How to Set Your Consulting Rate as a Beginner

The question every new consultant asks is "what do I charge?" Price too high and nobody books; price too low and you resent every session. Learning how to set consulting rates is less about finding a magic number and more about having a method, starting somewhere sensible and adjusting as bookings and reviews come in. This guide gives you three ways to calculate a starting rate for online consultations, typical ranges to sanity-check against, and a clear rule for when to raise your price. It is part of our wider guide on how to earn money giving advice online.

First, decide what you are pricing

Online consultations are usually sold per session, not per hour. A session is a fixed block, typically 15, 30 or 60 minutes, by chat or video. Pricing per session is better for beginners because:

• Clients compare a clear price against a clear outcome.
• You are not tempted to let sessions overrun unpaid.
• Short sessions are a low-risk first purchase, which gets you reviews faster.

Most beginners do well with a single 30-minute session as their main offer, and add a 60-minute option once they know what clients want.

Method 1: Start from your employed hourly rate

Take what you earn (or would earn) in a salaried job in your field and divide by around 1,800 working hours a year to get an hourly figure. In the UK, the Office for National Statistics publishes median earnings by occupation, which is a useful reference if you are unsure.

Then multiply that hourly figure by 2 to 3. The multiplier covers the things an employer normally absorbs: your preparation time, the admin of running sessions, gaps between bookings, your own tax and the fact that an expert answering a specific question is worth more per minute than general employed time.

Example: a marketing manager on £45,000 earns about £25 an hour. Multiplied by 2.5 that is roughly £62 an hour, so around £30 to £35 for a 30-minute session.

Method 2: Price the outcome, not the time

Ask what the decision is worth to the client. Someone choosing between two job offers, deciding whether to register for VAT, or reviewing a £10,000 supplier contract is not buying 30 minutes; they are buying confidence in a decision with real money attached.

A session that saves a client £500 can comfortably cost £80. A session that helps someone negotiate a £3,000 pay rise can cost £150 and still be an easy yes.

This method produces higher numbers than Method 1 and is where experienced consultants end up. As a beginner, use it as a ceiling: your rate should not exceed what the outcome is plausibly worth.

Method 3: Check what the market charges

Browse consultants in your field on the platform you plan to use. Note:

• The range of prices for 30-minute sessions.
• Where consultants with many reviews sit versus those with none.
• Whether the top-rated people charge the most (often they do not; they are busy because they are reasonably priced and reliable).

As a new profile with no reviews, aim for the lower third of that range. You are not undercutting anyone; you are paying for your first reviews with a discount, which is cheaper than any advertising.

Typical ranges for online consultations

As a sanity check, here is what we see across common fields for a 30-minute session. Treat these as rough bands, not rules.

Field	Beginner range	Established range
Career coaching, CV reviews	£25 to £50	£60 to £120
Marketing, business strategy	£30 to £70	£80 to £200
Accounting, tax	£40 to £80	£100 to £200
Legal first-look reviews	£50 to £100	£120 to £300
Software, technical reviews	£40 to £80	£100 to £250
Health, nutrition, fitness	£25 to £50	£60 to £120

Chat sessions usually sit 20 to 30 percent below video sessions of the same length, because they feel less personal and can be fitted around other work.

Put the three methods together

Work out all three numbers, then:

1. If Method 1 (your time) is higher than Method 2 (the outcome), the service is not valuable enough at that length. Shorten the session or narrow the problem.
2. Pick a starting price near the lower end of Method 3 (the market), as long as it is above your Method 1 floor.
3. Write the price on your profile. Hidden pricing reads as expensive and loses bookings.

For most beginners this lands between £30 and £60 for 30 minutes.

When to raise your rate

The rule is simple: raise your price when you have more demand than you want. Signs that it is time:

• You have 5 to 10 reviews and they are consistently positive.
• Your calendar is filling faster than you can comfortably deliver.
• Clients are rebooking without being asked.
• You are starting to feel that sessions are not worth the money.

Raise by 15 to 25 percent at a time. Existing repeat clients can keep the old price for a month or two if you want to keep them, but new clients should see the new price immediately. A review full of praise next to a slightly higher price converts better than a low price with no reviews.

Pricing mistakes that keep beginners unbooked

• Pricing by the hour with no fixed session. Clients cannot tell what they will pay.
• Offering free sessions to "build a reputation". Free clients rarely leave reviews and rarely convert. Offer a discounted first session instead.
• Copying the most expensive expert in your field. Their price is backed by reviews you do not have yet.
• Changing your price every week. Pick a number, hold it for ten sessions, then review.
• Not stating what the session includes. A short written summary after the session justifies a higher price and reduces disputes.

A worked example

Priya is an HR manager who wants to offer interview coaching in the evenings.

• Method 1: £38,000 salary, about £21 an hour, times 2.5 gives £53 an hour, so £26 for 30 minutes.
• Method 2: a client who gets a job offer after coaching gains thousands; £60 to £100 is easily justified.
• Method 3: interview coaches on the platform charge £30 to £90 for 30 minutes; new profiles cluster around £35.

She sets £35 for a 30-minute video session and £25 for chat, gets eight reviews in six weeks, then raises to £45 and £32. Six months in she is at £60 and turning away bookings.

That path, from a sensible start to a confident price, is how to set consulting rates as a beginner. The number matters less than starting, collecting reviews and adjusting.

Once your price is set, the next step is a profile that justifies it. Read how to build a consultant profile that gets booked, or create your free consultant profile on ConsultChat and set your rate today.