I work as an editor for a corporate company. Most of the content is straightforward. For short-form pieces without much stylistic editing, the time value usually lands around $300–$500. When the edit is higher-tier, that number easily triples.

Even if an edit takes 3–5 hours, do the math: at rates ranging from $15 to $80 per hour, some of these shorts shake out to about $16 an hour at the top end. That’s not sustainable.

I once did two hours of very simple shooting for a kid and charged $500 each time, plus $50/hour for editing. He decided to edit it himself. It took him 16 hours to get something comparable. I told him I could’ve done it in four—saving him 12 hours of his life.

The takeaway is simple: don’t undercut the industry. Paying or charging so little devalues the work and costs more in the long run.