How This Icon Pricing Adventure Started
So yesterday afternoon I’m sipping my third coffee when this designer buddy DMs me: “Hey what’s a fair price for custom icon sets?” And I’m like… ugh good question actually. Started googling frantically typing “icon design magazine cost” or “vector icon pricing” – total mess. Page after page showing fancy magazines I can’t afford or agencies quoting like $10k minimums. Not helpful when you just need some simple app icons.
Grabbed my notebook and started scribbling down every single price mention I could find. Scrolled through freelance job boards hunting real quotes – saw everything from $5 per icon on cheap gig sites to designers charging $150 each for complex stuff. My eyes started glazing over when I hit agency pricing sheets… hourly rates, bulk discounts, revisions fees. Made my head spin.
The Actual Price Range Breakdown
Decided to dump everything into Excel around midnight. Finally saw clear patterns emerging:
- Newbie designers: Like $3-20 per icon (results look shaky)
- Solid freelancers: Flat $300-800 per set of 10 icons
- Fancy studios: $150 per icon or $2000+ for simple sets
- Magazine tutorials: $12-50 each… but wait you still gotta MAKE them
Called up three designer friends pretending I needed icons for a fake project. Got quotes all over the place! Lisa charges $25/hour but works slow. Ken does $40 flat per icon. Priya quoted $500 for ten icons but throws in free tweaks. My coffee got cold taking notes.
What I Actually Did With This Mess
Woke up today still seeing spreadsheets in my dreams. Threw my scribbles into one super simple cheat sheet:
- Basic needs: Pick freelancers around $40-60 per icon
- Tight budget: Find designers on contract sites ($15-30 per icon)
- Complex needs: Brace for $100+/icon from specialists
Printed it out and stuck it above my desk. Not rocket science but hey – at least next time someone asks about icon costs, I won’t stare blankly while choking on my coffee. Real numbers from actual humans beat glossy magazines any day. Might tweak it if I get more quotes but… yeah this works for now.
