FREELANCER

RATES REPORT
● The GOODList Annual Freelancer Rates Report
‘
‘23
FREELANCER RATES REPORT The GOODList
INTRODUCTION
By Lesley Winterbach, Founder of The GOODList
INSTAGRAM Welcome to The GOODList's annual
LINKEDIN Freelance Rates Survey. I founded
WEBSITE
2022 REPORT The GOODList in 2021 with the aim of
nurturing an open, empowering, creative
community and finding job opportunities
for freelancers at brands we believe in.
During these initial years, I was
specifically struck by the lack of
conversation about freelancer rates.
It wasn't just the awkward silence
surrounding finances but also the
absence of comprehensive data
and research, specifically within
the creative industry.
REPORT NO. 2
With our survey, we hope to support
our freelance community and inspire
companies to engage in conversations
about transparency in numbers.
For this year, we decided to focus on
cities Amsterdam, Paris, London, and
Berlin with 9 selected disciplines, as
this is currently where we have the
largest communities and data points.
It was interesting to see that there was an
average 10% decrease in rates across all
selected creative disciplines in the four
cities. With Creative Directors, we saw
the largest decrease, around 30%, for
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both Amsterdam and London.
Strategists had the largest increase,
where the average salary went up 3%
in Amsterdam and 23% in London.
In the following pages, we delve deeper
into the numbers and insights. If you
do not find your discipline, please
reach out, and we can assist.
A special thanks to the wonderful
GOODList team and data analyst,
Molly Rooyakkers. See you in 2024,
when we aim to broaden our report
to cover more cities and disciplines.
Q4 2023
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�ART DIRECTOR
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Art Directors saw a moderate decrease in rates in 2022
compared to 2023, with a 15.79% decrease in Amsterdam
and 14.29% decrease in London.
→ On average, Art Directors work 15 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €450–600 £250–400 €400–550 €450–550

8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €650–800+ £400–550 €550–750+ €550–650+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�CREATIVE DIRECTOR
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Creative Directors saw the largest decrease in rates in 2022
compared to 2023, where the average salary went down 31.45%
in Amsterdam and 30.70% in London.
→ Creative Directors have the most significant gender wage gap
with female CD’s charging 26% less than their male counterparts.
→ On average, Creative Directors work 15 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €700–900+ £550–700+ €700–950+ €650–800+

REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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THE WAGE GAP

→ Across all the cities we surveyed, women charge

on average 15.5% less than men.

→ On average, JNRs have the highest wage gap with

women charging 23% less than men. The gap then closes
as creatives get to MID roles with men charging 2% less
than women. In SNR roles, the wage gap increases
with women charging 14% less.

*Limitations of our Data

Whilst the sample size for non-binary individuals was small, making it challenging
to draw statistically significant conclusions we recognise the importance of
inclusivity and the need for more extensive research on wage disparities
across all gender identities.
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�GRAPHIC DESIGNER
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Graphic Designers saw a moderate decrease in rates in 2022
compared to 2023, with a 4.34% decrease in Amsterdam and
22.65% decrease in London.
→ On average, Graphic Designers work 15 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €250–350 £100–200 €250–350 €250–350

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €350–500 £200–300 €350–500 €350–450
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €500–650 £300–450+ €550–650+ €500–750
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�ILLUSTRATOR
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Illustrators have the smallest gender wage gap with female
Illustrators charging 5% less than their male counterparts.
→ On average, Illustrators work 17 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €300–400 £100–250 €200–350 €200–350

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €400–500 £250–350 €350–500 €350–450
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €550–650+ £350–500+ €550–700+ €500–750
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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DISCOUNTS
& VALUES

→ The majority of freelancers are willing to provide some

form of discount for the right project, with a significant
42.2% being willing to take up to 25% off their usual rate.
Only a small fraction, 8.5%, are firm on not giving any
discount.

→ Among the survey respondents, 60.6% of freelancers

indicated that they would turn down a project if it didn’t
align with their personal values.

REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023

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�MOTION DESIGNER
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Motion Designers saw a moderate decrease in rates in 2022
compared to 2023, with a 19.81% change in salary in Amsterdam
and 3.59% in London.
→ On average, Motion Designers work 16 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €300–400 £100–250 €250–350 €200–350

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €400–500 £300–450 €450–550 €400–550
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €500–650+ £450–550+ €550–650+ €550–700+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ A Creative Technologist is an individual who combines
expertise in technology, with a strong affinity for design.
Skilled at experimenting and implementing creative solutions
that often involve emerging technologies. Their scope of
work extends across industries such as design, technology
and marketing.

→ On average, Creative Technologists work 14 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €450–550 £100–200 €350–450 €350–450

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €550–650 £250–300 €450–550 €450–550
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €750–850+ £500–600+ €600–750+ €600–700+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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HOW DO FREELANCERS
FIND WORK?

→ The predominant method freelancers use to find work

is through referrals from existing clients (64.37%).

→ As freelancers advance in their careers, their reliance

on referrals from existing clients increases: 51.6% for
Juniors, 61.1% for Midweights, and 66.9% for Seniors.
Juniors appear most adept or reliant on leveraging social
media to find freelance work at 19.3%, which contrasts
with Seniors at only 5.7%

REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023

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�3D ARTIST
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ On average, 3D Artists work 16 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €200–350 £150–250 €350–450 €200–300

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €450–550 £300–400 €550–700 €400–500
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €550–700+ £400–500+ €700–850+ €500–650+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�UX DESIGNER
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ UX Designers have a significant gender wage gap with female
UX Designers charging 25% less than their male counterparts.
→ On average, UX Designers work 17 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €350–450 £150–250 €300–400 €250–400

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €450–550 £300–500 €450–600 €500–600
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €550–700+ £500–600+ €600–750+ €600–750+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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�STRATEGIST
*Based on an average day rate for a short-term freelance booking.
→ Strategists saw the largest increase in rates in 2022
compared to 2023, where the average salary went up
2.93% in Amsterdam and 23.49% in London.
→ On average, Strategists work 16 days/month.

AVERAGE DAY RATES AMSTERDAM LONDON PARIS BERLIN

1–4 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE JNR €300–450 £150–250 €300–400 €300–400

4–7 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE MID €450–550 £350–500 €600–800 €400–500
8+ YEARS’ EXPERIENCE SNR €600–750+ £500–600+ €800–900+ €500–650+
REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023
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GOODRates ● The GOODList Annual Freelancer Rates Report

INSTAGRAM LINKEDIN WEBSITE 2022 REPORT

REPORT NO. 2 Q4 2023