Many factors impact the salary a web developer can earn in their career. The work style has a significant impact as freelance web developers and employed ones have different earning potentials. Both have pros and cons. In the end, expertise, experience, demand, and the complexity of projects have the most significant impact on remuneration. In this article, we will cover web developer salary ranges as a freelancer and employee before comparing the pros and cons of working as either.
Freelance web developer salary
There are many benefits to working as a freelance web developer. You can choose your rates, your hours, the projects you take on, and where you work from. Those are considerable advantages. Nonetheless, the rates you choose are often dictated by the market, as you have to price your rates so they remain attractive. Since a freelancer is not continuously working on the same project or for the same company, there are two ways to consider salaries. You can estimate a freelance web developer’s salary by the hour or on a project basis. You also need to account for experience when you consider your salary.
Hourly Salary:
- Entry-Level (0-2 years): $25 to $50 an hour
- Mid-Level experience (3-5 years): $50 to $80 an hour
- Senior-Level experience (5+ years): $80 to $100+ an hour
- Specialized Skills (e.g., Full-stack, Advanced JavaScript, etc.): $150+ an hour
Sources:
Project-Based Salary:
- Small Websites: $1,000 to $5,000
- Medium Websites (custom CMS, E-commerce): $5,000 to $15,000
- Large, Complex Websites or Web Apps: $15,000 to $50,000+
For project-based salaries, we used website creation as an example, but there are tons of other projects you could work on. If you’re sure how much you should charge for them, consider your experience, the complexity of the project, and how long it would take to complete.
Hourly rate vs project-based salary
Freelancers have lots of flexibility when it comes to setting the prices for their services. Now that you know a bit about the two pricing models, let’s look at how you can choose your prices and the benefits and inconveniences of each pricing model to choose the one that fits you best.
Choosing your hourly salary
When you choose your hourly salary, you have many different criteria to take into account. Experience, skills, demand, location, and other factors all have an impact. To start, you can research the average salary in your niche and area. Get information from multiple sources and cross-check it.
There’s a simple formula to calculate your hourly salary:
(Expected Annual Salary + Business Expenses + Profit Margin) ÷ Billable Hours = Your Hourly Rate
Let’s take an example. If you want a $100,000 annual salary, your business expenses are $25,000, your profit margin is 20%, and you plan to work 1,500 billable hours per year. Your hourly rate would be:
($100,000 + $25,000 + $20,000) ÷ 1,500 = $97 per hour
Pros and cons of hourly and. project-based salaries
Hourly Salary:
- Pros:
- It’s much easier to understand for clients.
- It gives you more guarantees for compensation as projects can last more time than initially expected.
- If the project changes, you’ll have the flexibility to be paid accordingly.
- Cons:
- If you finish a project early, you can lose some money compared to a project-based salary.
- This can lead to miscommunication with clients as it will cost them to contact you.
- You have to track your hours carefully and be able to justify them.
Project-based pricing:
- Pros:
- Your efficiency and expertise will be rewarded as you’ll get paid in full if you finish early.
- The cost is clear and upfront for the client. Some prefer this way of working. Especially, if their budget is tighter.
- You can earn more money if you finish early, as you can take on other projects.
- Cons:
- You need to be very precise in terms of time estimates and project scopes.
- If the project takes longer than expected, it can reduce your earnings.
- You’ll need to work more at the beginning to clearly define different milestones and the deliverables needed for the project to be completed.
Find freelance projects that match your expertise.
While freelancers can potentially earn more than employees and have a more flexible work-life balance, they still need to find clients regularly to grow their income. There are multiple ways of doing that, of course. Being present on a freelance marketplace platform can help you find new clients regularly while maintaining the flexibility you want and securing your sales. ComeUp is one of the best freelance marketplace platforms for web developers. It offers many benefits. The main one is the $1-only commission option, which is essential for web developers. Traditionally, freelance platforms charge between 20 and 10% commission on each order. That’s a significant amount. ComeUp enables you to maximize your earnings by paying a $1-only commission fee.
There are many other advantages to using ComeUp. All your sales are safe and secure. When a client places an order, they pay for it upfront, and the money goes into an escrow account. You receive it as soon as you’ve completed the order. This ensures you won’t get paid late and that clients don’t run away with your money. The more you sell on ComeUp, the higher you’ll rank in the search rankings. If you manage to reach the top pages, you’ll get many visitors and more orders.
Employee Web Developer Salary
Employed web developers usually have a fixed salary and work a fixed number of hours per week. Their salary depends on location, experience, role, company size, and other factors.
Salary Range:
- Entry-Level experience (0-2 years): $50,000 to $75,000 per year
- Mid-Level experience (3-5 years): $75,000 to $100,000 per year
- Senior-Level experience (5+ years): $100,000 to $130,000+ per year
- Specialized Roles (Full-stack, UI/UX, DevOps, etc.): $110,000 to $160,000+ per year
Source:
How location impacts your salary as a web developer
Geographic location has a huge impact on salaries. Some locations have much higher ranges. That’s certainly due to quality of life, rent prices, and other factors. Here’s a breakdown of how your salary changes based on your location.
United States: In tech epicenters like San Francisco, New York, or Seattle, web developers can have higher salaries. They are often $10,000 to $20,000 more than in smaller cities or rural areas.
Europe: The salary range is very wide in Europe. In countries like Germany or the UK, the range can be around €45,000 to over €90,000 annually. In other countries, the range is usually a bit lower.
Asia: Salaries can be significantly lower depending on the country. In Japan or Australia, they can reach the equivalent of $60,000 to $100,000+.
Comparison between working as a freelancer and as an employee
Both work styles have their advantages and inconveniences. An easy way to look at it is that employees have more restrictions and less flexibility, but they have more certainty and less risk. Freelancers have more flexibility, but that comes at a cost with fewer guarantees. It’s possible to succeed either way. You need to work hard and have the right experience and skills to have the chance to work on those opportunities that are more financially rewarding.
Advantages of working as a freelancer
- You have the flexibility to choose your hours, clients, and prices.
- As a freelancer, you have a higher earning potential. Especially, if you’re a skilled professional with specific sought-after skills.
- You can work with multiple clients on multiple projects and get more exposure.
- You can work from wherever you wish to work from.
Advantages of working as a freelancer
- You have more stability with regular paychecks, health insurance, retirement pensions, and paid time off.
- As an employee, your career progression and opportunities are more evident.
- The hours and the work expectations can be more structured. For some people, it’s easier to work that way.
Conclusion: Web developer salary as a freelancer and as an employee.
Now you know how much a web developer can expect as compensation as a freelancer and employee. Freelancers have more variable salaries as there is more risk involved. The earning potential is higher, but freelance web developers have to constantly work to ensure they will have projects to work on. Employees have less flexibility, which they sacrifice for more stability, regular working hours, and regular pay.
If you’re considering which path is best for you, consider what’s most important for you and your values. If you value flexibility over everything else, freelancing might be best for you. But if you value regularity and stable income, becoming an employee will certainly be better for you.
