How much to charge for app or UI design?
Most freelance app UI projects land between $1,500 and $8,000, priced either per project or around $150 to $400 per screen once states and a design system are counted.
A UI job is not just screens, it's states: empty, loading, error, and a system of components that holds them together. Wireframes make the count feel small. States make it real.
Price more for tight deadlines
Complex projects tend to cost more
Price more if you're more experienced
App / UI design pricing in detail
Rates by level
| Level | Per project | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | $500–1,500 | $25–45 |
| 1 to 3 years | $1,500–4,000 | $45–80 |
| 3 to 7 years | $4,000–10,000 | $80–140 |
| 7+ years | $10,000–25,000 | $140–220 |
Under 1 year, you are pricing the happy path. At 1 to 3, the states around it. At 3 to 7, a system the client's own team can extend. 50% of clients will only pay up to $2,000. Only 20% pay over $6,000.
Why the range will not help you
The range is for an app UI in the abstract. The client in your inbox has wireframes for 14 screens and calls it small, until you count the empty states, the error states, and the design system holding them together. That is a different price, and it is not on any chart.
A typical brief, priced
“A two-person startup wants a mobile app redesign: onboarding, a dashboard, a settings flow, and a paywall screen, about 14 screens total including states like empty and error. They have wireframes already, they just want it made beautiful. I quoted $2,000 flat because 14 screens didn't sound like that much.”
| UI design, 14 core screens | $2,800 |
| Empty, error and loading states | $700 |
| Design system: components and tokens | $900 |
| Paywall screen, conversion-focused | $400 |
| Two revision rounds | $500 |
| Developer handoff, specs and assets | $300 |
| Total | $5,600 |
You quoted $2,000. Fourteen screens with states and a design system price at $5,600. Wireframes are the easy part; the states and the system are the job.
What people forget to charge
- Empty, error and loading states for every screen that has one.
- A design system instead of one-off screens.
- Developer handoff: specs, redlines, exported assets.
- Paywall or conversion screens, a different skill than a settings page.
- Revision rounds, especially once a second stakeholder joins.
- 'Made beautiful' scope creep once every state is counted.
How to say it to the client
“Fourteen screens sounds like fourteen prices. It's really the happy path, the states around it, and a system holding both together. Here is what each piece is, and you can drop any of them.”
FAQ
Should I price per screen or per project?
Per project once you can scope it. Per screen works as a quick estimate, but states and a system don't fit neatly into a per-screen number.
What counts as a 'screen' for pricing?
A unique layout. Five list items with the same template is one screen, not five.
Do I need to design empty and error states?
If you don't price them, a developer designs them by default, and it usually shows.
How much is a design system worth on a small app?
Even a light one, a dozen components and tokens, is real time. Price it as its own line.
What if the client already has wireframes?
Wireframes save you a discovery phase, not the states or the system. Price accordingly.