I have often been somewhat confused when it comes to hourly rates for freelancers in IT. While it is pretty normal to charge more than 60€/h here in Europe I’m always shocked to come across postings like these from the US:
https://soshace.com/jobs/python-back-end-web-developer-remot...
This is a remote python job for an intermediate or senior developer that pays 20-30$/h. And not the first one of that kind I came across.
That would mean a freelancer makes less than half the money as compared to a 9-5.
Is this normal?
The $20-30/hr job listing you shared will not attract any experienced Python developers. Experienced Python developers can easily secure jobs with $100K+/year salaries and benefits in any medium sized city. That job listing is searching for entry-level Python engineers who don't yet understand their value in the marketplace. It is not representative of standard freelance rates. The job listing requests a good command of the English language, so it's not even clear that they're targeting only Americans with the listing.
Generally speaking, the best paid freelancers do not find jobs via public job listings. They use their reputation and network in combination with their unique skillsets to find contract jobs with companies who need them.
The best freelancers also negotiate their rates for each contract. Their rate can vary significantly depending on how many other opportunities that have, the difficulty of the work, and other factors.
Personally, I don't know any full-time freelancers who charge less than $80-90/hr. Below this hourly amount, it becomes more financially beneficial to find a full-time job.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to find accurate information about freelance rates from the public internet. Smart companies will not post a high hourly rate on job listings because they could miss opportunities for candidates to negotiate lower rates. Smart freelancers will not advertise their typical rate because it will impact their opportunity to negotiate or change their rates in private conversations with new employers.
The optimal strategy is to constantly look for new contract jobs, raising your asking rate until companies are telling you "No" more than "Yes". This is how you will find your market rate.
Senior level rates in US range from 100-300/hr. I know it's a big range, but it comes down to speed, creativity, references, portfolio, fit for the project, availability.
As far as the half the money as a 9-5, it's actually the other way around-- as a freelancer, you need more money to compensate for things like insurance, taxes, risk that come with being an independent/freelancer. So they say to match a 75k salary, you need approximately 150/hr.
At some point, my fee was $40 an hour. I freelanced through a 3rd party who found gigs for me, and took their cuts. One day, I found out that they charged these companies $100 in some cases, while I was still only getting $40.
If that's how much I was worth, then it would be perfectly reasonable for me to charge just as much.
If you want more details, here is the full story: https://idiallo.com/blog/how-much-do-you-charge-for-your-wor...
197183, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Polevaya Sabirovskaya street, 54А, office 335
For every $30/hr posting on the net, there is another one for $100. I also personally know of folks who are making +$150 with Django. It really depends on who you work for.
Although you will see a lot more of `build Uber for $5K` type of one off jobs, there are some reputable companies who need more capacity on new projects.
If I were you I would cast a wider net and sample the market more.
I think as a general rule, if you're freelancing full-time and making the same as you would in a salaried job or even a little more, you're not charging nearly enough.
When you freelance, you don't get paid sick days or paid holidays, and there's considerable risk you might not have any billed hours of work for weeks at a time. This at a minimum is why you need to be charging more per hour than you'd make per hour at a salaried job.
A rate of 20-30$/h is pretty standard for developers "outside" the US.
For developers "in" the US, I think you shouldn't accept less than 50$/h. Regarding how much you could ask, I think that depends (besides your experience) of the city in which the client is.