What freelancers charge, job by job
Benchmark hourly rates for 24 professions, each broken down by experience level, country and specialism, alongside the pricing models that field actually uses. Estimates for orientation, not survey data.
| Profession | 0-2 yrs | 2-5 yrs | 5-10 yrs | 10+ yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Consultant | $83 | $150 | $240 | $330 |
| Software Engineer | $55 | $100 | $160 | $220 |
| Photographer | $55 | $100 | $160 | $220 |
| Marketing Consultant | $55 | $100 | $160 | $220 |
| Architect | $52 | $95 | $152 | $209 |
| Wedding Videographer | $50 | $90 | $144 | $198 |
| UX/UI Designer | $47 | $85 | $136 | $187 |
| Life / Career Coach | $47 | $85 | $136 | $187 |
| Data Analyst | $44 | $80 | $128 | $176 |
| Web Developer | $41 | $75 | $120 | $165 |
| Interior Designer | $41 | $75 | $120 | $165 |
| Voice Over Artist | $39 | $70 | $112 | $154 |
| Video Editor | $36 | $65 | $104 | $143 |
| SEO Specialist | $36 | $65 | $104 | $143 |
| Copywriter | $33 | $60 | $96 | $132 |
| Event Planner | $33 | $60 | $96 | $132 |
| Illustrator | $30 | $55 | $88 | $121 |
| Bookkeeper / Accountant | $30 | $55 | $88 | $121 |
| Graphic Designer | $28 | $50 | $80 | $110 |
| Content Writer | $25 | $45 | $72 | $99 |
| Social Media Manager | $25 | $45 | $72 | $99 |
| Translator | $25 | $45 | $72 | $99 |
| Tutor | $22 | $40 | $64 | $88 |
| Virtual Assistant | $19 | $35 | $56 | $77 |
Design & creative
Technology
Writing & content
Media & production
Freelance Photographer rates
$55 to $220 per hour in the US, depending on experience.
Freelance Wedding Videographer rates
$50 to $198 per hour in the US, depending on experience.
Freelance Voice Over Artist rates
$39 to $154 per hour in the US, depending on experience.
Freelance Video Editor rates
$36 to $143 per hour in the US, depending on experience.
Marketing
Business & finance
Business support
Education & coaching
Built environment
About these benchmarks
Where do these freelance rate benchmarks come from?
Each benchmark is our own estimate of the mid-point for an early-career freelancer in the United States, built by triangulating published freelance marketplace ranges, salaried equivalents for the same role adjusted for self-employment costs, and the rates practitioners report publicly. They are orientation figures, not survey results, and the methodology page sets out exactly how they are derived and what they are not.
Which freelance job pays the most per hour?
Of the professions benchmarked here, business consulting carries the highest early-career benchmark at around $150 per hour, followed by software engineering, photography and marketing consulting at roughly $100. The pattern is consistent: fields where the client is buying judgement, carries meaningful risk, or can connect the work directly to revenue pay more than fields where the deliverable is production work.
Should I just charge the benchmark rate for my profession?
No. The benchmark tells you what the market pays; it says nothing about what your business needs. Two freelancers in the same field with the same experience can need very different rates because one bills 30 hours a week and the other bills 15, or because one has $2,000 of annual expenses and the other has $20,000. Use the benchmark as a sanity check on the number the rate calculator gives you, not as a replacement for it.
Benchmarks are the comparison, not the answer
What you need to charge depends on your expenses, your tax position and how many hours you can genuinely bill. The calculator works that out in about a minute.
Work out my true rate