If you offer services to other community owners — design, setup, writing, management, development, or anything else — how do you decide what to charge?
Do you have a set rate, or does it depend on the project and the person?
Pricing can be tricky in this space since budgets and expectations vary so much. Some people prefer flat rates, others go hourly, and a few even trade services or run collaborations instead of cash deals.
How do you find that balance between being fair to yourself and affordable to others?
Do you have a set rate, or does it depend on the project and the person?
Pricing can be tricky in this space since budgets and expectations vary so much. Some people prefer flat rates, others go hourly, and a few even trade services or run collaborations instead of cash deals.
How do you find that balance between being fair to yourself and affordable to others?
Posted Nov 11, 2025 at 10:23 PM
(edited)
Replies (5)
My service charge is based on how much work I have to do and how much is fair amount for the service provider. I usually charge per task or per month (if it is a milestone based task). I have never charged hourly, I have always asked for flat rate. This not only gives me flexible working hours but also gives flexible payment option for the service provider.
It depends on the project size and complexity for me. Like a simple logo design is going to be way cheaper than building out an entire forum from scratch. I usually quote flat rates for defined projects so everyone knows upfront what they are paying.. I try to be fair but not undervalue my work because too cheap people don't take you seriously anyway.
I tend to prefer project-based pricing over rates as it simplifies budgeting for clients. For certain jobs, I offer fixed packages but for larger projects I provide my quotes depending on the difficulty of the said project. The challenge lies in not selling yourself short while still remaining competitive.
Pricing is a big challenge, but I usually just check the workload and how long it’d take me to complete the job, then I’d add a small margin so that I don't underprice myself. I believe that communication can solve a lot of issues surrounding pricing.
It depends on what the client needs. Some jobs will take longer, and I will price them a bit more than other jobs that may not take as long. They say time is money, and if I get overwhelmed it could potentially put me behind on other client requests. For example if I am needed to upgrade a old forum to a modern version of the software, this may take longer since there could be hiccups that come along. Now I will give my client a set price, and I will not increase this price even if the task takes a while.