Pricing, Creativity & Knowing What feels Fair: understanding your value as a voice actor

I’ve been thinking a lot about pricing lately, probably because next weekend I’ll be running a booth at my dog training club's Obedience and Rally Trials for my mom, selling some of her quilting and embroidery.

She’s poured hours into those pieces. Every stitch is deliberate, every pattern perfectly balanced. When she finishes one, it’s like holding a bit of her heart in your hands.

So how do we price that?

A friend gave me a craft pricing calculator she uses for her handmade goods, and wow… the numbers it spit out were big! Logically, it made sense: cost of materials, time, and skill should all factor in. But emotionally? I found myself worrying about how people would feel about those prices, especially when everyone’s talking about the economy and tightening budgets.

And it struck me: this is the exact same conversation that plays out in every creative field.

How do you put a price on creativity?

You can’t really quantify the hours of training, the equipment investments, or the essence that makes your work unique. Whether you’re a crafter, an artist, or a voice actor, your product isn’t just a “thing." It’s a reflection of years of experience and a skill that looks effortless only because you’ve practiced it endlessly.

In the voiceover world, we do have some excellent tools to help us stay grounded in reality: the GVAA Rate Guide, Gravy for the Brain, and SAG-AFTRA standards all provide fair benchmarks for different types of projects. They give us something tangible to point to when a client asks, “What do you charge?”

But let’s be honest, even with all those resources, it’s still easy to second-guess ourselves. Maybe you’ve had those moments too:

“Am I really worth that much?”  “Should I lower my rates because everyone’s cutting back?”  “What if I lose a client over this?”

Those are fair questions...and they don’t make you any less professional. They make you human.

Pricing isn’t just about math; it’s about mindset. It's about understanding your value as a voice actor.

I’ve spent a lot of time refining my voiceover rates so they reflect what I believe is fair. Fair to my clients, and fair to me. They account for the time I spend recording, editing, and communicating; the equipment I’ve invested in; and the consistency and reliability that keep clients coming back.

Still, I’ll admit that this year has made me pause and think. The freelance voiceover business has felt the pinch. eLearning work in particular has been hit by AI and budget reshuffles. So as I look toward 2026, I'm contemplating whether to raise my rates. Not because I doubt my worth. But I wonder if giving my long-term clients a sense of stability as they plan their own budgets can help me retain the work, and maybe keep another company off of AI. Maybe it's aq way of being fair in both directions.

That’s really what this all comes down to. Fairness. Fair to yourself for the time, talent, and training you’ve invested. Fair to your clients for trusting you to deliver what you promise. Fair to the craft itself, because creative work, whether it’s stitching a quilt or voicing a national spot, deserves respect and proper compensation.

Creativity isn’t a hobby or a luxury. It’s work. It’s labor. It’s love. And pricing that kind of work will always feel a little personal, because it is personal.

So whether you’re a voiceover talent, an artist, or a small business owner, take some time this season to review your pricing. See where you’ve grown, where the market has shifted, and what feels right for the coming year.

Your prices don’t just reflect the cost of what you do, they tell the world how much you value your time, your talent, and your voice.

As for me? My friends and I will be working the booth next weekend, watching people admire my mom’s beautiful quilts and deciding which piece speaks to them. And I’ll be quietly smiling, knowing that every artist, behind every fat quarter, mic, or canvas, wrestles with the same timeless question:

“How do you put a price on something made from the heart?”

So tell me: how are you approaching your pricing for 2026? Are you holding steady, adjusting, or reassessing what feels fair?

#VoiceActor #VoiceOverTalent #VoiceOverRates #CreativeEntrepreneur #FreelanceVoiceActor #VoiceOverCommunity #PricingForCreatives #KnowYourWorth #GVAA #GravyForTheBrain #SAGAFTRA #FreelanceBusiness #VoiceOverTips #CreativeBusiness