up vote 0 down vote favorite

For example

  • here, someone likes to pay $140 for a chat application (iOS and Android)
  • here, someone like to have an audio streaming mobile application be built. He is willing to pay $8 - $15 per hour!
  • here, someone wants an iOS kernel driver. He likes to pay $10 - $30 for that. Considering that there is no documentation (or support) from Apple whatsoever about how to build a kernel driver for iOS, and such kernel driver can be run on jailbroken devices only anyways, this is crazy. It will take me more than an hour to even get started, and I don't think that any of the bidders will be faster than me.

What the heck is going on here? I have calculated that my minimum rate is $35/h. Otherwise it is better for me to get an employment position, even if my work load is optimal, my overhead is minimal and I'm never sick, now matter how many or how few hours I actually work. (Country: Austria, EU)

And are there any platforms for freelance iOS developers with rates that are not ridiculously low?

share|improve this question
  • 2
    You can't really judge anything by what clients want to pay. Many don't have any clue about real costs. – Scott Aug 31 at 15:09
  • @Scott: true... in my defense: when you follow the links, there is always more than one freelancer who actually makes an offer for that price. I cannot imagine anyone to build a decent chat application for 100$. It will take more than 1 day just to nail the requirements. – Michael Aug 31 at 16:19
  • Exchange rates and hobbyists. What appears to be $100 US may equate to much, much, more than that for local currency. Reality is, I find $35/hr horrifically low for a skilled trade. And I didn't follow the links. I find the crowdsourcing sites to be pretty unrealistic in terms of earning market-level income. – Scott Aug 31 at 16:45
  • @Scott: yes, $35 is way too low. It was just a theoretical example, a lower bound: if I work like an employee, am never sick, and instead of a salary I get 35$/h, I have the same amount of money in my pocket as an employee. The assumption that I can work like an employee and that I am never sick and that there is no overhead is wrong though. – Michael Aug 31 at 16:50

Your Answer

 
discard

By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy, and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.