Why pricing your creative work is mostly a battle with yourself

Here's a scenario most creatives will recognise. You've spent hours crafting the perfect proposal, done the sums, landed on a number… and then quietly knocked a bit off before hitting send. Just in case. Just to be safe.

Pricing is the topic that never gets easier, no matter how many years you have under your belt. It combines the vulnerability of creative work with the awkwardness of money, and seasons the whole thing with a dose of imposter syndrome. No wonder so many of us end up undercharging, over-explaining, or caving the moment a client raises an eyebrow.

A recent discussion within our own community network, The Studio, tackled this thorny issue with brutal honesty. And there was a clear thread running through the best advice. The numbers are rarely the problem. It's not maths, it's psychology.

Nail the psychology

Designer Jonathan White, who's been navigating this territory for nearly two decades, puts it bluntly. "During my 17 years of freelancing, I don't think I ever confidently cracked it," he admits. "Over the years, I've tested hourly and day rates, fixed job prices, packaged services, and even monthly subscriptions. But none of these 'maths' based approaches work unless you nail the psychology."

That psychology, for many creatives, is rooted in old and unhelpful beliefs about the work itself. Designer and illustrator Sam Hawkins recently attended a workshop on what he calls the "money story": the narratives we carry that quietly sabotage our pricing decisions. "We looked at the narratives that lead to undercharging, like 'people won't pay that' or 'they don't see the value', and reframed them: some won't, but the right clients will," he explains.

Creative work, especially, often comes with baggage. "This kind of work can feel really personal, and many of us carry old messages about it not being a 'proper job'," Sam points out. The antidote? "Simple reminders like 'not everyone is my customer' and 'my work has value' are grounding when doubt creeps in, and when I'm hovering over the 'send' button."

Stop pricing the job. Start pricing the solution

One of the most useful reframes in the discussion came from Jonathan, who argues that the entire question of pricing shifts when you change what you're actually pricing. "The key is to move away from the 'cost of production' and toward the 'cost of the solution,'" he explains. "Try to price for the client, not for the job. In theory, this shifts the dynamic: moving you from a 'vendor'—compared on price—to a 'partner', who is compared on results."

Illustrator Saphera Peters applies exactly this logic in practice. "Pricing became much clearer for me when I stopped thinking of it as 'what feels fair' and started thinking of it as 'what is the value of this work in the context,'" she shares. "A mural for a small community space versus a national brand campaign might take similar time, but the impact, visibility, and usage are completely different."

Consequently, Saphera now prices based on scope, usage and value, not hours; though she's refreshingly candid about the road to get there. "It's taken a lot of trial and error, and undercharging early on, plus also overcharging at one point and getting rejections."

Know your floor

You still need to land on an actual number, of course. Brand and packaging designer Daniel Poll, founder of design studio Noramble, takes a methodical approach to this. "We worked with an accountant to dig into our numbers to understand our realistic MLE: Minimum Level of Engagement," he recalls. "Now that we know that, we can confidently say that any project budget below it is unprofitable for us."

Video producer Nick Hill has a similarly structured method. He works from a target hourly rate that accounts not just for billable hours, but for all the invisible work surrounding them. "The reality is that for much of the average week I'm not doing anything directly billable," he points out. "So that rate has to cover downtime, admin, self-promotion, keeping up to date on new tools, and more."

Almost all of Nick's projects are fixed-price, which gives him a clear lens on whether a project is running over time and what to do about it. He also advocates firmly for rate consistency. "Don't have a range of rates for different clients, because you'll eventually charge the wrong rate to someone by mistake," he advises. "And if the range is too wide, you'll end up prioritising the higher-rate clients and annoying the lower-rate ones."

Put it in writing

We all like to be friends with our clients, and it's tempting to agree on a rate over a relaxed phone or Zoom call. But creative director Paul Leon feels that's a mistake. "It's so important to set this all out in documentation," he stresses. "It sets a professional framework and foundation for your working relationship. It shows clients what they are getting for the fees, how you'll work, the timeline, what's included, and what's not, and it establishes your value. It gives you a place you can push back from confidently, and it helps to weed out red flags."

Paul is also clear-eyed about the broader market forces at play, particularly for freelancers. "Freelance rates have remained static when you take inflation into account for over 20 years, if not gone into reverse," he notes. It's a point echoed by Nick, who recently noticed he hadn't raised his rates since 2016, from which point inflation had eroded their value by 40%. His solution? "I raised my rates. Nobody's complained yet."

It gets easier (eventually)

For those starting out, Daniel offers a counterintuitive piece of advice he received early in his career, which proved its worth over time. "Just take everything, no matter what the price, to get experience. At the time, it felt awful. But it was spot on, because I got not only experience dealing with clients, but also experience spotting bad projects, scope creep and bad clients… all of which affect pricing and profit."

Illustrator and writer Yvie Juniper-Johnson perhaps captures the sheer complexity of it all best. "It's not just a maze, it's an inter-dimensional time-loop where the only safe place is nowhere, and every response is an extra puzzle to figure out," she complains. The good news, Paul promises, is that it does get easier. "The more you do this, the more you learn, the easier it gets, and the more confidence you get as a creative."

Practical tips

Beyond that, a few practical habits can make a real difference. Review your rates regularly; not just when you feel brave enough, but on a schedule, and with inflation in mind. And explicitly communicate your added value: for instance, if you keep client files backed up for years, say so. If you bring both strategic thinking and craft, say that too.

Branding specialist John Whalley keeps three modes in his toolkit: day rate, budget-led, and the occasional favour for a project he genuinely believes in. This gives him flexibility without ever losing his bearings.

Finally, when a client pushes back on your price, remember that silence and confidence are more powerful than a lengthy justification.

I won't soft-soap it: the discomfort of quoting your real rate never fully disappears. But with experience, it does shrink, and eventually, the discomfort of undercharging starts to feel much worse in comparison.

As Nick puts it: "If you undercharge, you will be undervalued." That's not a negotiating position. That's just the truth. And the sooner you fully recognise this, the sooner you can start raising your rates without fear.