In our “Freelance Radar” survey conducted in July 2024, 704 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 | 32% of IT freelancers see their current project situation as better than three months ago. |
|---|---|
| Current project | 68% of IT freelancers are currently involved in a project. |
| Current hourly rate | Most IT freelancers charge between 80 and 109 euros per hour. |
| Skills and technologies | Java, TypeScript, and React.js dominate the skillset of IT freelancers. |
| Work location | Most IT freelancers have worked from home 72% of the time over the last three months. |
| Project acquisition | 26% of IT freelancers acquired new clients mainly through online platforms. |
| Business outlook | 36% of respondents expect a positive development, while 28% have a negative outlook. |
| AI usage | 28% of IT freelancers use AI tools daily, and 31% use them occasionally. |
| AI outlook | 53% of IT freelancers expect positive effects from AI tools on their work. |
Current project situation
The current project situation of IT freelancers has improved overall compared to three months ago. 32% of respondents report an improvement (8% "much better" and 24% "slightly better"), while 23% perceive a decline (9% "slightly worse" and 14% "much worse"). A significant 43% see the situation as unchanged. Compared to the results from three months ago, there is a notable increase of 6% in the "much better" category and 5% in the "slightly better" category. The perception of projects remaining unchanged stays stable, but signs of recovery compared to previous periods are clearly visible.
Current project
68% of IT freelancers are currently engaged in a project, whether full-time or part-time. 28% are actively looking for a new project, while 3% are not currently seeking one. This indicates that a significant majority of respondents have work, while a smaller portion is on the lookout for new opportunities. This outcome may suggest that the market for IT services is currently stable, as a large proportion of freelancers are already involved in projects.
Current hourly rate
Most IT freelancers currently charge an hourly rate between 80 and 109 euros. 23% of respondents indicate that they earn between 80€ - 89€, followed closely by 22% charging between 90€ and 99€ per hour. Additionally, 19% fall into the 100€ - 109€ category. Meanwhile, 38% of freelancers earn below 80€, while only 6% charge more than 120€. Consequently, the rates predominantly occupy the middle pricing segment.
Skills and technologies
In the last three months, IT freelancers primarily worked with Java (20%), TypeScript (16%), and React.js (14%) in customer projects. Alongside these core technologies, Spring Boot (13%) and Kubernetes (10%) were also commonly used. Other technologies include Python (10%), JavaScript (8%), and AWS (7%). Less frequently mentioned skills were Kotlin, Scrum, Angular, Azure, Docker, Jira, Linux, Node.js, PHP, project management, Vue.js, and Figma. Overall, Java and modern web technologies play a significant role in current projects.
Work location
72% of IT freelancers have predominantly worked from home in the last three months, with 14% working in a coworking space or their own office. Only 1% reported mostly being onsite at a client's office, and 9% chose the "Mix" option. These results highlight that home working has become the preferred working environment for the majority of respondents.
Project acquisition
26% of the surveyed IT freelancers reported acquiring new clients mainly through online platforms, while 18% relied predominantly on their own network. Additionally, 14% successfully gained clients through recruiters. A significant 32% of respondents stated they had not acquired any new clients in the last three months. Notably, no freelancers selected the direct approach option, with 9% opting for the "Mix" category.
Business outlook
The survey shows that 36% of IT freelancers have an optimistic outlook for the coming months, while 28% have a negative expectation. Compared to the last survey, the percentage of respondents providing a "very positive" assessment has slightly increased from 4% to 6%. The largest group, 35%, believes that the situation will remain the same. There has been a small decline in those expecting a negative development, indicating that freelancers are overall showing a more stable assessment of their business prospects than they did three months ago.
AI usage
28% of IT freelancers use AI tools every day, showing a slight increase from 27% three months ago. The adoption of AI tools remains prevalent, with 19% of respondents indicating they use them often and 31% from time to time. However, the numbers are decreasing for infrequent users, with only 11% rarely using them and 10% not using them at all. The trend reflects a growing acceptance of AI tools within the industry.
AI outlook
Currently, 53% of IT freelancers foresee positive effects of AI tools on their work, with 13% expecting almost exclusively positive outcomes and 40% seeing mostly positive effects. Meanwhile, 32% consider the effects to be balanced, and 12% anticipate negative impacts (9% mostly negative and 3% almost exclusively negative). Compared to three months ago, the proportion of those seeing almost exclusively positive effects has slightly increased, while the mostly positive opinions have remained relatively stable. The perspective of equal or mostly negative effects has decreased, indicating a generally more favorable outlook towards AI tools.