Ask HN: How much do you charge as iOS Contractor? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How much do you charge as iOS Contractor?

16 points31reasons16 comments

I am thinking of getting into iOS contracting/consulting. It would be great to know from you guys how much should I charge. (I am interested in the US rates). Thanks a lot.

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$50/hour. Not because I am incompetent, but because I choose to work from home(more productive, more time with family vs commuting). Most people want you to come to their office for butt-in-seat hours, so I have to lower my rate to still be desirable. Unfortunate, but there's not a ton of full-time remote iOS demand these days

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For reference:

Cheap overseas outsourcing = $20-30/hour

Junior/entry-level contract rate = $50-75/hour

Competent developer (i.e. able to work well without need for help or guidance) = $75-125

Highly skilled professional (flies in to help, recognized industry professional, directs projects architecture) = $150-300

What would you say the current market rates in the San Francisco area would be for full-time iOS developers? What are the variables that this depends on?

Charging by the hour is the wrong way to do it. Most developers who charge by the hour are making a lot less than they have to. Charge per project and you can structure it for $300 an hour or whatever you want within reason. It has been talked about a lot in other posts if you want to know more about it.

How to convince clients to charge by the project instead of hours ?

UK based, standard rate about $100/hr. I'm offering some cheaper to HN'ers for Christmas, so I can purchase myself a gift: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4925205

Lots more data here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlD_6iEb8Ed9dGs...

This is a great source of the data. Thanks!

Been freelancing in iOS dev for about 4 years. Don't charge hourly, only day rates. About $800/day - £500/day

Great to hear! How did you get started? Any comments/thoughts on how things are different now in terms of getting started?

I charge $150-$200/hr in NYC (4 years experience). My clients find value in me. There are many developers that charge $50 - $100 but end up taking 2x time to get the product out. Lately I've noticed there isn't much iOS work out there. Consider learning iOS + Android + Windows Phone to make yourself appeal more to potential clients. Great portfolio speaks a lot.

In NYC area, I know that a good iOS contractor can make $90-100/hr.

This is correct for a mid-level developer.

    Jr: $50-$80/hr
    Sr: $90-$150/hr

You can increase this further by abstracting away the "code monkey" aspect.

1. Specialize & productize your output, then offer fixed pricing. Customer gets a predictable result for a predictable cost, you produce something you can estimate to good accuracy while earning a higher effective rate.

2. Retarget your deliverables on business value instead of a technical spec sheet, then charge accordingly.

Note that both of these involve business development strategies, not improved technical skills.

Are there any books/blogs to learn about this within the context of software development as a contracting practice?

I'm currently going through Big Nerd Ranch's iOS Programming book and the "Challenges" at the end are geared towards making you accomplish tasks that would be given in the real world. I'm 25% of the way through the book and I'm already working on some projects on the side.

I know a couple people in the contracting business, and they all say that having their own app(s) in the App Store was the most valuable aspect for marketing.

I charge $20-25/hr though I used to get paid 5 times that in the US (that's cuz we moved to India and I had to charge based on those standards as opposed to the US ones!)

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