Setting your availability and rates on Dribbble is essential to ensure you're open to the right opportunities. This guide will walk you through the key settings on your Work Preferences page, helping you attract the types of inquiries you want while maintaining control over your workload.
1. Freelance and Full-Time Work Preferences
Dribbble allows you to specify whether you're interested in freelance work, full-time positions, or both. You can toggle these options on or off depending on your current interest.
- Freelance Jobs: If you’re open to freelance work, you’ll need to set both an hourly rate and a minimum project rate.
- Full-Time Jobs: If you’re considering full-time roles, select your desired salary range.
For more detailed advice on setting your rates, check out our in-depth guide below. This will help you confidently set rates that reflect your value while attracting the right clients.
Tip: Even if you’re fully booked, you can leave your availability on if you're able to respond to client inquiries and discuss potential future work. This ensures you're still in the running for upcoming projects.
Tip: It's crucial to update your availability settings if you’re unable to respond to new requests. Turning off your availability when you’re not able to reply will help avoid frustrating potential clients and keep your profile in good standing.
2. Location Settings
Your location plays a significant role in how clients find you. Choose your actual city to appear in relevant searches. If your city isn’t listed, select the nearest option available. Remember, you can no longer input just a country, state, or generic location like "world." Clients searching a broader area will find you based on your city.
- Location: Select your city.
3. Specialties and Skills
Dribbble lets you showcase up to three specialties and 16 skills. These settings help clients understand your expertise and match you with the right projects.
- Specialties: Select the top three categories you’re most interested in.
- Skills: Choose from existing tags or input your own. Think about what clients might search for, and pick the 16 most relevant skills that align with your services.
How to Determine Your Rates
Setting your rates is a crucial step in attracting the right opportunities on Dribbble. Your rates not only reflect your expertise and experience but also help clients quickly understand if your services align with their budget. Here are the three types of rates you’ll need to set on Dribbble, with tips on how to set them and understand your options:
1. Freelance Minimum Project Rate
The minimum project rate helps set clear expectations with clients about the smallest project size you’re willing to take on. This can prevent you from receiving inquiries for projects that don’t align with your financial goals.
- Tip: Your minimum rate should be considered across all types of design projects. For instance if you charge less for branding than you do for building a website, use the lower rate. This way, you won’t miss out on opportunities. You can always discuss and adjust the rate for each project individually based on its specific needs.
2. Freelance Hourly Rate
Your hourly rate should be a reflection of your skills, experience, and the type of work you’re offering. This rate will be visible to potential clients, so it’s important to strike a balance between being competitive and fairly compensating yourself for your time.
- Tip: Calculate your ideal hourly rate by considering factors such as overhead costs, taxes, and your desired annual income. Be sure to also factor in the value you bring to your clients.
- Tip: Your hourly rate may vary per service and that’s ok! Designing a logo may not be the same rate as animating the logo and may not be the same as adding the logo to a UI design. Choose a rate that best represents your average cost across services or the rate for your most popular offering. This gives potential clients a clear idea of what they might expect to pay for your time when they hire you.
3. Full-Time Salary Range
When choosing a salary range, consider your experience, industry standards, and the type of employers you want to attract. Dribbble allows you to select a range in $10k* increments. Keep in mind that selecting a higher range will position you for higher-paying opportunities, but may also limit the number of offers.
- Tip: Research salary trends in your field and region to set a realistic range. Use your past salary history as a baseline, but adjust for growth and demand.
Resource: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/User-Experience-Designer-Salary-in-New-York,NY
- Tip: Your minimum salary will be visible on your profile in Designer Search, but not on your main user profile.
- Tip: Keep in mind the Max Salary filter. Select a rate that determines which searches you'd like to be included in. For example, if you choose 120-130k*, you won't appear in searches when an employer selects the 110k* max salary filter.
While your rates serve as a guideline, they’re not absolute limits—clients may still reach out with offers below your set rates or for smaller projects.
By thoughtfully setting your rates and setting clear expectations, you’ll position yourself to attract clients who value your work and are willing to invest in quality design.
*All rates listed are in USD, so bear this in mind when making your selections and setting rates.