
Ask HN: Current freelancer and consulting rates survey - uid
I figure it would be interesting to start a thread about current freelancer and consulting rates.<p>State what work you do, where you are based, where your clients are based and what type of rates you are charging at the moment.
======
jasonkester
This would probably work better as a poll or an offsite, anonymous survey. I
don't think you'll get very accurate results from limiting yourself to the
small fraction of developers who:

    
    
      - don't mind disclosing their salary in public
    
      - don't have any co-workers, employers, or clients who read this site
    
      - have a single fixed rate that they charge everybody
    
      - don't plan to change their rate in the future
    
      - make enough to not feel silly disclosing their rate in public
    
      - don't make so much that they'll feel like they're just bragging
    

I'd personally be happy to tick a box, but I'm not going to quote my rate
here.

~~~
uid
Good point. I just created a poll:

[http://gopollgo.com/what-is-your-hourly-freelance-
consulting...](http://gopollgo.com/what-is-your-hourly-freelance-consulting-
rate)

~~~
Pyrodogg
Is there any way you can edit that into the OP? I don't know what the edit
time limits are.

~~~
uid
I tried but could not. If a moderator with super-powers is reading this, could
you please add the poll URL to the OP?

------
mgkimsal
Hopefully somewhat on-topic, but one of the comments - "$1500 a day?! I'm
underpricing myself!" made me want to contribute this:

The consultants who get this typically do more than just code. Often (usually)
you'll end up needing to travel. I run in to _a lot_ of talented freelance
developers who 1) vow to never travel outside their hometown and 2) wonder why
they can't charge high rates.

I'm not saying you need to fly overseas 3-4x per month, but part of being able
to charge the high rates is providing value to clients commensurate with the
price you charge. Providing value encompasses things like meeting the client
in their office, even if it's 7 hours away. Arrange your own flight, charge it
back later, etc. Make solving their problems first and foremost.

There's load of other stuff to say on pricing, and there are few universal
rules on pricing. I do know that one of the things that's allowed me to charge
what I charge is that I'm willing to go out of town to people who need what I
offer.

I'm not saying these are my numbers, but if you're charging $30/hour now, but
could make, say, $90/hour by going onsite to clients - being willing to travel
to other cities for days at a time - would you do it? I'm actually a bit
shocked at the number of people I meet who tell me "no". I realize not
everyone has the same priorities I do, but still surprising.

------
uid
There is a lot of work out there at the moment. I got back into consulting
work as a freelancer two weeks ago and filled up my schedule within a couple
of days after sending a single email to 5 or 6 contacts.

I am working on backend Python, frontend Javascript (Backbone, etc.) and
general startup product consulting. Charging $700 per day (which I think is
low, but I wanted to accept some work), based in Asia and clients in the USA
(West Coast)

~~~
byoung2
_Charging $700 per day...based in Asia and clients in the USA (West Coast)_

Where in Asia? That rate could go a long way in the Philippines or Thailand,
or not very far in Hong Kong or Singapore.

~~~
uid
I travel between Australia and Thailand. I will be raising my rates with the
next quote I do. I have only been back in freelance work for a few weeks now.

------
driverdan
I do LAMP, front-end (JS, HTML5/CSS3), server admin, performance optimization,
project planning / product dev, security consulting, SEO, and whatever else a
client will pay me to do.

Typical rate is $75/h. I also do project quotes that work out to be more or
less. Through BidOnMyDay I've been working for less but meeting some great
people (shameless plug):

<http://bidonmyday.com>

I'm US based. Currently a nomad living in hostels, hotels, and couch surfing.

I DGAF if people know what I make. I've never understood apprehension with
discussing income. If you have coworkers it could make sense but this is for
freelancers. Also, if you think a freelancer makes RATE * FULL TIME HOURS
you've never been one.

~~~
aangjie
Love the funkiness of your idea/site....do wonder what's the average
bid...though...:-)

~~~
driverdan
I may add a stats / balance sheet page w/ full transparency when I have the
time. It's low on my list though, too many other things to add first.

------
rglover
Depends on what you're "freelancing." As a designer, it tends to waiver based
on the project but generally I'll either charge an hourly rate of $60, or,
just price out the project as a total lump sum. Everyone has their own way,
but I tend to go the route that makes it easiest for the client as well as a
good move for my bank account.

Two of my favorites for figuring out an hourly rate or how much to charge as a
whole:

<http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/>

[http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/14/quality-price-
rat...](http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/14/quality-price-ratio-in-web-
design-pricing-design-work/)

------
lsc
I'm a Linux SysAdmin in Sunnyvale, clients are all over. I don't do a lot of
consulting, maybe one day a month or so, give or take. But I usually charge
around $100/hr. I've gone as high as $200 and as low as $80 in recent times,
but $100 is usually the target. Of course, my prices float based on how much I
want the work; If prgmr.com just handed out a big credit and/or I'm drooling
over some new hardware, you can often get a deal; when the cashflow on my VPSs
is good, on the other hand, not so much. Last time I did full-time contracting
through a body shop I got $72/hr, but this was several years back, and I've
published a book since then.

I'm looking to have my company do more consulting as a way to raise short-term
revenue, and as a way provide my employee(s) a way to do higher value work
(and thus earn more money) without leaving my company for more profitable
employers.

Ideally, I'd personally do about one day a week of contracting like this, and
as employees become more experienced, slowly transition them from support to
consulting.

As far as I can tell, rates depend as much on the client as on your skill
level. I've had some clients laugh at my rate and offer /more/ - while others
do the opposite.

I'm considering retainer type deals, and I'd be interested to hear how
retainers have worked for other people.

edit: attempted a less-objectifying reword.

~~~
dustineichler
I've worked on 2 week retainers initially. It's worth while with small and
larger clients alike. It adds a air of security and relationship trust between
you the client. Make it know upfront you work on a retainer though, obviously
not after the fact. Individual clients not so much. Somewhat unrelated, but
relative is a talk by Mike_FTW on payments --freelancing
<http://vimeo.com/22053820>

~~~
lsc
How do your retainers work? My thought was to charge them some minimum number
of hours a month that they'd pay regardless of use, but in exchange, I'd put
their stuff on my pager, and make time to deal with it if they had an
emergency.

I think it makes a lot of sense for SysAdmin type work; there are times when
you really need me /right now/ - waiting for me to clear my schedule some time
next week is not going to work.

I think maximum value would be achieved if I put your stuff on my pager. when
something breaks, I go fix it and let you know what happened when you wake up;
This is a lot of value for you, but for me to be effective at this, I need to
know a lot about your systems, and as such, I'd want some sort of monthly
money to pay to hold your system in my brain and my notes (and to answer my
pager when it goes off at 6am.)

It seems to me like this sort of relationship would work best if it was very
long term; you'd keep paying me the retainer until you can afford to hire your
own SysAdmin.

~~~
dustineichler
I think you have the right idea. You're trading a minimum set of requirements
for a better service. Your value added proposition is, availability. You'll
always be on call if necessary. I typically ask for 20 hours a week minimum
between 2 projects. This takes a little pressure off to spend time in the code
base and iron things out. My contracts are typically 3-6months. Rates also
vary between w-2 and corp-to-corp. Freelancing is a very inexpensive
proposition when add up how much hiring and employing someone really costs.
Hope that helps. Freelanceswitch.com is a great resource.

------
nicksergeant
Front-end development work and Django back-end work, $85/hr. Also do basic
Ubuntu setup for a typical Django-based site from scratch. Based in Rochester,
NY. My clients are all over the place - NYC, SF, BOS, but very few are in
close proximity to Rochester.

------
flyosity
I do some Mac and iOS user interface design & development consulting on the
side of my real job. I charge between $100-150/hr depending on the project,
and I don't really take many projects since I try to leave enough time for me
to work on my own apps and projects. I live in Raleigh, NC but my clients are
worldwide.

------
struggling101
I am wondering if anyone here worked for the man and decided that wasn't for
them. Thus you went the freelance/consulting route? If so, how and where did
you get your clients? Also, are you able sustain yourself, do you ever
struggle financially and or you are able to make more money being independent?

I'm just starting out on this route and seeking advice overall on this.

------
alex3t
For me, as ex freelancer, all clear: $10-20 for so called programmer from
Asia(China, India) $20-$30 for russian or east European programmer with CS
degree $60 for programmer from England >$60 US PS: prices for Ruby devs, it
can be different for iOS or Java

------
phamilton
Ruby on Rails Development

Based in UT, clients in DC.

$60-$80 depending on the project and the schedule.

~~~
phamilton
Follow up info:

I'm a student and only do 20 hours/week, but I'm kept pretty busy from one
long term contract I've got.

------
Lukeas14
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlD_6iEb8Ed9dGs...](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlD_6iEb8Ed9dGs3clVJYi0yYVBka181Z0ZKRW9kQ0E&hl=en_US#gid=0)
This is a spreadsheet of contractors on Hacker News that was going around a
few months ago. You could probably get a good idea of rates for various
technologies here.

------
Random_Person
I do on-site SysAdmin/tech work for local businesses at $65/hr. That's in West
Virginia.

BUT, I'm undercutting. I have a day job that pays me significantly less, but
affords me plenty of PTO to do work like this.

I've done work with a local company that charges $95/hr. I've also been told
by businesses that they pay $75-150/hr with other consultants/businesses.

------
tylerc230
I was making $60/hr through odesk.com as an ios developer working < 10hr/wk. I
imagine I could get more if I was pursuing clients actively (I live in San
Francisco). I'm considering going back to it fulltime and was wondering what
sort of business entity people are using (LLC, Corp, indy business owner
etc.).

------
mark_l_watson
I charge $60/hour when working at home and twice that when on site. I turn
down almost all (over 80%) consulting offers, so I could probably raise my
rates if I was not so fussy about what work I accept.

I am semi-retired now, and enjoying work is a higher priority than maximizing
income.

------
salarypoll
Mobile Developer

San Francisco

$175/hr

~~~
sjs
That certainly offsets costs of living in SF.

~~~
0x12
That depends on how much time he/she can book at that rate.

------
nfriedly
These aren't me, but to give some perspective, I know of a bay-area consultant
who charges $200 per hour for JavaScript related work and by all accounts is
well worth it. I know of another that charges $150-175 for GWT development.

------
BSousa
approx: €50/65 USD per hour depending on project.

iOS developer. Mostly remote work from Portugal

------
pyramid
Mobile web developer, front end and back end.

Going rate is roughly 1000€ a day, charge less and you won't be taken
seriously.

~~~
uid
on-site or remote?

you are definitely right about the 'not taken seriously' part - it is a good
tip for those starting out

~~~
pyramid
Remote.

And turning down enough business to employ someone else full time.

------
pokethat
In the uk, u will be lucky if people want to pay over 300pounds a day(a day
means 8-9 hrs) for ios dev.

------
peterdelrosario
Washington DC, $100/hr.

