We built TJMetre, a free and open-data tool that benchmarks freelancer daily rates in France. After collecting 9,212 responses from French freelancers, here's what the data tells us.
Key Findings
Median Daily Rates by Profession (2026)
| Profession | Median Daily Rate | P25 | P75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer (Full-Stack) | 550 € | 450 € | 700 € |
| Data Engineer | 600 € | 500 € | 750 € |
| DevOps / SRE | 620 € | 500 € | 750 € |
| UX/UI Designer | 500 € | 400 € | 650 € |
| Project Manager | 550 € | 450 € | 700 € |
| Consultant SAP | 700 € | 550 € | 900 € |
The Hidden Cost: Legal Structure Matters
The same gross daily rate gives very different net incomes depending on the legal structure:
- Micro-entreprise: lowest charges (~22%) but capped at €77,700/year revenue
- EURL (IS): moderate charges, flexible dividend/salary split
- SASU: highest charges (~75% on salary) but best social protection
- Portage salarial: simplest setup, but 8-12% management fees on top of charges
For a freelancer billing €550/day (220 days/year = €121,000 gross):
| Structure | Net Annual Income | Effective Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entreprise | N/A (over ceiling) | — |
| EURL (IS) | ~€72,000 | ~40% |
| SASU (all salary) | ~€58,000 | ~52% |
| Portage salarial | ~€61,000 | ~50% |
The City Premium
Paris freelancers earn 25-40% more than those in other cities, but the cost of living gap is only ~15%. Lyon, Bordeaux, and Nantes offer the best income-to-cost ratio.
How We Built It
TJMetre is built with:
- PHP backend with a custom MVC framework
- Open data from URSSAF, INSEE, France Travail (17 government data sources)
- 522 SEO landing pages generated from profession/city combinations
- Real-time tax simulation engine covering all French business structures
The calculation engine is open source and uses official tax parameters updated from government sources (URSSAF, BOFiP, service-public.fr).
Try It
You can benchmark your rate and simulate your net income at tjmetre.fr — it's 100% free, no signup required.
The simulator compares all 4 legal structures side-by-side and shows you exactly where your money goes: social charges, income tax, corporate tax, dividends, and net income.
Data from 9,212 responses collected via TJMetre's freelance rate survey. All calculations use official 2026 tax parameters.
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