2026 Market Rates for Freelance Engineers: The Basis for 750,000 to 1.3 Million Yen and 3 Reasons to Consider Going Independent
If you are in the engineering industry, you must have heard about the recent talk regarding rates.
In 2026, the monthly market rate for freelance engineers has risen significantly. Looking at data from multiple agencies, the overall average is around 750,000 to 800,000 yen, and cases exceeding 1 million to 1.3 million yen for AI-related projects are not rare.
For those who wonder, "Can you really earn that much?", I will organize the basis for these figures and the reasons why you should consider going independent.
2026 Monthly Rate Data for Freelance Engineers
The data published by multiple agencies is as follows.
Average monthly rate for all freelance engineers
Approximately 800,000 yen (Findy 2026 survey, 265 valid responses)
Average monthly rate for AI/machine learning engineers
Approximately 1.04 million to 1.31 million yen (HiPro Tech/Chokufuri survey)
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Difference: A gap of 250,000 to 500,000 yen per month between AI-related and others
Compared to the market rates 10 years ago, even general web engineers have seen an increase of 200,000 to 300,000 yen per month. This is because, amidst the ongoing shortage of IT talent, companies are forced to continue raising the rates they pay to freelancers.
3 Reasons to Consider Going Independent
1. With the same technical skills, there is a structure that makes it easier to increase take-home pay compared to being a company employee.
Freelancers are taxed on profits after deducting expenses from revenue. While company employees can only use the employment income deduction, freelancers can include a wide range of business-related expenditures as expenses.
In the case of a monthly rate of 750,000 yen, the annual revenue is 9 million yen. By effectively utilizing expenses and combining the blue return special deduction (650,000 yen) and iDeCo, there are many cases where take-home pay is higher than that of a company employee with the same annual income.
I have calculated the detailed comparison of take-home pay in a previous article.
2. Even if productivity increases through AI utilization, it is difficult to reflect that in the salary of a company employee.
As a freelancer, the increase in productivity is directly reflected in your rate. If you use AI tools to achieve the same results in 4 days that previously took 5 days, you can choose for yourself whether to reduce your working hours or increase your rate.
For company employees, even if productivity increases, salary only grows within the framework of regular pay raises. The strength of being a freelancer is that you can receive the benefits of AI yourself.
3. The market is actively seeking freelance engineers.
According to a 2025 survey by en Japan, approximately 60% of companies that utilize freelance engineers answered that they "want to increase utilization in the future." The ease of securing projects is incomparable to 10 years ago.
If you go through an agency, there are many cases where projects are decided in 1 to 2 weeks if you have the skills and track record.
Answering the question: 'Aren't high rates only for AI-related roles?'
It is true that AI and machine learning roles are in a league of their own. However, rates for infrastructure, backend, and frontend engineers are also on the rise.
According to Freelance Hub data, the average monthly rate for web engineers is 680,000 yen, and for infrastructure engineers, it is 720,000 yen, both of which have increased by about 100,000 to 150,000 yen over the past five years.
It is not just AI; the rates for IT talent as a whole are rising.
Why employed engineers hesitate to go independent and the reality of it
'Income will become unstable,' 'I can't do sales,' 'Social insurance will become expensive'—these anxieties are understandable.
However, at a rate level of 750,000 to 800,000 yen per month, it is almost always higher than a salary as an employee. Even if income fluctuates slightly, it is highly likely to be higher on average.
Regarding sales, if you use an agent, you don't have to do the sales yourself. In fact, for the first few years after I went independent, I managed my projects solely through agents.
As for social insurance, you certainly pay more than when you were an employee. However, that amount can be treated as 'expenses you can control.' There is also the aspect of being able to save for retirement while reducing taxes through iDeCo and small enterprise mutual relief.
Summary
The average monthly rate for freelance engineers overall is about 800,000 yen, with AI-related roles exceeding 1 million yen
Even with the same technical skills, freelancers have a structure that allows them to increase their take-home pay by utilizing expenses
About 60% of companies have responded that they want to increase their use of freelancers, making it easier to secure projects
A strength of being a freelancer is being able to directly receive the benefits of increased productivity from AI utilization
Looking at the rate data, one often reaches the conclusion that 'it is faster to go independent than to change jobs.' Of course, there are risks, but if you take the route of starting as a side job to build a track record, the hurdle is lower than you might think.
Sources and References
I plan to write more about the reality of freelancing next time.
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