The Comparative Freelance Pricing Report

2025 - Real Time Comparative Freelance & Outsourcing Pricing Stats

The first comprehensive real-time report of its kind created by XPlace compares the hourly rates of more than 60,000 freelancers in over 600 categories and finally answers the question: How much do freelancers earn per hour.

Among others, the survey will help you answer the following questions:

Freelancers:

• How much should I charge for my services?
• Am I charging too little for my services today?
• How much are my competitors charging?
• Should I consider learning a new field or establishing expertise in a related skill set to earn more?
• Which skill set or sub-category should I become an expert in to maximize my earning potential?
• Are prices in my skills & categories trending up or down over time?

Service buyers:

• How much should I agree to pay freelancers before hiring them?
• Am I overpaying the freelancers for the services they're providing me?
• How much do competing companies pay freelancers for work performed?
• Are prices trending up or down for the skills and technologies I hire for?

The report is based on over one million data points per year and aggregates three principal pricing parameters: the freelancer's stated price in each category, the bid prices proposed by the freelancers and the price finally paid by clients for work performed.

In addition to exhibiting the average price per category, the report also provides an in-depth look at the distribution of observations for the various price buckets in each category by percentile.

Freelancers in the top price percentiles include the most accomplished experts with the most experience as well as highly-specialized boutique firms operating in niche categories. Freelancers in the lower percentiles include those experts who price themselves more aggressively in an effort to quickly build their customer base as well as novice freelancers attempting to establish themselves in a new category.

Founded in 2003, XPlace is one of the world's leading freelance marketplaces connecting thousands of freelancers with projects and businesses in more than 600 categories, including dev, tech, design, writing, translation, marketing, and more.