In our “Freelance Radar” survey conducted in January/February 2025, 895 members of our community shared their insights about their current project situation, rates, skills and business prospects.
📋 The results at a glance
| Current project situation | 43% of respondents view their project situation as unchanged, with modest shifts in sentiment compared to previous surveys. |
|---|---|
| Current project | Roughly three-quarters of respondents are active in client projects, with 24% seeking opportunities and 3% not looking for new projects. |
| Current hourly rate | Responses are mainly clustered in the mid-range, with roughly a quarter of participants charging between €80–89 and another roughly a quarter between €90–99. |
| Areas of expertise | 41% of respondents worked in Tech » Backend, ca. one third in Tech » Fullstack, and 30% in Tech » Architecture. |
| Work location | 82% of respondents worked primarily from home over the past three months, with smaller groups opting for coworking spaces, client offices, or a mix. |
| Project acquisition | 38% of survey participants did not acquire new clients in the past three months, with about a quarter relying on their own network and 21% using online platforms. |
| Business outlook | 41% of respondents expect their project situation to remain about the same, with negative outlooks notably declining. |
| AI usage | 44% of IT freelancers use AI tools every day, a 4 percentage point drop from 48% three months ago. |
| AI outlook | 53% of respondents have a favorable or balanced view of AI’s impact, with only 9% expecting mostly negative effects. |
Current project situation
The results reveal that 43% of survey participants regard their current project situation as "about the same" compared to three months ago. Exactly 6% reported a much better state, and 22% noted a slightly better situation, while 15% felt slightly worse and 12% experienced a much worse condition. Compared to the survey conducted three months ago – which recorded 23% for slightly better and 10% for slightly worse – there is a 5 percentage point increase in the slightly worse category and a 4 percentage point decrease in the much worse category. Observing trends over the past nine months, extreme evaluations have notably diminished, and a larger share now assesses their situation as stable, suggesting a gradual overall stabilization with moderate shifts in sentiment.
Current project
Roughly three-quarters of the survey participants are currently engaged in client projects, including part-time assignments, demonstrating a strong market demand. Meanwhile, 24% stated they are not involved in any project at the moment but are actively seeking one, while only 3% are not looking for new opportunities. This distribution highlights that the majority of IT freelancers are actively working on client projects, reflecting robust workload engagement and market utilization. Furthermore, these findings offer valuable insights into the current professional status of the respondents, potentially indicating future trends in project allocation and job market dynamics.
Current hourly rate
The results indicate that the current hourly rates among survey participants predominantly cluster in the mid-range. Roughly a quarter of respondents charge between €80 and €89, and another roughly a quarter fall within the €90 to €99 bracket, illustrating that nearly half of the participants are positioned in these segments. An additional 12% charge between €70 and €79, while 7% bill less than €70. In the higher rate ranges, 16% of responses are within €100 to €109, 9% within €110 to €119, and 3% each for the ranges of €120 to €129 and €130 or above. This spread provides valuable insight into the prevailing pricing strategy and reflects a strong focus on the affordable mid-tier domain.
Areas of expertise
Over the past three months, survey participants predominantly engaged in technical roles. 41% worked in Tech » Backend, while ca. one third (32%) were active in Tech » Fullstack and 30% in Tech » Architecture. Roughly a quarter (27%) focused on Tech » API, whereas exactly one quarter (25%) dedicated their tasks to Tech » Frontend. Additional notable areas included Other » Consulting/Coaching (16%) and Tech » Mobile (14%). Fields such as Other » Project Management (13%), Design » UI/UX Design (11%), and Tech » DevOps/Cloud (11%) were also represented, along with smaller shares in specialized sectors like Tech » Data Science/AI and Tech » Security. These results underline a strong emphasis on core technical skills among IT professionals, complemented by a wide range of additional expertise.
Work location
The survey results reveal that a vast majority of survey participants primarily worked from home over the past three months, with 82% choosing this option. Only 9% reported working mostly in coworking spaces, shared offices, or their own offices, while a mere 1% indicated that they worked mainly onsite at a client’s office. Additionally, 6% of respondents opted for a mix of different work locations. This distribution emphasizes that home-based work remains the dominant mode among the survey participants, with traditional office settings and client sites playing a comparatively minor role. Overall, the findings highlight the continued importance of remote work in this professional group.
Project acquisition
Among the surveyed IT freelancers, 38% reported not acquiring any new clients in the last three months. For those who did secure new business, the channels used varied: 21% relied mainly on online platforms, while about a quarter (23%) preferred leveraging their own network. Additionally, 9% were contacted directly by recruiters, 3% used outreach methods such as cold calling, and 6% employed a mix of channels. This distribution suggests that despite multiple available options, a significant portion faced challenges in client acquisition. The results highlight the varied effectiveness of different strategies and may indicate a need to reassess current approaches in an increasingly competitive market.
Business outlook
In the current survey, 41% of respondents expect their project situation to remain about the same over the next 6 months, while 32% foresee a slightly positive trend and 4% a very positive outlook. Negative expectations have notably declined, with 15% anticipating a slightly negative development and only 7% expecting a very negative change. Compared to the survey conducted three months ago, the share of neutral responses increased by 11 percentage points, while those expecting slightly and very negative outcomes dropped by 8 and 4 percentage points, respectively. This shift indicates growing confidence in project stability, despite mixed sentiments in previous survey rounds.
AI usage
Current results reveal that 44% of IT freelancers use AI tools every day—a decrease of 4 percentage points from 48% three months ago. Additionally, 17% use them often and 19% from time to time, meaning that over 80% incorporate these tools into their daily routines. The proportion of respondents who rarely use AI tools has remained steady at 11%, while those not using them at all increased from 7% to 9%. Compared to the surveys conducted 6 and 9 months ago, when daily usage was around 27–28%, there has been a significant upward trend in daily adoption. This overall pattern reflects the growing reliance on and integration of AI tools in the IT sector.
AI outlook
Respondents exhibited an overall positive outlook regarding the effects of AI tools on their work. In the current survey, 11% reported almost exclusively positive effects and 42% indicated mostly positive effects, amounting to 53% with favorable views. Additionally, 37% considered that the benefits and drawbacks balance each other, reflecting a more nuanced perspective, while only 7% and 2% reported mostly negative and almost exclusively negative effects respectively. Compared to three months ago, the share of respondents expecting almost exclusively positive effects decreased by 2 percentage points, and the neutral responses increased by 2 percentage points. Furthermore, there was a 5 percentage point rise in neutral opinions compared to six months ago, indicating a shift toward a more balanced evaluation of AI’s impact.