients?

Start by researching what others in your field charge, but also factor in your experience, availability, and how complex the project is. When discussing rates, explain what’s included and how your work solves a real problem. If the client says, “Can you do it cheaper?”, try adjusting the scope instead of lowering your rate. For example, offer fewer deliverables or a longer timeline. Clear communication and flexibility help you protect your rate without losing the client.

2. How do freelance rates vary by industry?

Rates can vary widely depending on the complexity of the work, how specialized the skill is, and what kind of business impact it has. Utilizing real-world data, such as the insights provided by Abillio, can offer valuable benchmarks to help freelancers understand typical rates within their specific fields, ensuring competitive and fair pricing strategies.

3. Should I charge different rates for different clients?

Yes, within reason. Your rate can (and should) reflect the scope, urgency, and type of client you’re working with. Larger businesses with bigger budgets may warrant higher pricing, especially if the project involves more complexity or visibility. Just be consistent and transparent in how you position those differences.