Every freelancer and service provider has asked themselves this question at some point: should I put my prices on my website?

The short answer is: It depends.

At Wethos, we care about pricing transparency. Knowledge is power and we believe that pricing information shouldn’t be gate-kept within the freelance community. 

When it comes to communicating that price to clients, however, the choice depends on how you want to run your business and manage client relations. 

To give you an idea of whether or not you should share your rates on your website, here are a few reasons why independents choose to share their pricing.

To answer clients’ number one question

“I have probably changed my strategy around [whether or not to] post my pricing so many times,” says Lola Adewuya, the founder of The Brand Doula. “And I finally arrived at just putting it all out there based on audience insights. The number one thing that potential clients were looking for was, ‘How much do you freaking cost?’” 

The way Adewuya puts it, being upfront about pricing can help clients understand right away whether or not they have the right budget. “If you are going to make a big financial investment, you want to know how much it is so that you can assess like, ‘Do I have the budget? If I don’t have the budget, what do I need to do to get the budget?’ So I was like, I’m just going to post my pricing as you would see in any product-based experience.”

Adewuya believes in providing clarity around the scope as a first step in creating a positive client experience. 

“I also post the entire scope that you’re getting because I want there to be absolute clarity on, how does this translate to such a big ticket cost? The other thing that people want to know is like, ‘Okay, if something costs this much, what is the value that I’m getting out of it?’”

To figure out if the client will be a good fit

For founder and creative director Sarah Salvatoriello, putting her pricing on her website is a way to identify whether or not the client will be a good fit from the start. 

“With process and pricing and all of that stuff, we try to say, ‘Here’s where we’re operating from. This is where we’re coming at it,’” says Salvatoriello. “We’re trying to keep it an open conversation. And if people don’t want to have that conversation, if they use the word, “just” like, “I just want a logo,” that’s not going to be a good fit for us. And I want to know that at the beginning.”

Adewuya adds to that sentiment. “I know that there are people who are coming to my website and they’re like, ‘Ooh, I can’t afford that,’ and they’re leaving. I think that’s okay because I have a particular niche and I have priced according to that niche and what’s going to be affordable to them.”

To communicate the value

If you’ve spent the time to come up with a value-based price like agency owner Khaleel Loyd has, then it may be worth it to communicate that value upfront.

“What we quickly realized [we needed] — and I was able to see that you all have a similar model within Wethos — is value-based pricing,” says Loyd. “We’ve transitioned from hourly pricing to value-based pricing. I no longer put down an hourly rate on any of our itemized services. There’s pre-production and there’s a number. There is production, two or three days of filming, and a number. Post-production, a number.”

For founder and creative director Alexus Roberts, communicating the value of her work by sharing prices on her website is more about letting clients know what they may be missing out on by not investing in the offering.

“The way that I explain [my pricing] to clients is, how much is this going to cost you by *not* having really compelling visuals?” says Roberts. “Because you’re competing with a lot of people when it comes to all these digital platforms. If your visuals are not standing out, how much is that costing you every day? The value comes from there.”

The verdict? According to these independents, it’s a good idea to share your pricing — or at the very least, your process — on your website. 

By making your pricing, value, and services clear from the first interaction a client has when considering working with you, you’re not only helping them make a decision but you’re being transparent about who you are and what you do — and empowering your business.