Freelancer Rates Report
Insights into day rates and project lengths amongst the largest elite freelance community from the most-trusted global contractor sourcing and management platform.
Overview
2023 marked an average year-on-year increase of approximately +0.1% in day rates for freelancers, reaching an average of £379 per day. Across all disciplines, the average project length stood at 24 working days, translating to just under 5 weeks. This was a -0.8% year-on-year decrease.
Notably, significant variations exist among disciplines, with the top-earning fields being Strategy (£497 average per day), Market Research (£488) and Data (£473). In terms of project lengths, Client Services boasted the longest average, with freelancers being booked for just over 9 weeks (46 working days).
This report delves into the day rates across 15 disciplines on the YunoJuno platform, highlighting common day rate ranges, overall averages, and a breakdown by experience. Each category is accompanied by data on project lengths, exploring the most prevalent roles within those disciplines, their average rates, and contract lengths.
Insights by discipline
Click on the icons to the right to explore day rates insights by discipline
Average day rate
From a comprehensive dataset encompassing 98,000+ bookings, applications and approvals, spanning across various disciplines, experience levels and contract lengths, the 2023 average day rate stood at £379, reflecting a +0.1% year-on-year increase.
Ranking within the top 10% across industries exhibits some variability, but, on average, contracts earned approximately £647 per day, marking a +0.5% year-on-year increase.
Average contract length
The average project length decreased slightly by -0.8% to 24 working days. This expanded dataset provides enhanced depth and insight into our freelancers’ engagement. In 11 out of the 15 disciplines, there was a decrease in average contract length.
Contracts within the top 10% not only experienced a notable increase compared to the average, but also secured engagements that were 250% longer than the norm. However, there was a decline of -2.5% year-on-year.
Working with freelance professionals brings us invaluable benefits. The flexibility in contract duration allows us to bring in contractors precisely for project needs, ensuring the right expertise at the right time. Their fresh perspectives and new ideas inject vitality into our projects. Importantly, the freelance model helps us maintain our current teams size, making it a more agile and appealing solution in today’s dynamic business climate.
Methodology
Data
The data from this report is drawn from approximately 287,000+ freelance records on the YunoJuno platform from the full calendar years from 2021 – 2023. This year we have included data for bookings, applications and approvals in order to give the report additional depth and insight into all of our freelancers.
Note: All charts contain all the records, apart from booking related charts that only contain booking data.
All client and freelancer comments and quotes are from active participants within the YunoJuno network.
Operating as a global company, our clients collaborate with contractors from over 150 countries. While our expansive reach spans the globe, for simplicity, we'll reference currency in £, reflecting our roots in London.
Glossary
Year-on-year growth: Calculated the yearly growth from 2021 -2023.
Average day rates: Calculated by compounding roles relevant to each industry and calculating the average rate charged.
Average contract booking length: Calculated by compounding roles relevant to each industry and measuring the average length of each successful booking.
Contributors
Report team
Client contributions
Freelancer contributions
Download The 2024 Freelancer Rates Report
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