How Much Should You Charge?
Published by Matt Glover July 23rd, 2006 in Rates
Knowing how much to charge a client for a piece of work is always difficult. We don’t want to charge too little, but at the same time, we’re scared that if we charge too much, we’ll scare the client away and miss out on some work. However, the process is made a little less daunting by some recommended rates set by cartooning/illustration organisations around the world.
Here a few links to lists of recommended rates. If you know of any others, please let me know and I’ll update the list.
Australia
The MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) sets recommended rates for Australian artists. Only members have access to the site directly, but the Australian Cartoonists’ Association has kindly reproduced the rates here.
The Australian Society of Authors lists rates for authors and illustrators in this PDF or on their site here.
England
The AOI (Association of Illustrators) in London has a very comprehensive list of rates on their site here.
The National Union of Journalists list freelance rates for illustrators here.
Ireland
The Illustrators Guild of Ireland list their rates here.
America
The Graphic Artists Guild has a handbook on pricing and ethical issues for sale on their site here.
South Africa
The South African Freelancers Association has a list of rates here.
Individual Artists
Some cartoonists will publish rates on their sites. Comparing what others are charging with our own pricing helps us work out if we’re in the right ball park. But remember, the recommended rates listed via the links above should still be your benchmark.
Curtis D. Tucker http://www.curtoons.com/logo-design-rates.htm
Paul Reynolds http://www.unlimited-ideas.com/cost.htm
Graham Sedgwick http://www.electriceasel.co.uk/Prices.html
It’s not a “one-price-fits-all” situation. By all means, begin by charging the fee you want, but be prepared to lower that fee later if you find little demand for your work as a consequence. Establishing a career in this industry requires an element of flexibility rather than stoic defence of a price that we feel reflects our worth regardless of how the commercial principles of supply-and-demand influences our potential clients’ choices. We aren’t a “compulsory” resource like GPs or primary industry producers, and we certainly aren’t thin on the ground.
Like every other career, you should expect to spend years earning the respect of clients and employers. And part of that comes from offering competitive fees.
Your fees should go up and down for a while, until they find their own level, and this level will be influenced by your competence, geographic location, local competition, specialisations, and client-bases (corporate or private, etc).”
Update August 9th 2006 - I’ve added freelance rates for South Africa. Thanks to Helen and Marion of Drawing/Sketching at About.com.