Hey all, recently I’ve been looking at programming to get some cash and I am wondering how much is too much and how much is too little.
For example, right now I am working on two jobs, yet while the costs for them are already set I would like some advice for future reference.
Right now I am doing
Simple racing game - Timer, finish line, replay buttons, highscores(Local). This also involves me compiling it all together and sending back I am charging $25
3rd Person Cover system - Player sticks to walls when hiding, can shoot over walls, put temporary animations in and their cycles I am charging $80
Now tell me do you consider these prices too low, too high or just about right?
I think you’re having a hard time, people giving you an honest answer, when they are competing with you in the same field.
First thing people might ask, how complex these things really are, how long this took you, and if it’s more than 3 hours, then your rates are too low
In any case I wouldn’t discuss anything like that in the public, even stating exactly what you are working on. What if your customers read your thread and they see others offering even lower rates…Things like that can happen rather quickly.
I would advise you to talk to some people you think have a similar knowledge of programming and ask them politely to share their rates for a project of that range you posted above. I’m sure they will be much more willing to answer these questions.
I would say the first task is to low, not because of work, but because of rework. I was charging low prices too, but my clients wanted to place for example the buttons not at the top, but on the left(just an example), and they rethink something like this a few times…
So it was not a basic job which could be normaly done in 1 hour, it was a job for 3 hours…sending the project there and back…So normaly you can multiply your normal hourly rate 2x-3x.
Eh, I agree with Acumen, also because we’re working together and I’m afraid of him!
That said, yes, your prices are waaaaaaaay low! Best way to choose a price, is deciding an hourly rate. Then experience will help you understand how much time you’ll need to do something, and there you have a forfait. Consider that, on a regular coding job, rates vary a lot depending on the country, but a fairly average hourly rate for a beginner coder might go from 10$ to 18$ an hour. Prices go higher - much higher - as you gain experience.
Oh, and btw, I don’t look for work on Unity’s forums, so these are advices from a non-competitor
P.S. if you want to keep low prices, you might also decide to create re-usable packages. The main client pays the work at a low price, but then you have the right to put them on the Asset Store for other people to buy.
Sometimes I feel like this is a programmer dominated community and they want 3D artist to charge peanuts while scripts should maintain a healthy value. Both can be very time consuming. I guess scripts just have more inherent value as they can be re-used between projects so much more fluently while 3D art requires often the purchaser to modify the textures etc.
Anyway, as an artist, if I see a script that looks like it’s exactly what I need, easy to implement and something I would greatly struggle to program myself, I’d pay in the 50-100 dollar range, but it also depends largely on how comprehensive it is. If it’s a cling to the wall and shoot around corners that is like 20 dollars to me, if it’s like the system in metal gear where you take cover behind all sorts of things and it’s really polished then it could be over 300 dollars worth or more.
From the (few) things I saw on these forums, it appears to me that the community wants everybody to charge peanuts, regardless if they’re 3D artists or programmers - but it’s quite understandable That said, the balance might be a little more in favor of “more peanuts for programming”, but only because it appears to me that there are more 3D artists than programmers. Which doesn’t mean they’re not both extremely valuable.
IMO, there should always be a minimum you charge for any work you do, regardless of how long it takes you to actually do it. You have to communicate with the client (phone/email/in person), setup your workspace, write the code, test, package it up, and send it to them. Then you have to deal with questions or anything else that may comes up once the client has the code. Your fee should account for the actual time coding PLUS all the other things that go with it.
“Fair” is incredibly subjective. If I say it cost $100 and I let someone talk me down, I’m in control. If I say $25 and they jump on it, it’s probably too low. People will take advantage of you.
Turning away business is always better than appearing cheap or desperate. The reputation that you want to foster is that your work is “A+”, not that you’re cheap labor. If you have a reputation for doing good work, you’ll get more work at the price you set and deserve.
