Pricing Your Services When Outsourcing Design Work

So you’re thinking about outsourcing some of your design work. Maybe you’ve already downloaded a pricing guide or two. But now you’re staring at the numbers wondering... how do I actually price this to my client so I’m not just breaking even?

I get it. The math can feel confusing at first. But once you understand how it works, pricing with outsourcing in mind becomes second nature.

Let’s break it down.

The Biggest Mistake Designers Make With Pricing

Here’s what I see all the time: designers think they can’t afford to outsource because they’re not charging enough yet.

But think about it this way.

If you turn down a project because you don’t have capacity, you make $0. If you take the project and outsource part of it, you make something, even if the margin is smaller than you’d like.

Some profit is better than no profit. And that client relationship can turn into repeat work down the road.

Plus, once you start outsourcing, something interesting happens. You start charging more because you have to.

Courtney from Grace Built Co said it best:

“Outsourcing forces me to charge higher rates because I have more expenses to account for. It just naturally elevates everything for me.”

(I love that, honestly. It’s like outsourcing gives you permission to finally charge what you’re worth!)

Two Ways to Figure Out Your Pricing

There’s no single “right” way to price your services when you’re outsourcing. But here are two approaches that work well:

Option 1: Start with what you’re paying your contractor and add on top

Take your contractor’s rate and add 25-50% on top to account for your part in the project, plus profit.

That percentage is just a starting point, friend. The exact amount you add will depend on how much time you are putting into the project (client communication, reviewing work, delivering the final product, etc.), your experience level, and what the market will bear in your niche.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Your white label designer charges $1,000 for a brand concept
• You add 40% for your time and profit: $400
• You charge your client a minimum of $1,400 for the brand

Simple, right? You’re covering what you’re paying out and getting paid for the work you’re doing.

Option 2: Price the project first, then figure out what you can pay

If you already have a sense of what you want to charge your client, you can work backwards from there.

The general rule of thumb is that most designers pay their white label partner 40-60% of the overall project cost. So if you’re charging a client $3,000 for a brand project, you’d pay your white label designer somewhere between $1,200 and $1,800.

Let’s run those numbers:

• Project total: $3,000
• You pay your white label designer (50%): $1,500
• Your white label designer does about 70% of the work
• You keep $1,500 for doing about 30% of the work

That 30% includes managing the client, reviewing deliverables, handling communication, and delivering the final product. Not bad for half the total project fee!

What Happens to Your Pricing Over Time

Here’s the part that surprises a lot of designers: outsourcing almost always leads to raising your rates. And not just by a little.

When you bring in an expert white label designer, a few things happen. Your deliverables get better. You can take on more complex projects. You start seeing yourself as a studio rather than a solo freelancer. And all of that adds up to being able to charge more.

One of my clients went from charging $2,000 for website design to charging $5,000 to $8,000 after we started working together. She was paying me around 50% to do the design work, but she was still making more per project than she ever had before. And she was spending way less time on each one.

That’s the kind of shift that happens when you stop trying to do everything yourself.

How to Know if Your Pricing Actually Works (Before You Commit to a Project)

Before you say yes to a project you plan to outsource, do a quick gut check:

1. What is your white label designer charging for this scope of work?
2. What are you charging your client for this project?
3. What percentage are you keeping?
4. Is that amount worth your time and energy for this project?

If the answer to that last question is yes, great! If it’s no, you have two options: raise your rate to the client, or have an honest conversation with your white label designer about their pricing.

(And hey, if you want to skip the mental math entirely, I made a free profit calculator that does all of this for you. You can grab it here!)

A Note on Raising Your Rates

If you’ve been undercharging, outsourcing is honestly one of the best things that can happen to your pricing. Because when you have to account for a contractor in your numbers, you’re suddenly forced to charge what your time is actually worth.

No more sliding on your rates because a client “really can’t afford” your full price. No more taking on projects at a loss just to keep busy. You’re running a real business with real expenses now, and that clarity is actually kind of freeing.

So if part of you has been putting off outsourcing because you’re not sure your pricing supports it yet, flip that thinking. Outsourcing might be exactly what finally gets your pricing where it needs to be.

Ready to Run Your Own Numbers?

If you want to see exactly what outsourcing could look like for your business financially, grab my free White Label Profit Calculator. Pop in your numbers and it’ll show you what you’d keep per project, and what a full year of outsourcing could add up to. It’s really that easy!

And if you’re already pretty sure you’re ready to bring in some white label design help, I’d love to chat. You can download my pricing guide or head to my white label services page to learn more about working together!