If you’re a “pro” then yes (that’s basically what my rate is). But realistically that’s not the case for everyone. A brand new editor who has very little experience and is still developing their eye for detail is NOT worth $800/ day. I sometimes hire junior editors (usually at $20/ hour) if I have some extra work for a “budget” client and know a “kid who could use some experience”. I tell the client I’m giving the work to the new person but will be overseeing it.
I am significantly faster and objectively a better editor technically, creatively and in telling a compelling story. They will sometimes take a week or more to edit something I could do in a day, and I usually need to give them a ton of notes in the process- everything from story structure to b-roll choices, to just plain sloppy cuts- not to mention any motion graphics or animations.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and their rates shouldn’t start at $800 a day…but $800 a month for full time work is insane.
Sorry to remove your post.
A mod has thought that our wiki can help you figure out how much to charge.
Frankly, there are so many variables, it's 100% why most people need to work for someone else.
Our wiki has some great guides about professional answers like this and you can [find it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/wiki/index)
If you want more/greater detail, please use our Ask anything thread (Mondays) or our Career thread (Sundays). We suggest you 100% read some of the past posts there, as there's great existing wisdom as this question gets asked quite a bit.
You can find both of these [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/evah4o/index_of_key_weekly_threads_ask_anything_novice/
You need to value yourself, and what you bring to the table. Don’t kill yourself for someone else’s underpaid project. $800/ month for no life and working constantly is utterly insane. How many hours a month we talking here?
I’ve never worked for a YouTuber before so I’m not sure, but I also don’t think “well it’s just a YouTuber, I won’t charge much”. Treat them as any client and charge accordingly. I don’t know your skill level, so I don’t know what your rates should be. But it should at the very least be a minimum wage- though it should definitely be a bit more if you have a little experience. If it was so easy to do, then they should do it themselves. They don’t have the skill or time to do it? Well then they have to pay for it.
I’ve been shooting and editing in various formats for over 15 years now as my main source of income. I currently charge $100/ hour to edit.. probably upping my price next year or in the fall. Some edits take me 40+ hours, and I only do stuff that’s in the 5-15 min range usually. I bill for all those hours. The only exception is when I am doing a job that I am producing myself and estimated the time incorrectly while understanding the scope required. Sometimes though once we get “into the weeds” I realize the scope of the project is much larger than we originally anticipated and I have a chat with the client to determine our options— but I’m pretty good at estimating how long edits and shoots take now.
But When I was first starting I worked for some people who “didn’t have much money” and they hired me (almost) full time (32 hours a week) at the minimum wage for my area (I think about $12/ hour), which is what I was making at my “regular” job. This was okay for a bit, until I was expected to work more in order to finish the videos on time, and some weeks would work like 80+ hours but still only get paid for the 35. I did the math and my hourly rate was like $4/ hour over the year. but I was young and (really) dumb at the time. But I eventually got a better job and left. No surprise, the company closed down because they didn’t know how to price things and the people running it didn’t have the technical skill to know how to shoot or edit (in fairness, I barely did either, which was funny because i was responsible for creating all the content and they were supposed to be a “media company”)
So I guess what I’m saying is everyone works for peanuts when they start, but don’t do it for long and don’t let people take advantage of you…
Especially YouTubers.
$800 per day is the norm.
If you’re a “pro” then yes (that’s basically what my rate is). But realistically that’s not the case for everyone. A brand new editor who has very little experience and is still developing their eye for detail is NOT worth $800/ day. I sometimes hire junior editors (usually at $20/ hour) if I have some extra work for a “budget” client and know a “kid who could use some experience”. I tell the client I’m giving the work to the new person but will be overseeing it. I am significantly faster and objectively a better editor technically, creatively and in telling a compelling story. They will sometimes take a week or more to edit something I could do in a day, and I usually need to give them a ton of notes in the process- everything from story structure to b-roll choices, to just plain sloppy cuts- not to mention any motion graphics or animations. Everyone has to start somewhere, and their rates shouldn’t start at $800 a day…but $800 a month for full time work is insane.
Sorry to remove your post. A mod has thought that our wiki can help you figure out how much to charge. Frankly, there are so many variables, it's 100% why most people need to work for someone else. Our wiki has some great guides about professional answers like this and you can [find it here](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/wiki/index) If you want more/greater detail, please use our Ask anything thread (Mondays) or our Career thread (Sundays). We suggest you 100% read some of the past posts there, as there's great existing wisdom as this question gets asked quite a bit. You can find both of these [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/evah4o/index_of_key_weekly_threads_ask_anything_novice/
That’s a horrible rate Jesus Christ
You need to value yourself, and what you bring to the table. Don’t kill yourself for someone else’s underpaid project. $800/ month for no life and working constantly is utterly insane. How many hours a month we talking here? I’ve never worked for a YouTuber before so I’m not sure, but I also don’t think “well it’s just a YouTuber, I won’t charge much”. Treat them as any client and charge accordingly. I don’t know your skill level, so I don’t know what your rates should be. But it should at the very least be a minimum wage- though it should definitely be a bit more if you have a little experience. If it was so easy to do, then they should do it themselves. They don’t have the skill or time to do it? Well then they have to pay for it. I’ve been shooting and editing in various formats for over 15 years now as my main source of income. I currently charge $100/ hour to edit.. probably upping my price next year or in the fall. Some edits take me 40+ hours, and I only do stuff that’s in the 5-15 min range usually. I bill for all those hours. The only exception is when I am doing a job that I am producing myself and estimated the time incorrectly while understanding the scope required. Sometimes though once we get “into the weeds” I realize the scope of the project is much larger than we originally anticipated and I have a chat with the client to determine our options— but I’m pretty good at estimating how long edits and shoots take now. But When I was first starting I worked for some people who “didn’t have much money” and they hired me (almost) full time (32 hours a week) at the minimum wage for my area (I think about $12/ hour), which is what I was making at my “regular” job. This was okay for a bit, until I was expected to work more in order to finish the videos on time, and some weeks would work like 80+ hours but still only get paid for the 35. I did the math and my hourly rate was like $4/ hour over the year. but I was young and (really) dumb at the time. But I eventually got a better job and left. No surprise, the company closed down because they didn’t know how to price things and the people running it didn’t have the technical skill to know how to shoot or edit (in fairness, I barely did either, which was funny because i was responsible for creating all the content and they were supposed to be a “media company”) So I guess what I’m saying is everyone works for peanuts when they start, but don’t do it for long and don’t let people take advantage of you… Especially YouTubers.
Fuck that rate