How to select your job bid or rate

Every time you apply to a job you must enter a bid or rate as well as your cover letter. You may apply to jobs at any rate you want - higher, lower, or the same as your profile rate.

What is the difference between a bid and a rate?

• You submit a bid on fixed price jobs. This is the total amount you would be paid for completing the job. Bids are submitted on the same page as cover letters.
  
  
• You submit a rate on hourly jobs. This is the amount you will be paid per hour logged on the job. Rates are submitted on a separate page after you enter your cover letter.
  
  

Please note: Buyers always see the bid or rate inclusive of the oDesk Service Feed (10% of the total charge). To learn more about the oDesk Service Fee, please click here.

How do you decide what bid or rate to submit on a job application?

• When submitting a bid for a fixed price job, try to estimate the number of hours it will take you to complete the assignment. Then multiply that by the hourly rate you'd like to charge to calculate an appropriate bid.
  If your estimated number of hours is too low, your total payment will not change, but you'll earn less per hour. If your estimate is high, the reverse is true and you'll actually end up earning more per hour.
• Check out the average bid/rate for all candidates on the job posting. The figures you see include the oDesk fee. If you don't have much experience you may want to set your bid/rate a little below the average. Confidently ask for more than the average after you have developed a strong profile, positive reputation, and expertise in your field. Many successful oDesk providers are hired for jobs even when their bids/rates are higher than the rest of the candidates.
• Search or browse for providers similar to yourself. Setting your rate to be similar to theirs is a good starting point. Be sure to check out their work histories to see their rates on current and past oDesk assignments. Fixed price jobs are shown separately at the bottom of the tab. All rates and earnings shown on provider profiles include the oDesk fee.
• Visit the oConomy to view aggregate rate statistics.
• Low rates may attract some buyers, while others are happy to pay higher rates if you have the skills to back them up.
• Higher rates equate to higher expectations. If you do not deliver enough value for your dollar rate, your feedback may suffer.
• Under the hourly model, a provider who can do the work twice as fast may be able to make a strong case for charging an hourly rate twice as high.
• Under the fixed price model, a provider who can do the work twice as fast will be paid the same total amount, but effectively earns twice as much per hour.
• Justify your rate in your profile objective and in your cover letters.
• Remember that as far as the buyer is concerned, your profile is you. Anything they can't see might as well not exist. Your reputation can take time to develop, but is a valuable asset. In an open marketplace, you must prove your worth to every buyer. Your worth is tied to your reputation, as demonstrated by your profile, portfolio, test scores, work history, and feedback. Build these up, and you may raise your rates accordingly.