Freelancer Study 2023
Freelancer Study 2023
Freelancer Study 2023
Study
2023
Freelancer Report
Financials, Self-employment,
Demographics, Outlook, AI
For many years, the interdependence of technological revolution and
cultural implications has not received sufficient attention.
We warmly thank all participants and hope you enjoy reading the
study!
Thomas Maas
CEO / freelancermap GmbH
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
35%
31%
30% Remarkable
26%
€96
25%
20%
is the average hourly rate of
14% freelancers in 2023.
15%
5% 4% 4%
0%
< €25 €25 - 49 €50 - 74 €75 - 99 €100 - 124 €125 - 149 €150 - 174 > €174
Freelancer study 5
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Start capital
Which financial buffer do you recommend before starting freelancing?
Freelancer study 6
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Economic situation
How would you assess your current economic situation?
50%
43%
40%
Remarkable
33%
30%
20%
59%
assess their current economic
16%
situation as (very) good.
10% 7%
Only 8% assess it as (very) bad.
1%
0%
Very good Good Neutral Bad Very bad
Freelancer study 7
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Gross revenue
What was your gross revenue in 2022?
30%
26%
25%
Remarkable
49%
20%
17%
15%
13% 13%
12% 11% had a gross revenue of
10% more than €100,000 in 2022.
8%
Freelancer study 8
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Gross profit
What was your gross profit in 2022?
30%
28%
25% Remarkable
21%
51%
20%
16%
15% 14%
had a gross profit of over €50,000
11%
10% in 2022.
10%
Freelancer study 9
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
€100 €99
Remarkable
€107
€90
€90
€85
€70
Consultant Project lead Other Team lead Team member
Freelancer study 10
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
€100 €98
Remarkable
€90 €89
Freelancers with a university degree
(or higher) charge on average
€80
10%
€70 more than those without.
Freelancers with a university degree Freelancers without a university degree
Freelancer study 11
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
€111
Retail €99
Automotive €99
Public sector €99
Other €95
Electronical €92
is the average hourly rate of freelancers
Consulting €91
working in the energy sector.
IT / Software €90
Traffic / Transport / Logistics €90
Aerospace €90
Construction industry Banking/Finance and Industrial
€87
Real Estate €83 Production rank in 2nd and 3rd place,
Media €82 respectively, while the education
Tourism €68 industry has the lowest hourly rates.
Education €63
€50 €60 €70 €80 €90 €100 €110 €120
Freelancer study 12
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
SAP €113
Remarkable
IT infrastructure €91
Freelancers working in the consulting and
management field receive an average hourly
Development / Tech / Data €89
rate of
€117
Other €83
Engineering €79
Freelancer study 13
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
€39 €47
South Africa
America
Freelancer study 14
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
30%
27%
25%
25% Remarkable
€6,200
20%
20%
15%
is the average monthly net
11%
10% income of freelancers.
10%
7%
27% have an average monthly net
5%
income between €5,000 and €7,499.
0%
< €2,500 €2,500 - 4,999 €5,000 - 7,499 €7,500 - 9,999 €10,000 - 12,500 > €12,500
Freelancer study 15
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
€87
Women
€98 Men
€4,271 €6,589
Monthly net income Monthly net income
Diverse charge an average of €97 per hour and have a monthly net income of €4,913.
Freelancer study 16
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Income satisfaction
Freelancer study 17
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
79%
IT infrastructure 66% 34%
Freelancer study 18
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Rate calculation
How often do you calculate your rates?
50%
42%
40% Remarkable
42%
31%
30%
1%
0%
Individually for every Individually for every Once a year Once a month Other
project client
Freelancer study 19
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Charging clients
How do you usually charge your clients?
70%
65%
60%
Remarkable
50%
40%
30%
65%
charge their clients
19% by hourly rate.
20%
12%
10% 19% charge by daily rate.
2% 1% 1%
0%
Hourly rate Daily rate Project-based Value-based Retainer Other
Freelancer study 20
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Freelance rates
Why are you going to increase your rates?
Inflation 74%
Other 1%
Freelancer study 21
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / FINANCIALS
Freelancer study 22
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
The hourly rate increases to €96.
Monthly net income rises to €6,200.
However, income satisfaction decreases from 66% to 62%.
Florian Baumann
Head of Marketing / freelancermap GmbH
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
38%
were freelancing on the side
Were you already
62%
at the beginning.
working as a freelancer
on the side before
were not freelancing on the side. starting full-time?
Freelancer study 25
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Reasons to go freelance
Why did you become a freelancer?
73%
Variety of tasks 44%
I didn't feel I belonged in the company I worked at Better opportunities for getting a
19%
higher income was voted by 52%.
I was laid off / Unemployed 15%
Other 3%
Freelancer study 26
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Freelance challenges
What are the major challenges freelancers face?
Late payments
61%
Negotiations 18% agreed that finding new projects is
the biggest challenge for freelancers.
Accounting & finances 17%
Other 7%
Freelancer study 27
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Benefits of freelancing
What are the main benefits of freelancing?
Independence 75%
Diversity of tasks
52%
75%
consider independence the main
Remote work 51% benefit of freelancing.
Freelancer study 28
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Beginner mistakes
Which mistakes did you make more often at the beginning of your freelancer career?
64%
Accepted unsuitable projects 30%
Too tolerant with late payments 26% of freelancers cited charging too
low as their main mistake at
Administrative work done by myself 24% the beginning of their career.
Freelancer study 29
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Freelancer facts
9
Working hours and holidays
projects
are completed by freelancers on
average every year.
40 hours
are freelancers working on
average every week.
26 days
of vacation do freelancers take
on average per year.
Freelancer study 30
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Productivity
18%
of freelancers' working time is spent on
spend on
“unproductive” tasks
(client acquisition,
82%
of their working time is spent
unproductive tasks. accounting, customer on productive tasks.
care, etc.)?
Freelancer study 31
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Self-marketing
How do you market your freelance services?
76%
Personal website 53%
Freelancer study 32
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Accepting a project
Which factors influence your decision of accepting a project?
77%
Project duration 46%
Personal development 35%
Technology stack 30%
Company reputation 22% of freelancers decide whether or not
Industry 21% to accept a project based on
the hourly rate.
Proximity to residence 16%
International client 13%
Company size 11% For 62% is important to be able
to work remotely.
Social responsability 11%
Other 2%
Freelancer study 33
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Rejecting a project
Why do you reject projects?
77%
Not enough information about the project 25% reject projects because the
hourly rate is too low.
Bad company reputation 18%
Freelancer study 34
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
50%
are new clients.
What percentage of your
clients are new clients?
50%
are regular clients.
Freelancer study 35
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Managing clients
Freelancer study 36
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Personal fulfillment
How do you feel in your role as a freelancer?
50%
45% 43%
41%
40% Remarkable
35%
30%
25%
84%
of freelancers feel fulfilled and
20% are (very) satisfied working as
14% freelancers.
15%
10%
Only 2% of all surveyed freelancers
5% said to be unhappy.
2%
0%
0%
Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unhappy Very unhappy
Freelancer study 37
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Project acquisition
Why is project acquisition so challenging?
Other 9%
Freelancer study 38
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
70%
64%
60%
Remarkable
50%
40%
30%
36%
64%
of freelancers rely on passive
methods to acquire new projects.
20%
0%
Active (cold calls, cold emails, applying for open Passive (referrals, follow-up projects, direct requests,
projects, etc.) projects via agencies, etc.)
Freelancer study 39
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Acquisition channels
Which channel is working best for you for project acquisition?
Social media
7%
6%
36%
use freelancing platforms as their
primary acquisition channel.
Cold calls 3%
Fairs / Events 1%
Freelancer study 40
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Hiring freelancers
What do you think is preventing companies from hiring freelancers?
33% 51%
No willingness to change the "old way of work" 30% assess that potential legal problems could
prevent companies from hiring freelancers.
Don't find suitable candidates 28%
Other 4%
Freelancer study 41
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Working life
Key findings
Freelancer study 42
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Gender distribution
16%
Women
84% Men
Female freelancers are still significantly Men continue to outnumber women,
outnumbered by their male counterparts, especially in the technology sector.
resulting in a gender gap within the IT
industry.
Freelancer study 44
FREELANCER STUDY 2022 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Freelancer location
Where do freelancers live and work?
101
countries Freelancing is a global phenomenon - freelancers
based in 101 different countries completed the
survey.
The 10 most participative countries were: Germany,
Switzerland, Austria, India, Spain, Italy, Argentina,
Portugal, Brazil, and The Netherlands.
Freelancer study 44
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Education
Do you hold a university degree or a higher education title?
80%
Do you hold a
university degree or a
higher education 20%
4 out of every 5 freelancers have a
university degree or other higher
title? of freelancers do not hold a university
education credential. degree (or higher). In SAP, 15% lack
such credentials, compared to 40% in
content and media.
Freelancer study 46
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Area of expertise
What is your area of expertise?
63%
IT infrastructure 9%
Marketing / Communication 7%
Other 5%
SAP 5%
Freelancer study 47
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Role on projects
What was your position in the last (or current) project?
Remarkable
Consultant 27%
Other 6%
Freelancer study 48
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Professional experience
17%
describe themselves as
Junior Expert
(5 - 10 years of professional experience).
75%
describe themselves as Senior Expert
What is your
experience level? 8%
describe themselves as
(> 10 years of professional experience).
Young Professional
(< 5 years of professional experience).
Freelancer study 49
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Projects industry
In which field was your last (or current) project?
20% 18%
15%
Remarkable
10%
18%
10%
8% 8%
7%
6%
5% 4%
5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%
2% 2% 2% 2% work in the
1% 1%
IT / Software industry.
0%
Freelancer study 50
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Company size
What was the company size on your last (or current) project?
30%
27%
Remarkable
20%
16%
20%
15%
27%
14% work in companies with more than
5,000 employees - a decrease
10% 9% from 28% in 2022.
Freelancer study 51
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Retirement
How are you saving money for your retirement?
80%
60% 57%
50% 50%
Remarkable
38%
40%
€1,049
28%
18% 17%
20% 12% 12% 10%
5% 3%
0% is the average amount that freelancers
are putting aside for retirement per
month.
Freelancer study 52
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographics
Key findings
Women / Men Age Retirement savings University graduates Planned retirement age
Freelancer study 53
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
61%
livelihood because
24%
of the current
fear a loss of livelihood.
economic and
don‘t fear a loss of livelihood.
political situation?
Freelancer study 55
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Project market
How would you rate the actual project market situation for freelancers?
40%
35%
37%
Remarkable
20%
48%
rate the actual freelance project
13% 13% market as (very) good.
Freelancer study 56
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Freelancer study 57
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Workplace
Where are you completing your current project from?
70%
64%
60%
Remarkable
50%
40%
30%
33% 64%
work remotely.
20%
33% of freelancers work with an
10% hybrid working approach.
3%
0%
Remote Hybrid On-site
Freelancer study 58
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Ideal workplace
Where do you prefer to work?
70% 67%
60%
Remarkable
50%
40%
30%
30%
67%
of freelancers prefer to
work remotely.
20%
0%
Remote Hybrid On-site
Freelancer study 59
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
A look back
1%
would not choose to be a
freelancer if they
could start over.
Freelancer study 60
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Freelancer study 61
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / OUTLOOK
Programming languages
In your opinion, which programming languages will become more important in the future?
50%
46%
39%
40%
35%
30% 28%
26%
21%
19% 19% 18%
20%
13% 13%
10% 7% 7% 7% 6%
4% 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1%
0%
Freelancer study 62
Agenda
1. Financials
Rates, income, comparison
2. Self-employment
Challenges, freelance work
3. Demographics
Origin, education, industry
4. Outlook
Project market situation, forecasts
5. Artificial Intelligence
Impact of AI on the freelance market
AI is not a threat to the creative industry but a
useful tool.
Maria Murnikov
CEO / Brand Writer / Communications Strategist
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
78%
Agile project management 33%
Robotics 28%
DevOps 27%
Blockchain 26%
Smart Home 25% attribute growing
importance to Artificial Intelligence.
Virtual Reality 24%
Quantum computing 22%
Augmented Reality 21%
In 2022, AI was at the second place (65%)
3D Printing 17% and IT security at first place (67%).
Metaverse 16%
Drones 14%
Other 2%
Freelancer study 65
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
59%
don‘t use AI-based tools and software.
Do you use AI-based
tools and software
in your job?
41%
use AI-based tools and software.
Freelancer study 66
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
100%
89%
90%
80%
Remarkable
70%
60%
50%
40%
89%
of freelancers using AI-based tools
opt for ChatGPT.
30%
20% 15%
9% Top 5 mentioned tools (other):
10% 6% 6% 5% Midjourney, DeepL,
3% 2%
Dall-E, Notion, Tensorflow.
0%
ChatGPT Copilot Other Jasper Chat Neuroflash YouChat Chatsonic Perplexity
Freelancer study 67
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Benefits of AI
In your opinion, which benefits offer AI in your field of work?
34% 66%
Optimization of decision-making processes 27% see the improvement of efficiency and
productivity as a benefit.
Easier website creation 21%
Other 4%
Freelancer study 68
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Risk of AI
Which are the most significant risks of AI in your field of work?
Errors 56%
56%
Bias of AI systems 37%
Unpredictability 37%
Other 4%
Freelancer study 69
FREELANCER STUDY 2023 / SUMMARY
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