On this page
- 01Hourly rate per field, first quarter of 2026
- 02What pushes the rate up or down
- 03Worked example: from hourly rate to a year and a project
- 04Freelancer, employee or agency side by side
- 05The Netherlands next to Belgium
- 06The DBA law and your rate
- 07Pitfalls with an hourly rate
- 08Worked example: a three-month module
- 09What to ask before you compare rates
A freelance developer in the Netherlands, a ZZP'er (zelfstandige zonder personeel, self-employed without staff) in Dutch, asks 107 euros an hour on average for development work in 2026, and clients offer 89. Those are the figures of the rate index of Freelance.nl, a Dutch freelance platform, for the first quarter of 2026, based on all assignments and responses on the platform. For architecture it is higher, at 97 euros offered and 117 asked; for testing lower, at 85 and 97 euros. Amounts exclude VAT.
The gap between offering and asking is the negotiation: what a developer ends up with usually lies in between. For comparison: an hour of an employee's work cost a Dutch employer 47.90 euros in wages and charges on average in 2025, across all sectors, according to Eurostat.
This guide is for companies hiring developers in the Netherlands, whether you are a Dutch firm, an international company with a Dutch entity or a founder who moved there. It sets out the rates per field, says what pushes a rate up or down, converts a ZZP hourly rate into a year and a project, puts the Netherlands next to Belgium, and explains what the Dutch DBA law has to do with rates. If you are looking for a developer rather than rates, read hire developers in Europe; for rates across Europe, see developer rates by country.
What IT freelancers charge per hour, by field
- Strategy and architecture97117
- System and component integration90107
- Development and implementation89107
- Deployment and operations87109
- Testing8597
- User interaction and UX83101
47.90: what an hour of an employee costs on average in the Netherlands, 2025
Average across all fields: 87 euros offered and 106 asked. In Belgium the average was 77 euros.
Hourly rate per field, first quarter of 2026
| Field | Offered per hour | Asked per hour | What falls under it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy and architecture | 97 euros | 117 euros | software architect, lead developer, technical advice |
| System and component integration | 90 euros | 107 euros | integrations, APIs, links between packages |
| Development and implementation | 89 euros | 107 euros | backend, frontend, full stack, mobile |
| Deployment and operations | 87 euros | 109 euros | DevOps, cloud, CI/CD, operations |
| Testing | 85 euros | 97 euros | test automation, QA |
| User interaction and UX | 83 euros | 101 euros | UX design, front end with design |
| Average, all fields | 87 euros | 106 euros | |
Development and implementation rose 4.5 percent on a year earlier. The index does not split by experience; in practice a junior sits below the offered amounts and a senior with a stack in demand asks the top end.
What pushes the rate up or down
| Factor | Effect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | junior below average, senior above | a senior delivers faster and creates less review work |
| Stack | scarce knowledge costs more | a new or rare language, or deep knowledge of a package |
| Workplace | hybrid 90, on site 83, fully remote 71 euros offered | remote assignments attract more candidates, also from outside the Netherlands |
| Duration | long assignments often get a lower rate | certainty against a higher rate for a short job |
Worked example: from hourly rate to a year and a project
That last point is the real difference between an hourly rate and a fixed price: who carries the risk of an overrun. With an hourly rate it is the client, with a fixed price per module the builder. How to budget and split a software project upfront is in custom software development cost.
Freelancer, employee or agency side by side
| Freelance developer | Developer on staff | Agency, fixed price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | 89 to 107 euros per hour, on average | salary plus employer charges, all year | a price per module or part |
| What comes on top | management, review, testing | recruitment, management, training, cover | a first conversation and your decisions |
| Risk of overrun | yours | yours | the agency's, within the agreement |
| DBA law | your risk if it looks like employment | does not apply | no person under your authority |
| Afterwards | knowledge leaves with the person | knowledge stays in-house | code and documentation stay with you |
An employee looks cheaper per hour, but an employer also pays for holidays, sickness, recruitment and the months in which someone is getting up to speed. What a salaried developer costs exactly depends on their salary and collective agreement; work that out with your own payroll.
The Netherlands next to Belgium
On the same platform, the average Belgian rate in the first quarter of 2026 was 77 euros an hour, 11.5 percent below the Dutch average. That does not mean work in Belgium is cheaper: Belgian labour costs per hour are among the highest in Europe, and at 48.20 euros in 2024 were above the Dutch figure. Eurostat published no Belgian figure for 2025.
| Netherlands | Belgium | |
|---|---|---|
| Average freelance IT rate, offered, first quarter of 2026 | 87 euros | 77 euros |
| Labour cost per hour, Eurostat | 47.90 euros (2025) | 48.20 euros (2024) |
| Word for a freelancer | zzp'er | zelfstandige or freelancer |
| Rule against false self-employment | DBA law, presumption below 36 euros an hour from 31 December 2026 | Employment Relationships Act, with its own criteria per sector |
Belgian hourly rates for web designers and developers are in web developer hourly rate; to work out a day rate as a Belgian freelancer, use the freelance rate calculator for Belgium.
The DBA law and your rate
From 31 December 2026 the Netherlands applies a presumption of an employment contract to anyone working at no more than 36 euros an hour, an amount indexed to the minimum wage. Developers are far above that. A high rate does not protect you as a client, though: the Dutch Tax Administration looks at authority, embedding and the duration of the work at any rate. What that means when you hire a developer is in the DBA law in the Netherlands.
Pitfalls with an hourly rate
- Choosing the lowest rateA developer at 75 euros who takes twice as long costs more than one at 110.
- No end dateAn assignment without an end becomes a job without a contract, with the risks of the DBA law.
- Forgetting reviewIf you have no developer of your own to read the code, you are buying work you cannot judge.
- Comparing only the hourly rateAsk for an estimate in hours and who pays for an overrun.
Worked example: a three-month module
With a fixed price per module you get one amount for the same portal, with review, testing and go-live included, and the builder carries the overrun within the agreement. With secondment you pay the developer's salary plus the agency's margin, and keep management and overruns yourself.
What to ask before you compare rates
- How many hours do you estimate, and what is that estimate based on?
- Who reviews the code, and who tests?
- What happens if the work overruns: who pays the difference?
- Who owns the code, and where does it live during the work?
- Who puts it live, and who keeps it running afterwards?
- What happens during sickness or holidays?
Two offers with the same hourly rate can come out very differently on those six questions. Compare the total, not the hour.
Rates in short
What is a normal hourly rate for a freelance developer in the Netherlands?
In the first quarter of 2026 clients offered 89 euros an hour on average for development and implementation, and freelancers asked 107 euros, excluding VAT.
What does a senior freelance developer earn per hour?
Usually the top of the range: around or above 107 euros, and around 117 euros asked for architecture.
Is a remote developer cheaper?
On Freelance.nl, fully remote assignments were offered 71 euros on average, against 90 euros for hybrid work.
Is a developer in Belgium cheaper?
Per freelance hour on average yes, 77 against 87 euros offered. Per hour of labour cost no: Belgium is above the Netherlands.
Does VBS work with an hourly rate?
No. We agree a fixed price per project or per module after a first conversation.
What does a junior freelance developer cost per hour?
The index does not split by experience. In practice a junior sits below the offered averages, around or under 80 euros, and needs more guidance from your team.
Is the hourly rate including VAT?
No. Rates between businesses exclude VAT. On top of 107 euros comes 21 percent Dutch VAT, which as a business you usually reclaim.