Rates and fees are one of the biggest obstacles that freelancers face. On one hand, businesses often don’t understand a fair price to be charged. On the other hand, freelancers are unsure of how to calculate their fees in a way that’s fair to their education, experience and quality of work. Simply put, no one seems to know what a freelance job is actually worth, which unfortunately translates into highly skilled people accepting less than they deserve — but no more!

Knowing your worth doesn’t have to be complicated — not when you have an indication of actual industry-related fees that are being charged by real people. Enter the 2019-2020 SA Freelance Media Industry and Rates Report.

The Southern African Freelancers’ Association’s (Safrea) annual survey highlights key areas of interest, such as the nature of work or clients. And, importantly, as a freelancer, what you should be charging for your skills.

Although the report does not specifically focus on how rates have been impacted by Covid-19, it does draw on real figures from freelancers to calculate the average fee.

Here, media update’s Maryna Steyn highlights some of the notable fees from the report.

Let’s look at the results:















Do you find the SAFREA guide helpful in determining your rates? Let us know in the comments below.

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If you want to know more about a pandemic-specific approach to freelance, then check out: Dear freelancers, here are five things you need to do during lockdown.
*Image courtesy of Canva