How much do you charge clients per/hour for Flex development?

Question

Hi girls/guys. I have recently been contracted for some work tying in Flex with a Rails backend. I was wondering how much you would charge for per hour for this sort of work? Thanks.

Answer 1

Depends on what it is .. job size & duration, integration scope, etc. In general I would reckon somewhere between $35-$75 USD / hour is prolly close.

Answer 2

Many programmers might be hesitant to post an exact figure, because people don't like to reveal their rates and income, generally. A job might come their way, and the employer could demand the special "StackOverflow price", or the developer could be mocked for charging way too much (or way too little).

There are also many different factors that dictate the rate for a contract, as Scott Evernden mentioned. These factors are obviously very complex and can dramatically affect that quote. Without providing more details in your question, it is almost impossible to give a tight hourly price range. Here are some things to consider when giving a quote:

• size of the job - is this a small internal project or a public-facing enterprise product,
• complexity of the job - how difficult is it to complete the task,
• time to completion - how long will it tie you up and prevent you from taking other contracts,
• obscurity of the technologies used - is this technology common or known by a select few,
• portfolio of completed projects - can you show a track record of successes,
• travel considerations - travel time, expenses, inconvenience (if applicable), and
• region of the country - New York rates vs. South Dakota rates.

You could also pitch a similar project to a consulting firm and see what they quote. Undercut them by a reasonable amount to remain competitive, and you have a good quote. This is borderline unethical, but it will likely give you the most accurate estimate. Some may calling it scoping out the competition; others will call it unethical. Use this option with caution, if at all.

Another thing to consider: do you have enough experience to start contracting on your own, given the fact that you aren't sure what to charge? I mean no disrespect to you at all, but it seems the "normal" path to follow is (1) work for a larger consulting company to gain experience, (2) figure out what they are billing you out for, and (3) start consulting on your own for approximately the same amount. I know this won't help with your current consulting gig, but completing steps 1 and 2 can be a good way to learn the ropes. Skipping to step 3 is difficult.

Answer 3

There can only be relative answers to this question.

You have to know how much you want to earn in a given time span and how much your overhead/procuctive time is. Divide one by the other, charge that.

If you don't get enough work, charge less. If that is not enough money for you, get another career.

"It's [the] economy, stupid!"

Answer 4

Me? I'd probably check to see if it looked like there was a future of potential Flex work, for this client or others, and if so, I'd take the job for whatever the client offered or for $0 if it were a small enough job, and use it as a learning opportunity to learn Flex, since I know nothing about it.

Obviously I'm different from you, which is my point: this answer is going to be different for everybody.