I build web apps from start to finish by myself (architecture, design, development, database, servers, marketing page etc.).
I bill $500/day, but do project based billing, with 50% payment up-front, 25% on first preview, and 25% on delivery. For improvements and new features on existing projects, I estimate the avg. monthly work and we do monthly retainer agreements.
I usually work with seed stage startups (usually referred to me by the angel investors) or bootstrapped B2B tech companies acting as their dev. team.
My rate is lower than others mentioned in this thread, but I live in Turkey, which compared to EU/USA, has very low cost of living, and this rates allow me to live comfortably.
That said, after doing this for 10+ years, I'm finally pivoting to creating my own SaaS products, and stopped accepting new clients and slowing down the works with existing clients.
When you come back around to missing client work, remember that some guy on HN begged you to raise your rate. Doesn't matter where you are located. value == value; value != location.
I totally agree that value != location, but clients' budgets absolutely depends on the location. I only work with local clients, and my rates are on the expensive sides of the scale.
For comparison, my rates are about 25 times of minimum wage.
I know that I could make more working internationally, but I was happy in my comfort zone. If my indie maker/single founder adventure doesn't work out (happened in the past), I'll keep your advice in mind.
Every time I've said "value == value; value != location" on HN I strangely get downvoted to oblivion. If I am getting $1,000 a day in Los Angeles, just because I decided I wanted to go live in a midden in the Outer Hebrides, it doesn't alter the value I provide, but immediately people trot out the "low cost of living" argument as though they are eager to throw themselves on any business' sword of justification for paying less money for the same thing. If I buy a Macbook Pro in SF or in Upper Tobago (we don't do Lower Tobago, the internet is lousy and there aren't any good restaurants), Apple ain't giving me a discount based on whether I am in a HCOL vs a LCOL (local taxes and minor exchange rate fluctuations not withstanding). I don't understand why so many contractors, especially in this remote era, are so eager to do the same and also tell everyone else why they should be paid less too. I'll keep banging this drum about "value == value" even if it means taking some lumps with it.
Sometimes you're limited to local work. I contracted for a while, a few times when I got US based gigs, they'd raise my rate to what's acceptable for them, which was often way more than my local rate.
If I tried to use that rate locally, I'd likely not get much work.
A good analogy was from a real estate agent recently. She had 2 apartments of same size in a complex, one had been vacant for 2 months, and one had just become available.
She said that the owner of the vacant one wasn't willing to lower their rent, and every month that the apartment remains vacant is an 8% loss to their short-term annual rental.
The one that had become recently avaiable got a tenant in days, because even though it's better, its owner offered the same as the first vacant one.
So I'd often consider time to next gig and take shorter term jobs at low rates so I'm not idle.
I bill $500/day, but do project based billing, with 50% payment up-front, 25% on first preview, and 25% on delivery. For improvements and new features on existing projects, I estimate the avg. monthly work and we do monthly retainer agreements.
I usually work with seed stage startups (usually referred to me by the angel investors) or bootstrapped B2B tech companies acting as their dev. team.
My rate is lower than others mentioned in this thread, but I live in Turkey, which compared to EU/USA, has very low cost of living, and this rates allow me to live comfortably.
That said, after doing this for 10+ years, I'm finally pivoting to creating my own SaaS products, and stopped accepting new clients and slowing down the works with existing clients.