Free, no account

The perfect price.

Three numbers: what to open with, what to say, and what to never go under. Creators are priced on views, not followers. Performers on the session plus the usage. Freelancers from the year they want. Companies get the fair offer, so both sides land in the same place.

What you dopick it, or describe it in your own words

The kind of workThe role

Or say it your way

Where you workWhere you are in it

The year you wantthe rate comes from the life you want, then the market checks it

Take-home you wantBillable hours a weekWeeks offCosts a year (gear, software, insurance)Tax rate %

This jobquoted the way this work is sold

Daysor hoursWhat happens to the work

They need it faster than you would like

What did you last charge for a job like this?optional, wins over the formula

Your number

$1,200

Open with

$1,500

Never below

$950

Your rate card

Day rate$1,175 per day
Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$150 per hour
A backend or API$20,250 per project
Monthly retainer$16,200 per month

What to charge for each thing (4)

API build$13,500 each
Third-party integration$3,375 each
Database design$4,500 each
Performance pass$3,600 each

US rates for backend / api developers at your level, adjusted for your market. What you last got wins.

8 hours at $150$1,200

For 8 hours at $150, the quote is $1,200.

Quote and invoice with this, free for 14 days

What did they offer?

To take home $85,000 after $9,000 of costs and 30% tax you need to bill $134,286 a year. At 24 billable hours a week for 47 weeks that is $125 an hour, $950 a day. Anything under that is a pay cut you did not agree to.

Backends at your level in your market day at about $1,175 ($800 to $1,800 in New York and LA). Your income math lands under that, so the market number is the one to quote; the gap is a raise you are owed.

A backend or API runs $5,000 to $40,000 and takes about 100 hours of your time; at your hourly that is $15,000. The number is the higher of the two, because the client is buying the outcome, not the hours.

A retainer is the month, not the hours: a set scope, paid up front on the 1st. It is priced about 20% under the same work bought one at a time, in exchange for the certainty; three months minimum, or it is not a retainer.

Starting points, not promises: mid-market US numbers for 2026, adjusted for your niche, market and the brand. What a brand actually paid you beats all of it, which is why there is a box for it. Inside Creator OS and Company OS this math runs on every ask, with your real deals replacing the formula.