Short answer
US software developers: median $65.38/hr wage (BLS, May 2025), about $93.40/hr with benefits. US development companies: $50 to $99 an hour (Clutch software guide). Outsourced senior developers: $60 to $75 in Latin America, $64 to $76 in Europe, $31 to $41 in Asia (Accelerance 2026).
US employees: BLS wages by role
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates for May 2025, released 15 May 2026. Hourly wages in US dollars, before benefits.
| Role (SOC) | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers 15-1252 | $39.64 | $50.58 | $65.38 | $82.68 | $103.21 | 1,687,890 |
| Web developers 15-1254 | $23.12 | $30.88 | $44.54 | $60.69 | $78.03 | 70,190 |
| Software QA analysts and testers 15-1253 | $29.54 | $38.61 | $50.14 | $64.03 | $80.29 | 186,740 |
| Web and digital interface designers 15-1255 | $25.84 | $35.24 | $50.00 | $76.36 | $96.90 | 113,330 |
| Project management specialists 13-1082 | $29.61 | $37.71 | $49.19 | $63.99 | $80.76 | 1,066,670 |
From wage to employer cost
BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026: private industry compensation averaged $46.89 per hour worked, of which wages were 70.0% and benefits 30.0%. Dividing a wage by 0.70 gives an approximate employer cost per hour. That division is our arithmetic, and it uses the all-private-industry share rather than a share specific to software occupations, so treat it as an approximation.
| Role | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers | $72.26 | $93.40 | $118.11 |
| Software QA analysts and testers | $55.16 | $71.63 | $91.47 |
| Web and digital interface designers | $50.34 | $71.43 | $109.09 |
| Project management specialists | $53.87 | $70.27 | $91.41 |
Development companies: Clutch bands by country
Clutch derives its pricing information from verified client reviews. Both guides were updated 21 September 2026. They list the United States, Canada and India in different bands:
| Country | App guide | Software guide |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America | $25 - $49 | $50 - $99 |
| Canada | $50 - $99 | $100 - $149 |
| Australia | $100 - $149 | $100 - $149 |
| Poland | $50 - $99 | $50 - $99 |
| Ukraine | $25 - $49 | $25 - $49 |
| Spain | $25 - $49 | $25 - $49 |
| Mexico | $25 - $49 | $25 - $49 |
| Philippines | $25 - $49 | $25 - $49 |
| India | <$25 | $25 - $49 |
Outsourcing partners: Accelerance by region and seniority
From Accelerance's November 2025 post on its 2026 Global Software Development Rates & Trends Guide, based on a survey of 60 software development partners.
| Region | Junior | Senior | Change in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latin America | $33 - $45 | $60 - $75 | Down 7.1% year on year |
| Europe | $31 - $39 | $64 - $76 | Down 4.4% year on year |
| Asia | $24 - $31 | $31 - $41 | Effective rates down nearly 8% |
Freelancers
We tried to read published freelance marketplace rate pages on 2 October 2026 and were blocked, so this site does not show freelance rates. If you have a freelancer's quote, use the custom rate option in the calculator.
Questions
What is the average hourly rate for an app developer?+
It depends on what you mean by rate. A US software developer employee earned a median $65.38 an hour in May 2025 (BLS), which is about $93.40/hr once benefits are added at the BLS ECEC wage share. Clutch puts the average cost of hiring an app development company at $25 to $49 an hour. Accelerance's 2026 survey puts senior outsourced developers at $60 to $75 in Latin America, $64 to $76 in Europe and $31 to $41 in Asia.
Why is an agency's rate different from a developer's wage?+
A wage is what the employee receives. An employer also pays benefits and taxes: BLS ECEC puts wages at 70.0% of private-industry employer compensation costs in June 2026. An agency's billed rate additionally covers unbilled time, sales, management, offices and profit. Comparing a wage with a billed rate without adjusting for this flatters in-house hiring.
Why do Clutch's two pricing guides show different US rates?+
Clutch's App Development Pricing Guide lists the United States at $25 to $49 an hour and its Software Development Pricing Guide lists it at $50 to $99, both updated 21 September 2026. Clutch does not explain the difference on either page. We report both rather than pick one, and the calculator offers each as its own option.
Are outsourcing rates going up or down?+
Down, according to Accelerance. Its November 2025 post on the 2026 guide reports Latin American rates falling 7.1% year on year, Asian effective rates dropping nearly 8% and a 4.4% dip in Europe, which it attributes to competition, automation and AI-augmented developers.
Sources for this page
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), national, May 2025 estimates. www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151252.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Web Developers (SOC 15-1254), national, May 2025 estimates. www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151254.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (SOC 15-1253), national, May 2025 estimates. www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151253.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255), national, May 2025 estimates. www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151255.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Project Management Specialists (SOC 13-1082), national, May 2025 estimates. www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131082.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026. www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.nr0.htm (read 2026-10-02)
- Clutch (App Development Pricing Guide). App Development Pricing Guide, updated September 21, 2026. clutch.co/directory/mobile-application-developers/pricing (read 2026-10-02)
- Clutch (Software Development Pricing Guide). Software Development Company Pricing Guide, updated September 21, 2026. clutch.co/developers/pricing (read 2026-10-02)
- Accelerance (blog post by Peter Griffin, November 24, 2025, summarising the Accelerance 2026 Global Software Development Rates & Trends Guide). Price Pressure and Performance: The New Equation for Global Dev Rates. www.accelerance.com/blog/2026-outsourcing-rate-trends-asia-europe-latam (read 2026-10-02)
Hours are this site's own planning assumptions, set out line by line on the methodology page. Full quotes for every figure are on the sources page.