Cost for a freelance software developer? What is the market rate?

I have been offered two software design projects. One will take about 4 months and the other one about 2-3 months. This includes coding, testing etc.

This I am doing for a friend.

How much should I charge my friend for these two projects. I don`t know how much does a freelance software developer charges. Should I charge per hour or in one lump sum?

What is the market rate? For both projects the cost is going to be different, of course.

Please help. I have to reply to my friend soon.

you should be paid per hour, not for project, because you don't know how much time you will spend.

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You haven't provided sufficient information (platform, language, support) to give a good answer, but here are some things to consider.

If you charge by the hour, your friend bears the risk of cost overruns. If you charge by the job, then that risk is transferred to you.

So if your 4 month project takes 8 months, your compensation on an hourly basis is cut in half.

What is your friend going to do for support after the application is written? Is there a time period where you will fix for free? In the software business we call that warranty, and I get at least the first year free.

How confident are you in your estimates? Do you have written requirements? How will you handle changes to the original specifications - no software has ever been written the first time to an unchanged specification.

There are lots of websites where you can submit your specs to freelance programmers and get a bid back - most of those are ridiculously low ($10 / hour), but often you get what you pay for.

My advice - make it a formal business proposal, on what is included and not included. I would do time and materials for the design phase, but fixed price for the programming phase - I would add a support payment to fix bugs for the first year. I don't know what part of the world you're in, but in Midwest US I would charge $25 / hour if you have 2 - 4 years experience and are writing a J2EE app- adjust accordingly based on your locale.and technology (C++ or VB is less cost).