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Freelance software developer vs web developer

The differences between freelance software developers and web developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a freelance software developer and a web developer. Additionally, a freelance software developer has an average salary of $112,663, which is higher than the $78,975 average annual salary of a web developer.

The top three skills for a freelance software developer include microsoft sql server, java and object oriented programming. The most important skills for a web developer are javascript, html css, and HTML.

Freelance software developer vs web developer overview

Freelance Software DeveloperWeb Developer
Yearly salary$112,663$78,975
Hourly rate$54.16$37.97
Growth rate21%13%
Number of jobs278,991227,881
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age3937
Years of experience44

Freelance software developer vs web developer salary

Freelance software developers and web developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Freelance Software DeveloperWeb Developer
Average salary$112,663$78,975
Salary rangeBetween $82,000 And $153,000Between $60,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City-Bothell, WA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between freelance software developer and web developer education

There are a few differences between a freelance software developer and a web developer in terms of educational background:

Freelance Software DeveloperWeb Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Freelance software developer vs web developer demographics

Here are the differences between freelance software developers' and web developers' demographics:

Freelance Software DeveloperWeb Developer
Average age3937
Gender ratioMale, 87.7% Female, 12.3%Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 15.9% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage8%9%

Differences between freelance software developer and web developer duties and responsibilities

Freelance software developer example responsibilities.

  • Implement a centralize configuration system for managing application settings, consisting of a desktop application with a WCF backend.
  • Web applications development using PHP, JQuery, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, XML and MySQL.
  • Create single-page Javascript application with AngularJS MVC framework for the CMS interface and write all HTML.
  • Develop desktop applications base on Java.
  • Redesign the online reference manual for an internal API.
  • Update client sites with modern technologies such as HTML5 canvas.
    • Show more

Web developer example responsibilities.

  • Lead front-end design and creation.
  • Manage high transaction databases including all database objects, triggers, procedures, user rights and functions.
  • Manage social media including Facebook advertising.
  • Interact with java controllers (JQUERY, AJAX, and JSON to write/read data from back end systems).
  • Used JSP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript to render the dynamic web pages (presentation layer) for the application.
  • Re-Design, update and maintain LinkWorth's WordPress plug-in using PHP and XML files to import data from LinkWorth's servers.
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Freelance software developer vs web developer skills

Common freelance software developer skills
  • Microsoft SQL Server, 9%
  • Java, 5%
  • Object Oriented Programming, 5%
  • JavaScript, 5%
  • PHP, 5%
  • Android, 5%
Common web developer skills
  • JavaScript, 8%
  • Html Css, 6%
  • HTML, 5%
  • CSS, 5%
  • Web Forms, 4%
  • JQuery, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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