The number one question I get about freelancing is, “How much should I charge?”
The quick answer is “it depends,” but that doesn’t help.
So, I surveyed my email list and asked people on LinkedIn what their freelance fashion rates are. I got OVER A HUNDRED replies from different roles in the fashion industry, including fashion design, 3D design, technical design, pattern making, print design, sourcing, and more.
If you’re unsure of how much to charge for your services or considering a rate increase, this list is exactly what you need.
(And yes to #pricetransparency!)
Real-Life Examples of Freelance Rates in the Fashion Industry
In this list, I grouped similar services together with and included averages for each type of service. Additionally, freelancers charge in different ways – some use a flat fee, while others charge by the hour or day. You’ll see those options under each category along with real life example and quotes straight from fashion freelancers.
1. End-to-End Design Service Rates (fashion design, product development, tech packs, pattern drafting, sourcing, etc.)
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $300 – $400 | $1,000 – $2,000 | $2,500 – $4,500 |
| Hourly Rate | $2.50 – $35 | $43 – $85 | $120 – $200 |
| Daily Rate | $84 – $150 | $300 – $460 | $500 – $800 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “Design development for one style starts at $300, tech pack at $180, flat drawing at $30. I don’t use a flat fee per project but if they require more than the initial contract, I will charge hourly for $35 AUD ($23 USD).” – Fashion Designer from Bali, Indonesia
- “When pricing projects, I usually calculate $300 to $400 per style. Minimum of 10 styles, price includes design, techpack, collection overviews, and FUP spreadsheets.”
“If I have to design trims, prints, etc., I add on top of that – spot print: $50-100, seamless print: $100, trims package: $5-10 per trim spec. Deliverables are Illustrator and PDF files.” – Denis R. of The Hub Design Co. from Brazil
- “Design Development = £375-600 ($480-760 USD) depending on the complexity of the garment. Tech Packs = £250-425 ($320-540 USD) per style. Sourcing = £450-525 ($570-670 USD) per style. Sampling (incl. fabrics, patterns, fitting, samples) = £1,350-1,650 ($1,720-2,100 USD) depending on complexity.”
“I am in the process of redeveloping my website which will have all the costs proudly displayed as I believe that being transparent and sharing resources is the best way to move the fashion industry forward in being more sustainable and protecting the environment and our resources. If charging hourly, I go to £45 ($57 USD) an hour standard rate or £320 ($408 USD) day rate.”
– Amelia S. from London, UK
- “Tech pack €500-750 ($540-810 USD). Sourcing €750-1000 ($810-1,080 USD). €100 ($110) for ad-hoc services, power hours, fittings, etc.” – Kate K. from France
- “Design through development for one style is around $1,200. It’s supposedly around $50/h but I don’t really track time so it can be anything honestly.” – Laetitia D. from Buenos Aires, Argentina
- “Flat fee per project depends on project scope, number of styles, etc. A recent example is 3 styles – design + tech pack, with design direction, and color direction came to $6,103.” – Gerard S. from Portland, Oregon
- “Depends on the type of style, but design + tech pack is between $1,400 to $2,500 per style. Design direction is between $850 to $2,000. For flaky clients, I might do hourly $120 to $180. Day rate at $800 per day.”
- “$2,500 for 1 style, $150/hr.” – Fashion Designer from New York
- “Design through development starts at $2,000 for basic, $3,000 for standard, $4,500 for limited edition. Additional pricing for additional colorways, revisions, etc. Standard flat fee for basic design + tech pack is $1000.” – Naveed N. from UAE
- “Depends on the project’s size. For example, a tech pack would be between $150-250. For a small collection with design and tech packs (including mood boards and color palette), I’ll charge about $5,000. If we convert that to hourly, it’ll be $55/hr.” – Fashion Designer from Costa Rica
- “Design through development starts at $5,000 per handbag style. I also charge $150/hr on other services such as tech packs and fashion consulting.” – Handbag Designer from New York
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “Ranges between R46 and R60 ($2.5-3.2 USD) an hour for product development and pattern drafting work.” – Fashion Designer from Johannesburg, South Africa
- “R250 ($13 USD) per hour.” – Pattern Alchemy from Cape Town, South Africa
- “20 Euro ($22 USD) for garment design, tech packs, and fashion flats.” – Fashion Designer from France
- “40€/hr ($43 USD) for design through development.” – Camille M. from Porto, Portugal
- “$50 for design through development, fashion flats, and print design.” – Christina W. from Shohola, PA
- “$52 per hr with a 20hr retainer a month. This includes design through development, technical sketches, pattern drafting.” – Fashion Designer from Jacksonville, Florida
- “I am considering raising my prices, but I currently charge 55 Euros ($60 USD) per hour for most of my services. I charge a flat rate of 45 Euros ($50 USD) per tech flat sketch as a stand alone service.” – Fashion Designer from Germany
- “$50-65/hour (USD) or project based or retainer – depends on the client.” – Fashion Designer from Portland, Oregon
- “$70 USD. I also do tech packs and pattern drafting.” – Fashion Designer from Sri Lanka
- “$70 USD/ hour + 3-6% commission if I’m handling bulk orders.” – Fashion Designer from Los Angeles, CA
- “$75/ hr for design consultation, $65/ hr for prototyping & sourcing. I do a combo of project pricing and hourly.” – Siena V. K. from Chicago
- “I do product development work, print/textile design, and fashion consulting for $75-$85 / hr.” – Fashion Designer from Boston, MA
- “Hourly rate is currently $85 USD. I haven’t had a flat fee per project but am considering starting it at $1,500.” – Jacqueline D. from Smithfield, UT USA
- “90 USD for design development, technical design, and tech packs.” – Fashion Designer from Portland, OR
- “$125 USD per hour for design through development, product development, and sourcing.” – Conjetta Designs from USA
- “$150 for design through development, product development, and sourcing.” – Fashion Designer from North Bend, WA
Real-Life Examples of Charging a Daily Rate:
- “7,000 INR ($84 USD) per day for design, tech packs, and print design.” – Fashion Designer from Mumbai, India
- “£300 ($380 USD) per day.” – Kirsty F. from UK
- “It depends on the project but my daily fee when I rarely charge it is £360 ($460 USD)per day. I also work on retainers, usually around £1,300-1,500 ($1,660-1920 USD) per month for collection product development.” – Fashion Designer from Durham, United Kingdom
- “I apply a daily rate of 500€ ($544 USD) when traveling for sourcing and product development. I charge by project starting at 1,000/1,500€ ($1,090-1,630 USD) per style. Note that I work in handbags & accessories. I’m based between Lisbon, Portugal and Milan, Italy.”
- “75€ ($82 USD) or 10 hours for 700€ ($760 USD).” – Fashion Designer from Italy
2. Garment / Collection / Fashion Design Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $85 – $150 | $480 – $760 | $2,500 – $4,500 |
| Hourly Rate | $6 – $32 | $45 – $70 | $115 – $200 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “Full design (including print design) + tech pack at $150.” – Fashion Designer from Uruguay
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “500 INR ($6 USD) per hour.” – Fashion Designer from India
- “25 USD/hr. One tech pack is 90 USD.” – Rashika J. from India
- “£25 GBP ($32 USD) per hour.” – Fashion Designer from England
- “$45/hr for design, flats, and print design.” – Fashion Designer from Charlotte, NC
- “$70 per hr for garment design, tech packs, and flats.” – Fashion Designer from Arizona, USA
- “$115 an hour.” – Leslye Y. from Columbia, SC
- “$200/hr (min 3 hours), $175/hr (min 3 hours) for repeat clients.” – Fashion Designer from Qatar
3. 3D Fashion Design Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $50 – $150 | $200 – $500 | $575 – $865 |
| Hourly Rate | $30 – $50 | $64 – $77 | $100 – $109 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “I charge $50 for basic garment and $100 for complex garment.” – 3D Fashion Designer from India
- “3D prototype for one style and rendered in 4 views HD without animation starts at $85. $30 hourly.” – Elyon Designs from Benin, West Africa
- “I charge 75 GBP ($95) to render a simple pattern and 90 GBP ($115) for a more complex one. The pattern could be used to make a sample but wouldn’t be fit for production. I’m not selling my pattern though, it’s the render I sell.” – 3D Fashion Designer from United Kingdom
- “I charge $150 for simple and moderate garment and $200 for complex garment.” – 3D Fashion Designer from India
- “I offer a Pattern Package for one design. It comes with the base pattern, 3 reviews, a marker and simple render of back, side, and front. There a different prices for business size, in USD the rates are $366 (large business), $288 (medium), $210 (small), and $132(micro).” – 3D Fashion Designer from New Zealand
- “Clo 3D tech pack for 280€ ($303 USD).” – Camille M. from Porto, Portugal
- “I charge €200 ($212) for a simple garment and €500 ($529) for a complex one.” – 3D Fashion Designer from France
- “Simple designs start at $150, medium at $200, and complex at $300, with an additional $100 for grading in each category. My package includes two revisions (for a total of three rounds), one colorway, and three rendered views (front, three-quarter-side, and back), all delivered within a 5-day turnaround. As a bonus, I also provide a turntable animation and a PDF printshop-ready copy of the pattern.”
- “I charge $250 for a simple garment and $500 for a complex 3D design. I use real patterns adapted to the avatar to see how the garments would look like.” – 3D Fashion Designer from Madrid, Spain
- “I specialise in 3D visuals and marketing campaigns. All projects are charged flat project fee on estimated hours £50 ($64) per hour + cushion. The visuals include 8 high res renders, project file or obj if needed. All garments are categorized in 3 groups. Basic (T-shirts, simple hoodies, etc.) £100-£200 ($127-$255). Standard (trousers, jackets, dresses, with some details or embellishments) £250-£450 ($320-$575). Premium (sets, suits, gowns, etc.) £450-£600+ ($575-$765).” – 3D Fashion Designer from United Kingdom
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “I want to start charging $40/hour and it would take me about 5 hours to render a design for a simple garment and base pattern. It would take me about 8 hours for a complex garment.” – 3D Fashion Designer from Sao Paulo, Brazil
- “I charge $50 an hour. It takes me about 3 hours for a simple design and about 8 for something complex.” – 3D Fashion Designer from Ohio, USA
- “£60 ($77 USD) per hour.” – 3D Fashion Designer from United Kingdom
- “Right now my price ranges from $45/hour to $109/hour. I don’t have a price range that is adjusted according to the complexity of the style. If a style is more complex it will simply take me more working hours to prepare.” – 3D Fashion Designer from Israel
- “$100 per hour.” – 3D Fashion Designer from Portland, Oregon
4. Technical Design / Tech Pack Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $150 | $300 – $600 | $650 – $1,200 |
| Hourly Rate | $30 – $50 | $55 – $72 | $90 – $95 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “Graded tech pack 150$.” – Technical Designer from Barcelona, Spain
- “Tech packs for moderately complex designs start at $300.” – Ellie R. from Portland, Oregon
- “Detailed jacket tech pack is $350.” – Technical Designer from Seattle, Washington
- “Tech packs – $600 ($850 for set).” – Ashley L. from Dallas, Texas
- “A one page tech pack of a Basic Garment US$150 and a Full Tech Pack of a Detailed Garment US$1,200.” – Soidée R. from Venezuela
- “$650-1,200 for a tech pack.” – Technical Designer from USA
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “35-45 Euros ($40-50 USD) for tech pack and pattern drafting services.” – Technical Designer from Spain
- “$60/hour. I also offer pattern drafting services.” – Technical Designer from Idaho, US
- “$72/hour.” – Technical Designer from Red Bank, New Jersey, United States
- “$90 CAD/hr ($66 USD) for tech packs. I also apply the same rate for pattern drafting services.” – Technical Designer from Canada
- “90 USD. I also do fashion consulting.” – Technical Designer from Dallas, Texas
- “$90/hr.” – Tatyana from California
- “My hourly rate for now is $95 USD. I also charge some orders per project. I have 2 clients that pay me a monthly retainer.” – Liat S. designer from Israel
5. Fashion Flats / Technical Sketches Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $30 – $50 | $80 | $300 |
| Hourly Rate | $22 | $45 – $55 | $70 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “Flat sketch of a Basic Garment US$30. Flat sketch of a Stylish Garment US$40. Flat sketch of a Detailed Garment US$50.” – Soidée R. from Venezuela
- “Fashion Illustration + Fashion Flat – $300 per look.” – Ashley L. from Dallas, Texas
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “$50/hour. I also offer print / textile designs for the same rate.” – Technical / Print Designer from New York
- “$50-55/hour.” – Christina W. from Shohola, PA
6. Print / Textile Design Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $100 | $320 – $575 | $1,090 – $1,900 |
| Hourly Rate | $15 – $35 | $45 – $75 | $95 – $150 |
| Daily Rate | $382 – $504 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “$350-500 for print design. $50-70 hourly.” – Print Designer from Trinidad and Tobago
- “One hand-painted print that is an AOP (all-over-print) is $575. A typical project would be 5 AOP’s and that I would charge $2,875.” – Print Designer from Rimini, Italy
- “1 all over design, depending on complexity, between 100-500 (USD). Hourly 15-25 USD.” – Print Designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- “Mood board, sketches, revisions, final design, colourways, copyright from €1,000 ($1,090 USD).” – Print Designer from France
Real-Life Examples of Charging an Hourly Rate:
- “18 USD.” – Print / Textile Designer from Baguio City, Philippines
- “£35/hr ($45 USD) or £250-£300 ($320-450 USD) per print.” – Print Designer from Türkiye / Istanbul
- “$50-55/hour.” – Christina W. from Shohola, PA
- “$50-60 but I think it should be higher.” – Print / Textile Designer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- “60 Euro/ hour ($65 USD).” – Print / Textile Designer from Germany
- “€58/h ($63 USD) or €464/day ($504 USD).” – Print / Textile Designer from Paris
- “$75/hr, $1,500 per commissioned print.” – Print Designer from New York
- “With one of my clients, I charge $150/hr and have monthly work with them (80 hrs/month = $12,000/month). With most other clients I usually charge $95/hr or flat fees depending on the project brief (but usually tends to be at least around $1,900 per pattern).” – Print / Textile Designer from New York
Real-Life Examples of Charging a Daily Rate:
- “£300 ($382 USD) per day.” – Print / Textile Designer from United Kingdom
7. Pattern Drafting / Grading Rates
| Low | Mid | High | |
| Project Rate | $110 – $350 | $450 – $560 | $950+ |
| Hourly Rate | $24 – $50 | $60 – $70 |
Real-Life Examples of Charging by Project:
- “Digital pattern making for 100 € ($110 USD).” – Camille M. from Porto, Portugal
- “£200 ($255 USD) and upwards for paper patterns, currently manual pattern making. I will test the pattern in muslin and do edits to the toile if needed. £200 ($255 USD) for sample making for the prototype in actual materials.” – Moses F. from United Kingdom
- “I definitely undervalued myself a few years ago and charged $400 for 1 pattern (basketball shorts with pockets), and accepted $350. If hourly, I charge $24/hr USD. I’ve had a lot of trouble finding people who can afford my work.” – Patternmaker from San Antonio, Texas
- “It depends on the design. For me, I love to do my design patterns by hand first, then in CAD after making a few adjustments. But if it’s a jacket, depending on the pieces, it can cost a lot. I have charged from $450 and up for a jacket, and then charge for the CAD patterns too, plus any adjustments when doing fit sessions and reviews. That is a lot of time too. By hand, I have more control of designing and then on CAD, it works to adjust or redesign areas.”
“I am learning CLO3D so that might help in the future, but I still think that when doing it by hand, I can design better and tweak faster. Everyone is different with pattern design. I have paid pattern makers around $200-300 for very simple styles, some with 30 years of experience making patterns. It’s always good to work with several good hands. I have an old school retired pattern maker and one who just does CAD as backup for projects I can’t handle at times. “
– Sonia O., Fashion Designer from California
- “I currently have pattern + prototype bids for a single, fairly simple style around $500. It goes up from there if it is complicated.”
“That includes a pattern draft of a simple base size proto and sewing time for making a first proto that will have basic construction to check proportions and placement. This would equal about 6 hours of time.”
– Ellie R., Freelance Technical Designer from Portland, Oregon, USA
- “Graded pattern for a simple style (panty/bikini bottom) starts at $560. If I have to charge hourly (eg. fittings, client meetings, etc.), I charge 65€/hr ($70 USD).” – Patternmaker from Stockholm, Sweden
- “Currently, for just a graded, digital pattern for one style (including graded spec sheet): $950+. For full pattern & development including digital, graded pattern, 3 fit samples, fittings, and tech pack: average around $3K-$4K.” – Alison H., Freelance Patternmaker
That wraps up all the freelance fashion designer (and beyond!) rates I gathered from my survey! I hope you found this super helpful, and it encourages you to go for rates you deserve!
If you want to check out raw comments on pattern making and sample making rates, here’s the survey on LinkedIn!
Still not sure where to begin? Check out my guide on the 3 ways to calculate your freelance rate for fashion designers.
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