How much to charge for video calls, with worked examples

What is a fair price for a video call?

There's no single right price, but there is a sound way to reach one. A fair price balances three things:

• What your time is worth to you. What you earn elsewhere, and what you give up to be on a call.
• What the call is worth to the caller. Five minutes with someone who has already solved the exact problem they're stuck on can be worth more than an hour of searching.
• What else they could do instead. A free video, a book, a class or another expert. Your price should make sense next to those options, not necessarily beat them.

This guide gives you a framework for video call pricing and worked examples. The examples use hello.fan's real price range and shares, because that's a platform we make (along with store.fan), so keep that in mind. The thinking itself works for any paid call. For the bigger picture, our hello.fan for creators page explains how calls, payouts and working hours fit together.

How do you work out a starting price?

Here's how to price paid calls in five steps.

1. Pick an hourly target. What should one hour of connected call time bring in from the caller? Think about what you earn elsewhere and what similar help costs.
2. Divide by 60. That's your per-minute price in dollars.
3. Convert to credits. On hello.fan, 100 credits = $1, so $1 a minute is 100 credits a minute.
4. Check what you keep. You keep 60% of what the caller pays, or 70% with a linked store.fan shop on a paid plan.
5. Adjust for specifics. Rare skills, urgent problems and a record of real results justify more. A general chat or a brand-new offer justifies less.

Example: you want an hour on video to bring in $90 from the caller. $90 ÷ 60 = $1.50 a minute = 150 credits a minute. You keep $54 an hour at 60%, or $63 at 70%.

You can also work backward from what you want to keep. Example: to keep $45 an hour at 60%, the caller needs to pay $75 an hour, which is $1.25 a minute, or 125 credits a minute.

If you're brand new

With no track record yet, pick a modest price for a narrow, clearly described offer rather than a low price for "ask me anything." A specific promise ("I'll review your resume line by line") justifies a fair price even on day one, because the caller knows exactly what they're paying for. Then treat your first few weeks as a test: note how often people call, how long they stay and whether they come back, and let that guide your next price.

What do common per-minute prices add up to?

If you're choosing a price per minute for video calls, this table shows example prices across hello.fan's range of 50 to 5,000 credits a minute, per hour of connected call time.

An hour of connected call time isn't the same as an hour online. Time between calls isn't billed, so plan around the minutes you actually expect to spend on calls. The earnings calculator lets you try your own numbers.

Should you charge per minute or per session?

Both work. They suit different kinds of calls.

Per minute

Per-minute pricing is fair to both sides for open-ended calls: quick questions, advice, practice and friendly conversation. The caller pays for what they use, and you're paid for every minute, including when a call runs long. On hello.fan, calls are billed per started 15 seconds, only while both people are connected.

Example: a call of 6 minutes 20 seconds at 120 credits a minute is 26 started blocks of 15 seconds at 30 credits each = 780 credits, or $7.80.

Per session

If you're deciding what to charge for coaching calls, a fixed session suits structured work: a lesson plan, a portfolio review, a coaching session with a goal. On hello.fan, sessions booked inside your working hours are paid up front, and weekly sessions repeat at the same time each week. If you'd rather sell sessions as products with a calendar, store.fan's coaching calls sync with Google Calendar and add Google Meet links automatically; see our store.fan overview.

A simple rule for sessions: your per-minute rate times the length, plus a little for the prep you do beforehand.

Example: at 150 credits a minute ($1.50), a 45-minute session is 6,750 credits, or $67.50. If you sell it as a fixed-price session and it needs 15 minutes of preparation, a price of $90 pays for the whole hour at the same $1.50 a minute.

How should video, voice and chat prices differ?

On hello.fan, video costs at least as much as voice, and voice at least as much as chat. Chat can even be free. That order matches the effort involved: video needs you camera-ready and fully focused, while chat can be answered between other things.

• Video: your full rate.
• Voice: a little lower, for callers who don't need to see you.
• Chat: the lowest, or free, as a low-risk way for new people to say hello before they call.

Example: video at 200 credits a minute ($2), voice at 150 ($1.50), and chat at 50 ($0.50) or free.

When should you raise your prices?

Raise prices when demand tells you to, not on a fixed schedule. Signs it's time:

• Your working hours are regularly full, or people wait for you to come online.
• The same callers come back again and again.
• You've started to resent calls you used to enjoy.
• Your skills or results have clearly grown since you set the price.

Raise in steps rather than doubling overnight, and tell your regulars before the change. A short message is enough: "From the first of next month, my video calls go from 150 to 180 credits a minute. Sessions you've already booked stay as they are." That gives people time to book and shows you respect them. You set and change your own prices whenever you like. Our creator pricing framework covers pricing across calls, products and memberships together.

How do shares and payouts change what you take home?

Plan around what you keep, not what the caller pays. On hello.fan you keep 60%, or 70% when your page is linked to a store.fan shop on a paid plan. Example: Starter costs $24 a month at the launch price, so linking pays for itself once callers pay $240 or more in a month, because the extra 10% on $240 is $24.

Each earning is ready 14 days after it's made, and payouts go to your bank through Stripe from $100, after a quick ID check. Taxes depend on where you live, so set some money aside and check your local rules. Our post on creator payouts explains the timing in more detail.

What pricing mistakes should you avoid?

• Pricing to be the cheapest. Rock-bottom prices attract people shopping on price alone and leave you tired.
• Forgetting prep and recovery. A 30-minute session can take an hour out of your day.
• Discounting in private messages. It's unfair to everyone who paid the listed price, and hard to undo.
• Offering too many options. One price per call type is easier to choose than a menu.
• Copying someone else's price. Their skills, audience and hours aren't yours. Use the framework above and your own numbers.

Before your first call, read our tips for a first paid video call, then set a price and test it for a few weeks before you change anything.

Frequently asked questions