A typical freelance writers’ salary largely depends on the freelance platform, the freelance writers’ experience, the area of specialization, location, and some other factors we’ll discuss in this article.
Table Of Contents
A. The Numbers
On Indeed.com, a website that lists salary figures based on third-party submissions, the average salary for a freelance writer in the United States is $22.25 per hour based on 247 salaries submitted anonymously by writers and employees.
Regardless, the website has figures as high as $120 per hour.
The website lists the average salary for a WJO writer in the United States at approximately $120, which is higher than the national average by 311%.
An E-jobs freelance writer earns around $92.00 per hour.
PRHQ pays its writers an average of $50.00 per hour.
Upon further research on the website, we discovered that many writers still earn below the national average on some online platforms.
For example, a writer on LEGIT Writers earns around $15.00 per hour, which is 49% below the national average.
TRIPLE CURVE FREELANCE WRITERS
A TripleCurve freelance writer earns about $10.00 per hour, which is much less than the national average (66% less).
The pay rates on Indeed are also categorized by location; for example, the average salary earned by writers in New York is $23.36 per hour.
The freelance writing companies based in New York include ShoutVox, WJO, S&K Writing Co., BFI, MoneyMio, Wonder, Stone & Strand, Writemates.com, HireVue, and Newport Media Inc.
From the entries submitted on the website, it was discovered that; a ShoutVox writer earns about $24.55 per hour, a WJO writer makes $120 per hour, and freelance writers at S & K Writing Co. earn $50.00 per hour. The same with writers at BFI. MoneyMio freelance writers make $30.00 less, and writers on Wonder Freelance earn an average of $20.15.
Moving to the following location listed on the website, Los Angeles, the average salary for home-based freelance writers was around $21.66 per hour.
The online freelance platforms listed under this location include PRHQ, Quantasy, Lord Squared LLC, TigerBeat Media, Blasting News, etc.
Based on third-party submissions, it was calculated that in Los Angeles, copywriters earn about $28.10 per hour, content writers earn an average of $19.91, and editors earn around $25.51.
CHICAGO FREELANCE WRITERS
Freelance writers in Chicago earn about $18.10 per hour, freelance writers in Atlanta, GA, net $29.96 per hour on an average, while freelance writers in Phoenix, AZ, earn $23.52 per hour based on third-party salary submissions on the website.
These figures are subject to many factors, which may cause them to vary.
For example, some writers earn based on word count per count instead of hourly.
Also, freelance writers on platforms such as Upwork.com, Fiverr.com, and Freelancer.com can earn less than writers on other platforms due to their over-saturation on these websites.
To get more jobs, some writers usually charge less than expected, which leads to a reduction in the average pay rate.
Clients also prefer to pay more experienced and famous freelance writers than a new one.
In a study conducted on Who Pays Writers, a series of entries were analyzed based on average word count, pay per word, the type of article, the workload, and the publication. It was determined that many writers earn less than $0.25 per word.
TOP FREELANCE WRITERS
Top writers earn about four times the average pay of intermediate writers, while they make eight times more than the bottom percentage of writers.
From the data, it can be seen that top writers make a bulk of the money on freelance writing platforms.
From answers to the question “How much do they earn?” Quora asked. It was seen that freelance writing prices vary a lot.
For content writing, a user opined that native writers usually charge around $5 for 100 words, though it’s not uncommon to find writers who charge $2 or $3 for a whole article.
Getting $100 or even $300 for a single article is also possible. From this answer, the user differentiated between the pay rates for content writing and copywriting.
It was explained that copywriting gigs cost more than traditional content writing gigs.
Copywriting gigs for creative pieces can cost thousands of dollars and generally get more conversion rates than content writing gigs.
SUGGESTIONS
Many other users also suggested that freelance writers have no ordinary income. It largely depends on skill, specialties, experience, and the ability to market oneself.
The main point is they can be paid depending on the agreement.
On Fiverr.com, a popular marketplace, there are lots of them willing to charge $5 or less for a 300-word article, while many well-known writers charge not less than $50 for each piece.
How much they earn also depends on the kind of clients they get.
Some clients look for affordable writing gigs, usually less than $100, while companies and large corporations are ready to pay thousands of dollars to experienced freelance writers.
B. The Verdict
In conclusion, it is impossible to be sure of how much money you will make as a freelance writer since it’s not a 9-to-5 job.
Experience, target clients, skill, and your niche are significant factors influencing income. Top writers usually earn more and get more jobs than upcoming freelance writers.
However, with hard work and consistency, it is possible to earn a decent income through freelance writing.
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