The consulting market keeps growing. Independent consultants are capturing an increasing share. According to McKinsey, the global consulting market reached $250 billion in 2023, growing 12% from 2022. More professionals break away from big firms every year. They set their own rates. They choose their clients.
But what do consultants actually charge? I asked self-employed consultants to share their rates, target clients, and experience levels. Their answers show huge variation. From $365 hourly rates to $20,000 monthly retainers. There’s no single “right” price for expertise.
Here’s what self-employed consultants are charging and what you could too.
Real consultant rates revealed: 2025 prices of self-employed professionals
Personal brand strategist
People want to stand out. You can help them do it. Isaac Mashman positions himself at the intersection of personal branding and public figure promotion. He charges between $1,000 and $1,500 for single consultation sessions through his firm Mashman Consulting Group. His pricing strategy deliberately targets serious clients ready for action.
There are so many personal brand consultants out there, you need to find your unique positioning in the branding space. Share why your method is effective, get potential clients bought in, then charge what makes them take your advice seriously.
Email marketing expert
Your email skills can command premium prices from businesses desperate for more sales. Ross Jenkins has spent over 11 years mastering digital marketing. His focus on email funnels stands out. He commands $365 per hour helping SMEs and enterprise clients build effective email marketing systems through his DigitalME consultancy. There’s a broad market for specialized email marketing expertise.
Start packaging your email marketing skills into high value consulting offers. A 1% increase in email conversion rate could make tens of thousands of dollars difference to a big enough mailing list. Businesses will pay top dollar for expertise that directly impacts their revenue.
SEO strategy specialist
Turn your SEO knowledge into recurring revenue that grows while you sleep. Nell VH brings five years of digital marketing expertise to TheSiteSale.com. He helps small businesses and digital entrepreneurs boost their online visibility. His SEO packages range from basic audits to full content strategy overhauls, starting at $1,500 and reaching $10,000 for comprehensive solutions.
Your SEO knowledge could become your ticket to financial or location freedom. You’re teaching valuable stuff. Package your expertise into tiered services that clients can easily understand and buy.
Diversity and inclusion leader
Companies need help creating truly inclusive workplaces. You could be their guide. After a decade in the field, Stella Sutcliffe charges $635 per day for diversity and inclusion consultancy through her organization GoTitleFree. Her services span training, audits, policy creation, and strategy building. Rates adjust for longer-term or preparation-intensive projects.
Your expertise in workplace culture could become a consultancy business. Organizations are actively seeking guidance to improve their practices but don’t need in-house capability. Be the person who transforms how a business operates, for the benefit of its customers and team.
Fractional CMO
Top marketing talent is scarce. Fill the gap as a fractional leader. Jason Shafton targets high-growth startups. He offers fractional CMO services starting at $20,000 monthly. His package includes both strategic leadership and an outsourced marketing team. He focuses on companies looking to grow from $10M to $100M in revenue. Growing companies need experienced marketing leadership without a full-time executive hire.
Your executive experience could become a lucrative consulting business. Package it as a fractional role with clear deliverables for businesses that need a gap filling. Apply your business smarts to tough problems and get rewarded for solving them.
PR strategy coach
Media attention changes everything. Help clients get noticed. Amanda Fitzgrald‘s signature PR program combines agency services with academy training. It’s priced at $13,000. With 10 years of experience, she helps entrepreneur CEOs secure media coverage without traditional PR agency fees. She teaches clients the skills while doing the work.
Blend teaching and doing in your consulting model. Clients value learning the process almost as much as getting the results. Help them get famous by sharing what you know and how you would do it.
Impact measurement specialist
Organizations need to prove their impact. Become their measurement expert. Rachel Dunford brings 20 years of management consultancy experience to help businesses measure and communicate their impact. Her bespoke services start at $2,000. She focuses on organizations that need to demonstrate their value for fundraising and client acquisition.
Take your analytical skills and build a consulting practice around measurable results. Every business needs to know if their efforts are working. Help them understand their genius and secure more clients of their own.
Neurodiversity consultant
Companies want to support all employees. Be their neurodiversity authority. With 23 years in education and special needs, Laura Gowers charges $635 per day for dyslexia assessments and neurodiversity consulting. Their services help both employers and employees deal with workplace accommodations and support. The focus on both assessment and consultation provides multiple revenue streams within one specialty.
Your specialized knowledge could transform workplaces. Package it as a consulting service that solves the real problems organizations are seeking help with. Improve businesses and their teams by helping them work better together.
Business organization mentor
Everyone wants better systems. Show them how to build them. Dani Smith offers various consulting formats. One-to-one, group, and mastermind sessions ranging from $869 to $2,612. With 11 years running three businesses and 3 years of coaching experience, she focuses on helping service-based businesses improve their organization and efficiency.
Show your clients they are one spreadsheet away from a completely different business. Create the methods and implement them for a fee. If you structure your consulting in multiple formats, clients can choose their level of support.
How to set your consulting rates
These examples show successful self-employed consultants’ prices based on their market position, not always their years of experience. They combine credentials, specialized knowledge, and delivery format to justify their rates. Some focus on hourly or daily pricing. Others package their expertise into programs or retainers.
Whether you’re starting out or raising your rates, use these ranges as a guide. Pick a pricing model that matches your expertise and target client. Charge what makes you deliver your best work. When clients get results worth multiples of your fee, price becomes secondary to the transformation you create.
Read the full article here
