Upwork: Hourly Earnings of Freelancers
Is there disparity in earnings of freelancers from different regions
Freelancers from more developed economies earn more than freelancers from less developed economies. That is according to Payoneer 2022 Global Freelance Income Report[1]. The report surveyed over 2,000 Payoneer customers from over 100 countries who work with international clients. This report established that 71% of these freelancers offer their services via marketplaces such as Upwork, Fiverr, etc.
Payoneer found that the worlwide average hourly rate charged by freelancers is $28. That is higher than the $21 hourly rate charged by freelancers two years ago. North America freelancers lead with an average hourly rate of $44 while freelancers from Asia ranked fifth with an average hourly rate of $22.
Is there disparity in earnings of high quality freelancers in Upwork?
If there is a disparity in earnings of high quality freelancers from different countries, clients will shift to countries where hourly rate is lower. That will ensure revenue safety for the platform. To answer this question, we surveyed 500 high quality profiles(Top rated plus, top rated and rising talent) of U.S, Philippines and India freelancers. The methodology involved extracting the maximum and minimum hourly rate indicated in profiles of these freelancers. As such, it involved going through each URL search page. Each URL contains 10 profiles. The main disadvantage of this method is that freelancers who charge the maximum rates is way less compared to freelancers who charge the minimum rates; hence the average wage rate may not be realistic. However, our main objective was to understand whether there is disparity in hourly rates of these freelancers coming from different countries. We found that[2];
- U.S freelancers earn more than twice the hourly rate of Philiphines and India freelancers.
- The maximum hourly rate of U.S freelancers is $192 while the minimum hourly rate is $32. On average, they earn $112.
- The maximum hourly rate of India freelancers is $78 while their minimum hourly rate is $9. On average, they earn $44.
- The maximum hourly rate of Philippines freelancers is $47 while their minimum hourly rate is $7. On average, they earn $27.