What’s the hourly rate of a freelance developer? If you’re like me, you want to peek into the potential of a given profession before you commit years of your life to any profession like freelance developing.
The average freelance developer worldwide earns $56 per hour with conservative estimates ranging as low as $31 and aggressive estimates ranging as high as $82.
The following table compares the hourly rates of employed developers and freelance developers in different regions:
| Job Description | Status | Region | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Developer | Employee | US | $31.62 |
| Employee | UK | £19.29 | |
| Freelancer | – | $34.78 | |
| PHP Developer | Employee | US | $46.28 |
| Employee | UK | £20.51 | |
| Freelance | – | $50.90 | |
| .Net Developer | Employee | US | $55.06 |
| Employee | UK | £19.29 | |
| Freelance | – | $60.56 | |
| Python Developer | Employee | US | $56.90 |
| Employee | UK | £29.79 | |
| Freelance | – | $62.59 |
About the Data. Our data is based on various online sources such as indeed.com, neuvoo.co.uk, and other portals where professionals can report their earnings. We state the sources below in the image captions.
We modified the expected earnings of a freelancer by increasing the average earnings of an employed professional by 10%. This is based on the findings of this study: the average freelancer earns about 10% more than his employed counterpart. We found that in practice, the difference is often much higher than that—freelancers earning much more than employees. One of the reasons may be that freelancers have more control of their earnings—an ambitious freelancer tends to earn a higher percentage more than an ambitious employee in the same profession. This is because there are no caps in freelance earnings.
If you want to earn your full-time income working in your part-time freelancing business, check out our course “Become a Python Freelance Developer”.
Freelance Developer Hourly Rate US
The average hourly rate of an employed web developer is $31.62 per hour in the US. The average hourly rate of a freelance web developer is $34.78 in the US.
The average hourly rate of an employed Python developer is $56.90 per hour in the US. The average hourly rate of a freelance Python developer is $62.59 in the US.
The average hourly rate of an employed PHP developer is $46.28 per hour in the US. The average hourly rate of a freelance PHP developer is $50.90 in the US.
The average hourly rate of an employed .Net developer is $55.06 per hour in the US. The average hourly rate of a freelance .Net developer is $60.56 in the US.
The hourly rates in Canada are similar to the hourly rates in the US.
Freelance Developer Hourly Rate UK
The average hourly rate of an employed web developer is £19.29 per hour in the UK. The average hourly rate of a freelance web developer working remotely is £24.35 in the UK.
The average hourly rate of an employed Python developer is £29.79 per hour in the UK. The average hourly rate of a freelance Python developer working remotely is £48.21 in the UK.
The average hourly rate of an employed PHP developer is £20.51 per hour in the UK. The average hourly rate of a freelance PHP developer working remotely is £39.12 in the UK.
The average hourly rate of an employed .Net developer is £19.29 per hour in the UK. The average hourly rate of a freelance .Net developer working remotely is £46.68 in the UK.
For a freelance developer working in the UK, it’s usually the most profitable strategy to work remotely in the US and earn higher US salaries in the UK.
Freelance Developer Hourly Rate Germany
The hourly rate of a freelance developer in Germany is between 41€ and 83€ per hour. This is an average range that is valid for freelance web developers, Python developers, .Net developers, and PHP developers.
Freelance Developer Hourly Rate India
The hourly rate of a freelance developer in India is between $15 and $50 an hour on average. This depends on the particular skill sets—if you’re skilled in a specialized niche and have worked for more than 2-4 years as a freelance developer, you can usually land higher-paid gigs in the US and reach average freelance developer rates of $61-81 per hour.
Where to Go From Here?
Enough theory. Let’s get some practice!
Coders get paid six figures and more because they can solve problems more effectively using machine intelligence and automation.
To become more successful in coding, solve more real problems for real people. That’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?
You build high-value coding skills by working on practical coding projects!
Do you want to stop learning with toy projects and focus on practical code projects that earn you money and solve real problems for people?
🚀 If your answer is YES!, consider becoming a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.
If you just want to learn about the freelancing opportunity, feel free to watch my free webinar “How to Build Your High-Income Skill Python” and learn how I grew my coding business online and how you can, too—from the comfort of your own home.