As an agency or a freelancer, building your service offer might get a bit tricky. Especially when it comes to deciding how much to charge.
It’s easier to figure out your pricing after you look at what others are charging. Here I’ll show you how and where to search and what to look to find your competitors’ pricing.
Step 1. Search
Freelance Platforms
There are many platforms where you can look at the prices of other freelancers. Here I’ll show you how to use Fiverr and UpWork for competitor research:
- On Fiverr, log in as a buyer and enter your service keywords in the top search bar.
- On UpWork, after typing your service in the top right search bar, select ‘Projects’ before hitting Enter.
You’ll get a list of services —Projects on UpWork or Gigs on Fiverr— that match your offering.
For example, when I searched for “HubSpot Implementation” I got these results:
Some results were unrelated, so I focused on offers similar to mine.
Not finding what you’re looking for? Try different or fewer keywords. For example, in my previous example, I could try “HubSpot Set Up” instead of “HubSpot Implementation” for potentially more relevant results.
Consultant and Agency Websites
Use Google to search “{name of your service} pricing”. You should get several alternatives from this search.
If you aren’t getting relevant results try using these search operators:
– “{name of your service} inurl:pricing“: this will search all the websites that have in the address the word “pricing.” such as www.fakeagency.com/pricing
– “{name of your service} intitle:pricing“: this will search all the websites that have in the title of the website the word “pricing.”
This will help you see what agencies or individual consultants are charging. Remember that, if you’re a freelancer, your rates might differ from those of larger agencies, but this gives you a solid reference point.
Step 2. Review and Compare
Pick a few results and explore their service pages.
Check out their service descriptions, pricing, and what each package includes. Pay attention to:
- Package offerings (such as extra-fast delivery)
- Additional features or add-ons
- Hourly rates
- Delivery times
- Special certifications and their impact on pricing
- Experience level and corresponding prices
Use this information to brainstorm ideas for things to include in your offer. You might find that some features you consider standard are valuable extras for your clients. Consider summarizing different price points to create your own “service packages.”
By the end of this process, you should have a better understanding of the market and your competitors, making it easier to set your pricing.