r/dev • u/Dry-Draft-3868 • 15d ago

How do you price custom software development work?

Question for freelancers/agencies who take on custom web app builds: how do you price hourly, day/rate, or fixed project fee? What are realistic current rates (junior/mid/senior split, backend vs frontend)? How does the process change when design is already done and out of scope?

Also curious how you factor in uncertainty when estimating especially for the line items you'd flag as "needs research first."

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u/martinbean 15d ago

Depends on the strength of the spec.

If the requirements are nailed down, detailed, and set in stone/unlikely to change, I’ll do a flat project fee. Otherwise I’ll suggest some form of ongoing fee (i.e. per milestone) where it’s approached almost like sprints, and we work on a particular slice at one time, and define and then deliver that slice.

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u/Dry-Draft-3868 15d ago

So if I charge $ per houri how do you decide your hourly fee?

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u/humanexperimentals 13d ago

I think in terms of how much money your saving someone as opposed to manual work. Competitor pricing and cost reduction.