How to Raise Your Rates as a Freelancer (2026): Timeline and Rate Increase Email

To raise your rates as a freelancer, quote every new client the new rate from today, then tell existing clients in writing about two months before the new rate starts: the new rate, the old rate, the date and one reason. For existing clients, a step of 5 to 10% is easiest to accept, so $95 an hour becomes about $105, while new clients can start at $110 because they never saw $95. Finish agreed work at the agreed price, put an end date on any old rate you keep for a loyal client, and answer pushback with a smaller scope rather than a discount.

Every rate, client and email in this guide is an illustrative example; the only statistic is the US consumer price figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workspace369 plans were checked October 25, 2026 on its pricing page, in US dollars billed monthly. Check your contracts for their own notice and price-change terms before you send anything.

Jump to when to raise, how much, notice periods, the rate increase email, pushback replies or grandfathering.

When to raise your rates

Look for these five signs:

1. You’re booked weeks ahead.
2. Most proposals get a quick yes. A yes to every quote is a warning sign, not a compliment.
3. It has been a year since your last change.
4. Your costs went up.
5. Your work got better: new skills, faster delivery, bigger results.

Two or three of those at once, and you are probably undercharging. If you are already turning work away, that is the clearest sign of all.

Pick one date a year for raises, so a rate change is routine, not a crisis. January works well, because many clients set new budgets then.

A raise fixes underpricing, not late payers or scope creep. Fix those with payment terms and a written scope.

How much to raise your rates

Start with the floor nobody argues with: prices. US consumer prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to August 2026 (the CPI-U for all items, 334.980 in August 2026 against 323.976 in August 2025, not seasonally adjusted, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics). Keep your rate flat and every year it buys a little less.

Then size the step by who it is for:

Round to a clean number. $105 looks like a decision; $104.50 looks like a formula. A jump of 20% or more can work after a real step up in what you deliver, but expect a client or two to move on.

Check the new rate against your floor

Your floor is the lowest hourly rate that still covers your costs and pays you: floor = (yearly costs + the pay you want) ÷ billable hours a year. For example, $12,000 of costs plus $72,000 of pay over 1,200 billable hours is ($12,000 + $72,000) ÷ 1,200 = $70 an hour. Any rate you quote, including a phase-in step or a discount for a smaller scope, should stay above it. The Workspace369 hourly rate calculator does this math for you.

What if a client leaves? Run the math

The fear behind most delayed raises is losing clients. Run the numbers before you decide:

Even in the worst row, you earn 8% less money for 20% less work, so every hour you still work pays 15% more, and the freed-up hours can go to better-paying clients. Decide in advance which clients you would be fine letting go.

Raise rates for new clients first

New clients are the safest test: they have no old rate to compare with.

1. Quote $110 from today on every new proposal.
2. Update every price list the same day: your website, your rate sheet, your proposal templates and the service prices in your invoicing tool.
3. Raise every option. If you send two or three priced options, mark your floor and raise all of them, so the smallest still clears it. With a $1,400 floor for a project, options at $1,700, $2,200 and $3,100 all clear it.
4. Say the new rate plainly on discovery calls. No pause, no apology.
5. Watch your win rate. If nothing changes, the raise may be too small. Give it a month or two of yeses before you move existing clients.

For how to lay out priced options in a proposal, see our guide on how to write a business proposal.

How to raise rates with existing clients

Existing clients get notice first, then the new rate starts on the date you named.

• Notice period: 30 days is the minimum, 60 is kinder. In the example below, the email goes out November 1 and $110 starts January 1, about two months later.
• Check your contract first: its notice period, any terms on price changes and the renewal date. The contract wins over this guide.
• Biggest clients: call first, then send the email the same day so the details are in writing.
• Everyone else: the email on its own is fine.
• Never reprice agreed work. Anything already quoted or booked is finished at the quoted rate.

On the call: the new rate, the date, one reason, then stop talking. The longer the explanation, the more it sounds like a request. Send the email on a normal weekday morning, not late on a Friday, one client at a time.

Raising rates for monthly clients

Clients on a monthly package need the most notice, because their budget is already set. Give them two to three months and change the price at a renewal date. Name the new monthly price, the start date and what the package still includes. If the work grew over the year, say what grew in one line; it makes a bigger step easier to accept. There is a monthly version of the email below.

Rate increase email template

A rate increase email has six parts: a clear subject, the news, one reason, what changes for them, a reason to act and a thank-you. Copy this example and change the details.

Subject: New rates from January 1

Hi Jonah,

From January 1, my design rate will be $110 an hour, up from $95.

That keeps the same focused time and quick turnaround on every project.

What this means for you: work booked before December 31 stays at $95. New work from January 1 is $110.

Want more work at the current rate? Book it by December 31.

Thanks for a great year of work together.

Ava

Other subject lines that work: “Updated pricing for 2027” and “A change to my rates”. Keep the whole email short enough to read on a phone, read it once to check the date, then send it.

For a monthly client, the same structure with the package named:

Subject: Your monthly package from February 1

Hi [Name],

From February 1, your monthly package will be [new price] a month, up from [old price].

It still includes [what the package covers]. This year it also grew to [one line on what grew].

Nothing changes before February 1. Happy to talk it through on a quick call.

Thanks for another good year.

[Your name]

How to handle pushback on a rate increase

Some clients will push back. That is normal, and it isn’t a no. You have three good answers:

1. Keep the rate and restate what they get. Repeat your one reason; don’t add new ones.
2. Offer a smaller scope at the new rate. Fewer hours, fewer deliverables or a longer timeline, so the budget fits without cutting the rate.
3. Phase it in. This suits big clients: $102 an hour in January, then $110 in July.

Don’t discount the new rate on the spot. A smaller scope protects it. A good reply thanks them, offers two choices, keeps the date and asks which one works:

Subject: Re: New rates from January 1

Thanks for being straight with me, Jonah. Budgets are tight, and that makes sense.

Two ways to keep working together:

1. The same scope at $110 an hour
2. A smaller scope that fits your budget

Either way, the new rate starts on January 1. Which one works better for you?

Ava

If a client can’t pay above your floor, refer them to someone else.

Grandfathering clients at the old rate

Grandfathering means a long-time client keeps the old rate until a set date, then moves to the new one: $95 until July 1, then $110. Save it for clients who send steady work or have been with you for years.

• Always set an end date. Without one, the old rate is permanent.
• A common middle ground: hold the old rate for six months, then switch.
• Call it a thank-you, not a discount, and tell them that.
• Write the deal down: the old rate, the end date and what work it covers.
• Put the end date in the email, so July doesn’t surprise anyone.

A rate increase timeline you can copy

Rate increase mistakes to avoid

1. Apologizing. An apology invites a negotiation; a plain date doesn’t.
2. Raising mid-project. Agreed work stays at the agreed price.
3. Grandfathering forever. An old rate without an end date never ends.
4. Waiting years for one big jump. Small, regular raises are easier to accept than a sudden 30%.
5. Letting the invoice break the news. A raise with no notice is the fastest way to lose a good client.

Update your prices in Workspace369

Our #1 pick is Workspace369. A raise is easiest when the price lives in one place.

• Change the price once in the catalog, for example a “Design hour” to $110, and add what it costs you; the gross margin on that entered cost updates. Package prices for project work change the same way.
• New proposals and invoices pull the new price when you add that service. Proposals and invoices you already sent keep their own prices, so nothing changes behind a client’s back.
• Grandfathered client? Type the old rate on their line until the end date.
• Hourly work: run the timer, stop it and bill the unbilled hours; they land on the invoice at $110.
• New clients: the client opens the proposal at the new rate, accepts and signs it through a link, and pays the deposit in the same step.
• Getting paid: the client opens the invoice link and pays by card online through Stripe, and it is marked paid in your workspace.

The catalog, proposals and invoices are on every plan, from Cadet at $29 a month (1 seat). Time tracking and deposit on acceptance are on every plan too. Voyager is $74 a month with 2 seats (extra seats $10), and Specialist is $149 a month with 10 seats. Cadet through Commander start with a 14-day free trial (card required). Workspace369 pricing

Rate increase checklist

• Every new rate, phase-in step and option clears your floor.
• The new rate is a clean number: about 5 to 10% up for existing clients, the full rate for new ones.
• New clients get the new rate today; website, rate sheet and templates match.
• Your contracts’ notice terms are checked.
• Existing clients get about two months’ notice (30 days at least); monthly clients two to three months.
• Biggest clients hear it on a call first, then in writing the same day.
• Any grandfathered rate has an end date in writing.
• Next year’s review date is in your calendar.

To run this on one real client, start the Workspace369 14-day free trial.

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell clients I’m raising my rates?

In writing, one client at a time, about two months before the new rate starts: the new rate, the old rate, the date, one reason and what happens to booked work. Call your biggest clients first, then email the same day.

How much should I raise my rates as a freelancer?

For existing clients, a step of 5 to 10% is easiest to accept, such as $95 to about $105 an hour. New clients can get your full new rate, such as $110, because they never saw the old one. After new skills or much bigger results, 20% or more can work, but expect a client or two to leave. US consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to August 2026, so a flat rate loses value every year.

How much notice should I give clients for a rate increase?

At least 30 days; 60 is kinder. Give monthly clients two to three months and change the price at a renewal date. If your contract sets its own notice period or price-change terms, follow the contract.

Should I raise rates for existing clients or only new ones?

Both, in that order. Quote new clients the new rate first, give it a month or two of yeses, then move existing clients with notice, ideally on one date each year.

What do I say in a rate increase email?

A clear subject such as “New rates from January 1”, the new rate and the date in the first line, one reason, what happens to booked work, an option to book more at the current rate, and a thank-you. Skip the apology.

What if a client pushes back on my new rate?

Thank them and offer choices instead of a discount: the same scope at the new rate, a smaller scope that fits their budget, or for a big client a phase-in, such as $102 in January and $110 in July. Keep the start date. If they can’t pay above your floor, refer them to someone else.

Should I grandfather existing clients at my old rate?

Only long-time or steady clients, and only with an end date, such as six months. Write down the old rate, the end date and the work it covers, and present it as a thank-you, not a discount.