Freelance PHP rates in 2024: where are you now
Curious about current freelance rates for PHP developers. Last discussion I found was from 2022 and the market has shifted.
Share your rate, experience level, and client geography if you are comfortable.
Senior (8 years), EU clients, $80-90/hour. Landing rate for new clients. Long-term clients are at $70 because of volume. Rate bumps every 18 months or so.
Mid-level (4 years), Eastern Europe to US/UK clients, $50-60/hour. Getting to the next level requires either specialization (specific industry or stack) or building a reputation for independent work.
Rates have been fairly stable the last 18 months after the AI-panic dip in early 2023. Companies are more thoughtful about AI-replacing-developers but PHP backend work has been steady.
Specialization premium: Laravel + payments integration (Stripe, multi-currency) gets me $100/hour from fintech clients. Same skills on a generic Laravel job would be $75. Domain knowledge doubles the value.
Day rate vs hourly: for projects longer than a month I prefer day rate (8 hours committed). $600-700/day for senior work in Western Europe. Easier to plan for both sides.
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