Sourced figures
Read 2026-10-02
Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), national, May 2025 estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES -- MAY 2025 (release dated Friday, May 15, 2026, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.nr0.htm). API values, year 2025: 01 employment 1687890; 03 mean hourly 71.20; 04 mean annual 148100; 06 10th pct hourly 39.64; 07 25th pct hourly 50.58; 08 median hourly 65.38; 09 75th pct hourly 82.68; 10 90th pct hourly 103.21; 13 median annual 135980
Read 2026-10-02
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (SOC 15-1253), national, May 2025 estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS
API values, year 2025: 01 employment 186740; 03 mean hourly 53.60; 04 mean annual 111490; 06 10th pct hourly 29.54; 07 25th pct hourly 38.61; 08 median hourly 50.14; 09 75th pct hourly 64.03; 10 90th pct hourly 80.29; 13 median annual 104300
Read 2026-10-02
Web Developers (SOC 15-1254), national, May 2025 estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS
API values, year 2025: 01 employment 70190; 03 mean hourly 47.49; 04 mean annual 98770; 06 10th pct hourly 23.12; 07 25th pct hourly 30.88; 08 median hourly 44.54; 09 75th pct hourly 60.69; 10 90th pct hourly 78.03; 13 median annual 92650
Read 2026-10-02
Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255), national, May 2025 estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS
API values, year 2025: 01 employment 113330; 03 mean hourly 56.49; 04 mean annual 117490; 06 10th pct hourly 25.84; 07 25th pct hourly 35.24; 08 median hourly 50.00; 09 75th pct hourly 76.36; 10 90th pct hourly 96.90; 13 median annual 104000
Read 2026-10-02
Project Management Specialists (SOC 13-1082), national, May 2025 estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS
API values, year 2025: 01 employment 1066670; 03 mean hourly 53.24; 04 mean annual 110740; 06 10th pct hourly 29.61; 07 25th pct hourly 37.71; 08 median hourly 49.19; 09 75th pct hourly 63.99; 10 90th pct hourly 80.76; 13 median annual 102320
Read 2026-10-02
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC)
Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $46.89 per hour worked in June 2026. Wages and salaries averaged $32.82 and accounted for 70.0 percent of employer costs, while benefit costs averaged $14.07 and accounted for the remaining 30.0 percent.
Read 2026-10-02
Price Pressure and Performance: The New Equation for Global Dev Rates
Accelerance (blog post by Peter Griffin, November 24, 2025, summarising the Accelerance 2026 Global Software Development Rates & Trends Guide)
Rates for junior developers in LATAM now sit between US$33–$45 per hour, while senior developers range from $60–$75 USD. | Asia remains the cost leader, with average rates for junior developers as low as $24–$31 per hour and senior roles between $31–$41, thanks to massive talent pools in places like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. | Europe, balancing premium expertise and broad regional variation, saw hourly rates slip slightly to a range of $31–$39 for junior developers and $64–$76 for seniors, with downward pressure especially strong in Central and Eastern Europe. | Latin America saw the sharpest rates decrease in 2025, with software development rates falling 7.1% year-on-year according to our survey of software firms in the region | Asia’s effective rates dropped nearly 8% in the last year | Europe’s 4.4% year-on-year dip | Download your copy of the Accelerance 2026 Global Software Development Rates & Trends Guide based on our survey of 60 software development partners from around the world.
Note: Accelerance publishes no North America or US agency range in this post. Europe range is a blended Europe figure; the post says downward pressure is strongest in Central and Eastern Europe.
https://www.accelerance.com/blog/2026-outsourcing-rate-trends-asia-europe-latam
Read 2026-10-02
App Development Pricing Guide, updated September 21, 2026
Clutch (App Development Pricing Guide)
Updated September 21, 2026 | According to data gathered by Clutch, the average cost of hiring an app development company is around $25–$49/hour. | Most app development projects reviewed on Clutch usually range between $10,000 - $49,999. | Based on data collected by Clutch, the average cost of app development projects is $90,780.11. | Usually, the timeline for mobile app development projects is about 11 months. | The average monthly cost of app development projects is $8,188.44. | Rates by location: United States of America: $25 - $49; India: <$25; Canada: $50 - $99; Australia: $100 - $149; Phillippines: $25 - $49; Ukraine: $25 - $49; Poland: $50 - $99; Spain: $25 - $49; Mexico: $25 - $49 | The pricing information accumulated by Clutch is derived from the countless verified first-party reviews provided by app development clients
https://clutch.co/directory/mobile-application-developers/pricing
Read 2026-10-02
Software Development Company Pricing Guide, updated September 21, 2026
Clutch (Software Development Pricing Guide)
Updated September 21, 2026 | The average cost to hire a software development company ranges anywhere from $25–$49/hour | the average cost of a software development project is $132,480.29 | The usual timeline for a software development project based on verified project reviews is about 13 months. | Country | Average Cost per Hour | United States of America | $50 - $99 | India | $25 - $49 | Canada | $100 - $149 | Australia | $100 - $149 | Philippines | $25 - $49 | Ukraine | $25 - $49 | Poland | $50 - $99 | Spain | $25 - $49 | Mexico | $25 - $49
Read 2026-10-02
Apple Developer Program enrollment
Apple Developer (Enrollment support page)
The Apple Developer Program annual fee is 99 USD and the Apple Developer Enterprise Program annual fee is 299 USD, in local currency where available.
Read 2026-10-02
App Store Small Business Program
Apple Developer (App Store Small Business Program)
It features a reduced commission rate of 15% on paid apps and Apple In-App Purchases, so you can invest more resources into your business to continue building quality apps that customers love. | Existing developers who made up to 1 million USD in proceeds in the prior calendar year for all their apps, as well as developers new to the App Store, can qualify for the program and the reduced commission. | If a participating developer surpasses the 1 million USD threshold in the current calendar year, the standard commission rate will apply to future sales.
Note: The page does not state the standard commission percentage; the site does not state it either.
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/
Read 2026-10-02
Get started with Play Console (registration)
Google Play Console Help
There is a US$25 one-time registration fee that you can pay with the following credit or debit cards
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435?hl=en
Read 2026-10-02
Service fees
Google Play Console Help
Of those developers that are subject to a service fee, 99% are eligible for a fee of 15% or less by participating in different programs offered by Google Play. | For all remaining markets until the announced updated service fees are rolled out globally: ... Developers enrolled in the 15% service fee tier 15% for the first $1M (USD) revenue earned by the developer each year 30% for earnings in excess of $1M (USD) revenue earned by the developer each year Subscriptions 15% for automatically renewing subscription products purchased by subscribers, regardless of revenue earned by the developer each year
Note: Google is rolling out an updated fee structure market by market (10% + 5% billing fee rows on the same page); the site describes the transitional schedule and links the page rather than presenting one number as final.
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en
Read 2026-10-02
Target API level requirements for Google Play apps
Google Play Console Help
Starting August 31, 2026: New apps and app updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) or higher to be submitted to Google Play | You will be able to request an extension to November 1, 2026 if you need more time to update your app. | Android 15(API level 35) August 31, 2025 August 31, 2025
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/11926878?hl=en
Read 2026-10-02
Upcoming requirements
Apple Developer (Upcoming requirements)
SDK minimum requirements Since April 28, 2026 Apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later using an SDK for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, or watchOS 26. | Xcode 15 Since April 29, 2024 Apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 15 for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, or watchOS 10 starting April 29, 2024. | Xcode 14.1 Since April 25, 2023 iOS and iPadOS apps submitted to the App Store must be built with Xcode 14.1 and the iOS 16.1 SDK or later.
What we could not source
- Freelance marketplace rates (Upwork hire/cost pages returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-02). Not shown on the site.
- GoodFirms app cost survey (HTTP 403 on 2026-10-02). Not shown.
- A neutral, method-stated benchmark for annual maintenance as a percentage of build cost. A web search on 2026-10-02 ("app maintenance cost per year percentage of development cost") returned agency articles giving 15-20%, 15-30%, 33% and 50% in the first year, with no neutral source or stated method found. The site reports the disagreement and models maintenance as hours instead.
- Apple's standard (non-small-business) commission percentage: not stated on the Apple page read; not shown.
- Hours per feature and per complexity level: these are the site's own planning assumptions, published on /methodology/ and labelled as such everywhere they appear.
Hours are covered on the methodology page. Corrections: see the about page.