What to say when someone asks 'how much do you charge'

The highest-intent thread, and the easiest to fumble

Pricing threads are the highest-intent threads in any community, and the easiest to fumble. They are also the clearest buying signal there is, which is why they score highest in our complete guide to lead scoring. When someone asks how much do you charge, they are not making conversation. They are close to buying, and they are comparing you against everyone else who answers. A bad answer loses the client. A good one starts the conversation that closes them.

The mistake most freelancers make is answering with a single number, or with no number at all. A single number invites comparison on price alone, and you will lose that comparison to someone cheaper. No number at all looks evasive, and the buyer moves on to someone who answered plainly. The structure below avoids both traps.

Anchor on the outcome, then give a range

Start with the outcome, not the price. One sentence on what the buyer gets: a checkout that stops losing sales, a launch that actually reaches people, a month of content that brings in enquiries. That reframes the conversation from cost to result, which is where you want it.

Then give a range, honestly. A range is honest in a way a single number is not, because real projects vary, and buyers know it. Say what moves a project to the low end and what moves it to the high end. That transparency builds trust, and it filters out the buyers whose budget was never close, without a long back-and-forth.

Then move the detail to a conversation. End with an invitation, not a close: happy to look at your setup and give you an exact figure, or want to talk through what you need. The thread is public, and the exact price belongs in a conversation, not in a comment thread where every competitor can see it.

Example wordings

For a solo freelancer, something like this works: most projects like this land between a basic setup and a full build, depending on how much is already in place. Happy to take a quick look and give you an exact number. For an agency, the shape is the same with a team behind it: our engagements for this kind of work usually sit in a range, depending on scope and timeline. If you share a bit about what you need, we can give you a firm figure.

Notice what both versions do. They answer the question. They give a real range. They do not apologise for charging, do not undercut themselves, and do not turn the thread into a negotiation. And they move the conversation somewhere private, where the actual selling happens.

What not to say

Do not say it depends and stop there. Do not say DM me without answering anything. Do not post a price list in a thread where the buyer asked one question. And do not argue with other freelancers about pricing in public. Buyers read those arguments, and they hire the person who looked calm and professional.

Pricing answers are outreach, and the same discipline applies as everywhere else. Our guide to writing a manual outreach reply that does not sound like spam covers the first message in general; this post covers the hardest version of it.

The short version

When someone asks how much you charge, anchor on the outcome, give an honest range with what moves it, and move the exact figure to a conversation. Answer plainly, do not apologise for your price, and do not negotiate in public. That structure turns the highest-intent thread into a client.

Start finding buyers asking about pricing