PHP/Node/Phonegap Development in South Africa - R600/hour (about $50) for local customers, $70/hour for US based and 50 euro/hour for European based customers. I think I need to up my rates.
Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
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Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#22I charge $120/hour for development work. I specialize in low-level, performance critical stuff, lock-free algorithms, C/C++, assembly, SIMD code. But most of the work I get is typical full-stack web application development, with a little mobile stuff sometimes.
I charge half rate to startups in top accelerators, like YC, that haven't closed an A round yet. The idea is to build relationships with future customers that have lots of growth potential - but who can't afford $120/hour.
dan"at"closetothemetal.com
I made more when I was working full-time though.
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#23[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#24I earn about $150,000 for 50% of my time. The other 50% I spend on my own projects.
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#25Back when I was freelancing, I charged around $150-200/hr for fullstack development.
I know this is on the higher end, but it is definitely possible to find clients that can afford this higher price point. I routinely took work from clients that had hired a cheaper team and weren't satisfied with the final product, needed someone to fix numerous bugs, or to optimize the performance of their technology.
Also, if you are interested in this higher price point, you need to be ready to truly partner with your client and help them solve problems, vs just writing code. This means embedding yourself in their team as much as possible (which can be done remotely; I always worked remote) and understanding the actual problems they had, rather than just building what they asked for.
On top of that, you'll need to own your solution all the way through. If your client doesn't see you as a lot of overhead, and you can act autonomously, then they'll be even more satisfied with your work and rates.
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#26$100/hr, albeit writing about/for software, not writing the software itself. Copywriting is a super great gig.
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#27I earn approx $150K / year for 50% of my working time on client projects. The rest I spend on my own projects
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#28I charge $120/hour for development work. I specialize in low-level, performance critical stuff, lock-free algorithms, C/C++, assembly, SIMD code. But most of the work I get is typical full-stack web application development, with a little mobile stuff sometimes. I charge half rate to startups in top accelerators, like YC, that haven't closed an A round yet. The idea is to build relationships with future customers that…
This is interesting.
So you have a performance specialization AND do full-stack web development. How do you position yourself in the market place?
For example, most of my work is also fullstack web-development, but I also know how to build highly-available systems with Erlang/Elixir, but I'm not sure how to squeeze the latter into the messaging.
Re: Ask HN: How much do you earn on average through software freelancing?
#29I make $60/hour through an agency. I do this for 20 hours a week. This is in addition to my full-time gig. Assuming I'm booked eight months of the year, that's $38,400. I could make more if I wasn't going through the agency, but for now, I don't have a name or connections, and I don't have the time to market myself. So I figure do the agency thing first, build a name, then start soliciting direct clients. Then eventu…
What's the agency you go through, if you don't mind my asking?
It's a local one in Toronto; not one of the well-known ones online.