I Think I've Been Undercharging for Gigs
How to find your real market rate and raise your prices without losing bookings
Performer Rates · Direct Booking · Agency vs Direct · Raise Your Prices · Know Your Worth · Full Fee
If you've been working through agencies or pricing yourself based on what other performers charge, there's a very good chance you've been significantly undercharging. This guide shows you how to find your real market rate and raise it confidently.
✓ Contracts on every booking · ✓ No performer commission · ✓ payment route recorded
Most UK Performers Are Undercharging — Here's Why
You've been basing your rates on agency pay
Agency flat rates are not what clients actually pay for entertainment. They are what's left after the agency has taken its margin. Direct booking rates for the same gigs can be considerably higher.
You don't know what clients are actually paying
If you work through agencies you never see the client invoice. At one major UK agency, pro dancers were paid a flat fee with no travel while the agency billed clients considerably more. That gap is your money.
You're worried raising your rates will cost you bookings
This guide shows you how to raise rates strategically without losing the clients you want to keep.
You've never calculated your real floor rate
Your minimum viable rate covering all time, travel, preparation and professional costs is probably higher than you think. This guide walks you through the calculation.
How to Fix Your Rates
Calculate your rate
Use this guide to calculate your floor rate
Set with confidence
Set your new rate on your AnyGig profile
Apply to better gigs
Browse open gigs and apply to higher-value events
Book direct
Keep your full fee on every booking
Eight Rate-Fixing Actions That Work
Apply each of these to understand and fix your pricing.
The Agency Pay Gap
Agency performers are paid what is left after commission. Direct booking performers for the same events set their own rate and receive it in full. These are not the same market.
Calculate Your Floor Rate
Time, travel, preparation, equipment, PLI costs. Add them up. That's your minimum. Never go below it.
Research Direct Booking Rates
Look at what direct booking performers charge — not what agencies pay. Completely different numbers.
Corporate Rates vs Wedding Rates
Corporate direct bookings pay significantly more than agency rates for the same event.
Raise Gradually
Increase your rate by 15–20% for new bookings. Existing loyal clients get a smaller increase with notice.
Reframe Your Value
You're not just performing. You're delivering a professional service with PLI, contracts, preparation and reliability. Price accordingly.
Itemise Your Costs
Travel, costume, equipment — all separate line items. Stop absorbing these into your base rate.
Target Higher-Value Clients
Corporate, brand and high-net-worth private events pay more. Position yourself for them.
The Number That Will Change How You Think About Your Rates
If you have ever worked through an agency, you have almost certainly been paid significantly less than the client paid the agency for your booking.
Pro dancers and performers working through agencies in the UK are often paid a flat fee with no travel expenses. The agency bills the client considerably more for the same booking. The performer never sees the client invoice.
Katie Brown, founder of AnyGig, saw this directly. At her former employer, professional dancers were paid a flat fee with no travel, while the agency billed clients considerably more for the same booking.
When you book directly through AnyGig you quote the client yourself. You keep every penny of it — the platform fee is charged to the hirer, not to you.
Get Paid What the Market Actually Pays
You keep your full fee
AnyGig charges the hirer. Nothing deducted from your payment ever.
Automatic contracts
Fee locked in on every booking.
Clear payment record
Fee held in escrow, .
Free invoicing tool
Create professional invoices with your new rates in under 2 minutes.
Why Performer Rates Don't Add Up
If you've been working through agencies or pricing yourself based on what other performers charge online, there is a very good chance you have been significantly undercharging — not because you lack confidence, but because you've been looking at the wrong numbers.
The agency rate is not the market rate
Agency flat rates are not what clients pay for entertainment. They are what's left after the agency has taken its margin. At one major UK entertainment agency, professional dancers were paid a flat fee with no travel expenses while the agency billed clients considerably more for the same booking. The performers had no idea.
When you research what to charge for a corporate booking, don't look at what agencies pay their performers. Look at what direct booking performers charge clients. They are completely different numbers.
How to calculate your real floor rate
Your floor rate is the minimum you can accept without losing money. Calculate it honestly: your time on the day, travel time and cost door to door, preparation and rehearsal time, costume and equipment costs, PLI and professional subscriptions and admin time for the booking. Total it up — then add a profit margin. That number is your floor. Never go below it.
How to raise your rates without losing bookings
Raise gradually. Increase your rate by 15–20% for new bookings while maintaining existing rates for loyal regular clients with advance notice. Most performers find that a rate increase has minimal impact on booking volume — and significantly increases income from the bookings they do get.
Related guides: how to price your performance, how to get more bookings, create a free professional invoice, or how AnyGig works for performers.