Signs it's time
You are booked out more than a month ahead, more than 80% of proposals are accepted, or you have not raised rates in a year while costs went up. Any one of these means your price is below market. The freelance rate calculator shows the rate you actually need to cover taxes, time off and unbillable hours.
How much
10-20% for existing clients is normal and rarely questioned. New clients simply get the new rate from day one; they never saw the old one. Raise for new clients first: if they accept, you have your proof.
The email to existing clients
> Hi [Name], a quick heads-up: from [date, 30-60 days out] my rate for new work will be [new rate]. Anything we agree before then stays at the current rate. I'm glad to keep working together and happy to talk through upcoming projects before the change.
Give notice, give a date, and offer a window to lock in the old price. No apology and no long justification.
Put the new rate in writing
A rate change for a retainer client is a contract change. Send an updated agreement rather than relying on the email. Draft it now with Clinch: describe the job in a sentence, get a clean draft, send one link. Your client signs from their phone without an account, and the deposit is paid in the same step.