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 | 15–20% 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.
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