If your shop sends out design work, the pricing structure matters as much as the rate. The same work can cost very different amounts depending on minimums, how small jobs are billed and how revisions are handled. Here's a straightforward comparison of hourly design and a monthly design plan, using our actual pricing so the numbers are real.
The Two Options
Hourly: $45 per hour, with a one-hour minimum per job.
Monthly plan: $500 per month for up to 10 hours of design work, with a 30-minute minimum per task. If you need more in a month, you add hours in five-hour blocks at $50 an hour. Hours don't roll over to the next month.
Hourly jobs include two revision rounds; monthly plan jobs include three. For common jobs, there's also trade pricing: vector redraws and color separations at $7 to $40, sign concepts from $45 and wrap designs at $150 to $250.
Why the Minimum Matters More Than the Rate
At first glance, $45 an hour looks cheaper than the plan's effective $50 an hour. But look at the minimums.
Many shop design jobs are small: a quick text change, a resized layout, a simple logo cleanup, a yard sign layout. On hourly billing, a 20-minute task still bills at the one-hour minimum: $45.
On the monthly plan, that same task uses the 30-minute minimum: half an hour of your plan.
The more small jobs you send, the bigger the difference.
Example 1: Lots of Small Jobs
Say your shop sends 20 small tasks in a month, each taking 30 minutes or less.
- Hourly: 20 jobs x 1-hour minimum = 20 hours = $900
- Monthly plan: 20 jobs x 30 minutes = 10 hours = $500
Same work, $400 less on the plan.
Example 2: A Few Big Jobs
Say you send four jobs that each take about two hours.
- Hourly: 8 hours x $45 = $360
- Monthly plan: $500 (8 of 10 hours used; the other 2 don't roll over)
Here hourly is the better deal. If your design work is occasional and mostly bigger jobs, pay as you go.
Example 3: A Busy Month
Say you use 10 hours on the plan and need about five more.
- Monthly plan: $500 + one five-hour block at $50/hr ($250) = $750 for 15 hours
How to Choose
Hourly makes sense if:
- You only send design work occasionally
- Your jobs tend to be an hour or longer
- Your workload varies a lot month to month
The monthly plan makes sense if:
- You send design work every week
- Many of your jobs are small, quick tasks
- You want a predictable monthly design cost
- You'd like a designer who already knows your shop's file preferences
Compare It With a Hire
Either option is usually far cheaper than another person on payroll when design work isn't steady. With a freelancer you don't carry payroll taxes, benefits, office space or equipment. You pay only for the work.
What's Included Either Way
- US-based designer working with shops in every time zone
- Production-ready files: vinyl cut paths, wrap layouts, color separations and press-ready print files
- White-label: your proofing template, and no customer contact unless you want it
- Two revision rounds per job (three on monthly plans), under a clear definition of what a revision is
- Fast turnaround, with urgent jobs often back within an hour
- The option to start with one small job to try the quality
Not sure which fits? Send us a rough idea of your monthly design volume through the quote form and we'll tell you which option would cost your shop less.
Quick Math for Your Own Shop
To estimate your own cost, list last month's design jobs and note roughly how long each took. Then:
- Hourly: round every job under an hour up to one hour, add the rest, and multiply by $45.
- Monthly plan: round every task under 30 minutes up to 30 minutes and add them up. Up to 10 hours costs $500; beyond that, add $250 for each five-hour block you need.
Compare the two totals. Whichever is lower is the right fit for your shop right now, and you can switch as your volume changes.