How to Price Your HR Consulting Services: A Practical Guide for New Consultants

Introduction

Pricing your HR consulting services doesn’t have to be confusing, but for many new consultants, it absolutely is. If you’ve ever wondered “how much should I charge as an HR consultant?” or “what’s the right pricing model to avoid burnout and undercharging?”, you’re not alone.

Whether you’re just launching your solo HR consultancy or trying to transition from employee to business owner, this guide walks you through a simple, proven HR consulting pricing strategy that works, even if you’re starting from scratch.

Step 1: Start with an Hourly Rate for your HR Consulting Services

Generally speaking, hourly pricing isn’t ideal for experienced HR consultants. It ties your value to your time, rather than your expertise, outcomes, or impact.

But when you're just getting started, hourly rates can be a helpful foundation. They offer flexibility, give you a better sense of how long deliverables actually take, and help you gain confidence in your work and your worth.

A smart starting range for new HR consultants:

 👉 $150–$250 per hour, depending on your background, niche, and comfort level.

Not sure where to begin? Use $150/hour as your baseline.

It’s the lowest rate we recommend if you want to build a sustainable business and avoid undervaluing your services from the outset. As you gain experience, you can (and should) transition to value-based or package pricing (we’ll get to that later). But for your first few clients, hourly is a fine place to start.

Step 2: Reverse-Engineer Your Rate to Match Your Income Goals

It’s not enough to just pick a number. Your rate should be based on what you actually need to earn to feel financially secure and sustainably supported. That means reverse-engineering your income goals into a pricing strategy that aligns with your capacity and the life you want to lead.

Let’s say you’re aiming to replace your in-house salary. Start with this formula:

In-House Salary ÷ Hourly Rate = Billable Hours per Year

Here’s how that plays out with real numbers:

$120,000 ÷ $150 = 800 billable hours/year

Now, don’t make the common mistake of dividing by 52 weeks.

Instead, plan for 48 working weeks per year to account for time off, whether it’s holidays, sick days, or simply time to recharge. You shouldn’t have to choose between taking a break and hitting your revenue goals.

Next, calculate how many billable hours you'll need to work per week:

Billable Hours per Year ÷ Working Weeks = Billable Hours per Week

Using the example above:

800 ÷ 48 = ~16.7 billable hours/week

That’s the equivalent of around four active clients, each paying for 4–5 hours of support per week. Now you’ve got a manageable workload that’s generally quite realistic and sustainable for most solo HR consultants.

This simple calculation forms the backbone of a smart HR consulting pricing strategy, one that helps you hit your financial goals without burning out. Because when you price with intention, you’re not just running a business… you’re designing a lifestyle.

Step 3: Don’t Confuse Billable Hours with Working Hours

Here’s a common trap many new HR consultants fall into: They assume that if they’re available 40 hours a week, they can bill 40 hours a week.

Reality check: You can’t. And you shouldn’t try to.

You’re not just delivering services. You’re also running every other part of your business. That means carving out time for non-billable activities that support a sustainable business, including activities to maintain your current operation and activities to scale your business. 

Here’s a quick look at some of the other activities you’ll want to consider when mapping out your working hours against your billable hours. 

Writing proposals & follow-up: 3–5 hours

Marketing (e.g., LinkedIn, blogs): 2–4 hours

Admin & invoicing: 1–2 hours

Client communication & prep: 2–3 hours

Professional development: 1–2 hours

Business planning & strategy: 1–2 hours

Total Non-Billable Time: 10–18 hours/week

That means if you're working 35–40 hours a week, only 15–25 of those will be billable, at most. And that’s assuming you’ve already built systems to streamline the rest.

If you try to ignore this reality, you’ll either underquote your hours or burn out trying to do everything. That’s why building repeatable systems and boundaries early on is essential to your long-term success. You’re not just an HR expert anymore, you’re a business owner. And owning your time is part of owning your growth.

Step 4: Transition to Value-Based Pricing for HR Services

Earlier, we talked about hourly pricing as a strong foundation for pricing services as an early-stage HR consultant. It’s a great way to build confidence, track your time, and get a clear picture of how long your work takes.

But inevitably, you’ll hit a wall:

There are only so many hours in the day.

Even with a full client roster and a perfectly optimized schedule, your income is still capped if you're billing by the hour. The only way to earn more is to work more… and you didn’t go through all the trouble to launch your own business to get stuck working more than you did while you were in-house. 

So what comes next?

Value-based pricing.

This strategy focuses on the outcomes you deliver, not the time it takes to deliver them. Instead of charging for hours, you charge for impact.

Here’s what the shift looks like:

Rather than charging $150/hour for employee handbooks, instead try $2,500 for a full onboarding & compliance toolkit.

Or maybe, 10 hours of recruitment support can be reframed as $3,000 for end-to-end hiring process for one key role.

To implement this, you’ll need to:

• Package your services into clear, outcome-driven offers
  
• Price based on business value, not time spent
  
• Offer tiered packages, so clients can choose the right level of support for their needs

Value-based pricing gives you room to grow, financially and professionally. You’ll earn more per project, serve fewer clients more deeply, and create a business that scales with your expertise, not your time.

The pricing formulas from earlier still matter. But instead of asking “How many hours can I sell this month?”, you’re now asking “What’s the value I’m creating and how should I charge for that?”

That shift is what turns an hourly freelancer into a high-impact consultant.

Want Help Building a Custom HR Consulting Pricing Strategy?

Whether you’re figuring out your hourly rate, shifting to value-based pricing, or just trying to land your first few clients, having a clear, confident plan is key.

I coach HR consultants through their first $250K and beyond, helping you price, package, and sell your services without second-guessing yourself every step of the way.

Want to create a pricing strategy that actually supports your goals?

Let’s talk.