The rate report, in the open.
Every quarter the rate bands on this site get reviewed against the sources. Subscribers get it by email; this page is the same report, no email required. What the numbers are, what moved, and why.
The Q2 2026 numbers
Summary bands for a mid-level independent developer, by region. The per-stack medians behind them live on the rate tables — this is the same data, zoomed out.
| Region | Median band | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| North America | $65–150 | The anchor market — everything else prices against it |
| Western Europe | $55–110 | 10–30% under North America at the median |
| Eastern Europe | $35–75 | The classic offshore lane for EU hours |
| Latin America | $30–55 | The nearshore lane — pays for US-hours overlap |
| South Asia | $15–45 | The rate floor for equivalent calibre |
Two standing assumptions travel with the bands: agencies typically bill 30–60% above the independent rate, and senior specialists sit 50%+ above the median. Both are stated wherever the numbers appear; neither is hidden in a footnote.
What changed this quarter
Nothing — and that is the honest answer. This is edition No. 1, the baseline. There is no previous edition to compare it against, and manufacturing a “trend” for the sake of a section would be exactly the kind of number-faking this site exists to counter.
What each future edition tracks, against this baseline:
- Per-stack medians by region — the forty numbers on the tables page; which moved and which source moved them.
- Band spreads — whether the gap between regions widened or narrowed, and the stated reason.
- The agency markup assumption — currently 30–60%; revised only when published agency rate cards say so.
- Project price bands — the per-service ranges across the site, moved only when the underlying rates justify it.
- Methodology changes — any new source type or assumption, logged here in plain language.
When a number does not move, the edition says so plainly. A quarter with no changes is a reportable fact, not a formatting problem.
How the numbers are made
Editorial estimates compiled from public data — marketplace rate distributions, agency rate cards, salary benchmarks and industry surveys — normalised to a mid-level independent profile, widened where sources disagree. Full sources, assumptions and limits: the methodology page. These are not quotes, not offers, and not what any individual must charge — they are the sanity-check for whatever quote you are holding.
Past editions
Q2 2026 is the first edition. Each new edition replaces the numbers above, and the previous one moves here — so any claim this site ever made about rates stays checkable against the edition that made it.
- Q2 2026 · No. 1 — baseline. Current.
Quarterly, and only when the numbers move
Get the next edition by email.
The email and this page carry the same numbers — the email just arrives. One email a quarter, nothing else.