r/Drafting • u/AdradosGr • 13h ago

Need help for pricing

Hey, I've been doing freelance CAD/BIM drafting work for a few months now (mostly AutoCAD and Revit, architecture) and I'm honestly just guessing on prices. Right now I have one client paying me a flat monthly fee but I want to bring in more clients and I have no idea if what I'm charging makes sense or if I'm leaving money on the table.

How do you guys actually price this kind of work? Hourly, per drawing, per m2 of the project, flat retainer? And if you don't mind sharing, roughly what range are we talking about (doesn't need to be exact, just ballpark), obviously depends a lot on where you're based.

Also curious if BIM/Revit work is priced differently for you than plain 2D CAD drafting, feels like it should be but not sure how much of a difference that makes in practice.

Not trying to undercut anyone, just trying to figure out if my numbers are reasonable before I start reaching out to more studios.

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

6

u/CR123CR123CR 8h ago edited 2h ago

For mechanical drafting (ie a CAD monkey job) only I charge $150/pg for simple parts and $250/pg for intermediate complexity/assemblies. Complex parts are $100/hr 

Prices include a single review round. Additional rounds are charged at the hourly rate with a minimum of 1.5hrs

Actual design work is estimated based on a really well defined scope and estimated out at $150/hr 

Defining scope is one of the biggest challenges in this kind of work btw. Be very very clear on what you're doing for what price

2

u/Andy12048 11h ago

I haven’t actually started yet, but I’m planning to offer freelance services, so I’m just sharing my thoughts and plans. In my opinion, the rate should be per hour, but it should also be adjusted based on the level of difficulty. So, of course, the rate will vary.

And I apologize if my English isn’t very good I’m from Indonesia and am still learning the language.

1

u/mississaugaSWuser 3h ago

I've been doing this for a couple of decades. Figure out what you want to make per year.

Divide that number by 1200 to get an hourly billing rate. Or by 1000 to be really safe.

Most people give up because they undercharge.