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So, let's compare hourly versus fixed rates.
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Both of these have their own benefits and drawbacks.
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The good thing about charging hourly rate is that: It's very simple.
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You don't really have to twist your brain on calculating how much you should price a certain project.
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Just give a rate and be done with it.
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No need to negotiate
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every time you have more work from the same client.  No need to worry about revisions
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getting out of hand. More revisions means more money for you. Meetings and communication can take a lot
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of time.
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Some clients might want Skype meetings regularly.
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But if you bill them for that as well and you should. Then they will make sure that not to waste your
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time.
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And if they do, at least you'll get paid for it.
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The drawbacks of hourly rate is that, it says nothing for most clients.
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For example, one hundred dollars per hour is that expensive or is that cheap?
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Who knows? If you're done in three hours.
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Then it's cheap.
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But if you need 80 hours, then it's expensive.
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Also clients will have an emotional reaction to certain hourly rates.
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They will find certain rates too expensive. Even if the final price is the same.
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It might be fine paying 5k for the website, but if you tell them 100 bucks an hour, they might
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freak out. Is harder for a client to decide because hourly rate makes it uncertain, how much will be the
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final bill. As you get more efficient and fast at your job,
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you make less per project.
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Benefits of fixed rate is that it's easier to sell.
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Clients see a clear number and they feel safer with it. As you get more efficient,
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you make more money, so gives you a chance to make a lot more money per hour, without looking too expensive.
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No limit on how high you can charge. Whereas an hourly rate, there are mental limits.
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For example, 300 bucks per hour is going to be a mental limit for most clients.
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The bad thing about fixed rate is that revisions can get out of hand, if not clearly defined.
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For example, 2-3 revisions and after that applying a certain hourly rate. And when your client asks
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for a 3rd revision, then you'll start charging them.
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This sometimes can be uncomfortable to talk about.
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It's quite uncomfortable for me. But I learned my lesson when I ended up earning a minimum wage on one
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of the projects, because of endless revisions. Another drawback -
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calculating is a pain.
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You'll need to put extra work in calculating to clearly define exactly how long it will take you to
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finish the project. And make sure to put a profitable price on it.
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It involves a lot of guesswork and until you learn all your lessons the hard way, you'll end up losing some
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money.
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So which one should you choose?
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Just like with amounts, it's a good idea to go case by case and client by client.
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For example, with studios and agencies, it's the best approach would be probably going with hourly rates.
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And when it comes to final clients, then probably going with fixed rates and flat rates. Because fixed
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rates are little trickier to navigate in the beginning,
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it's OK to go for hourly rates for everyone.
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I myself have a mixed bag of burritos.
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I started off with a flat rate, but then soon after I realized I was losing money, because I wasn't setting
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estimates properly. And I was losing money on revisions. Then I switched to an hourly rate, which was great
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and I kept for a long time with hourly rate, because it was simple for me.
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I loved the simplicity of it.
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And then, right now, I have sort of both. With my long term clients,
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I do hourly rate and then with new ones I do fixed rate. But with more long term clients I do hourly,
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because I do a lot of different type of work. Like UI design for example for mobile apps. And those projects
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can get monstrously big, and they are weird, and it's impossible to sort of put a flat rate on it.
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So, I just, you know, use hourly because it makes it simple and makes it easy to bill.
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And one final criteria to consider is to choose whatever you feel comfortable with. Because at the end
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of the day, it's your work and you have to do this every day.
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And it's important to make every aspect, as many aspects of your work enjoyable as possible.
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And if something gives you anxiety, like it did for me, then it's OK to sacrifice some money for peace
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of mind and comfort.