What to include in your costs as a ui/ux designer
- Design and prototyping tools (Figma, FigJam, prototyping plugins)
- User research tools: testing platforms, survey tools, participant incentives
- Test devices for mobile and accessibility checks
- Portfolio and case study hosting
- Professional liability insurance
How UI/UX designers usually price their work
UI/UX work usually starts with an unclear problem, so designers often sell a paid discovery or research phase first, then a fixed-price design phase or a day/weekly rate for embedded work with a product team.
Tip: Workshops, stakeholder reviews and developer hand-off are real work. Put them in your estimate explicitly — they are often a third of a UX project.
How the calculation works
Your rate = (profit needed for your take-home after tax + business expenses) × (1 + buffer) ÷ billable hours. Tax is estimated with your country's 2026 rules (US, UK, Canada, Australia) or a rate you enter. Billable hours are your working weeks × hours per week × the share of time you can actually bill. More about the method →
Worked example
A US-based ui/ux designer who wants $90,000 a year after tax, with $6,000 of business costs, 40-hour weeks, 6 weeks off and 60% billable time:
- Profit needed: about $124,442 (about $34,442 of federal, self-employment and 4% state tax).
- Revenue needed with a 10% buffer: ($124,442 + $6,000) × 1.10 ≈ $143,486.
- Billable hours: 46 × 40 × 60% = 1,104.
- Minimum rate: $129.97 an hour, or $1,040 for an 8-hour day.
Change the country, costs or hours above to get your own number.