About & methodology
Where our numbers come from, how we calculate them, and their limits.
Who we are
Engineering Rates publishes hiring, cost and technology data for founders and engineering leaders deciding what to build with, who to hire, and whether to outsource. Every number is computed from public or licensed data, and each page links to its method. We also take on contract development work; if you need help, tell us about your project.
Data sources
| Source | What it is | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| TheirStack | US job postings mentioning each technology (30-day window), refreshed periodically | Hiring demand, demand shift |
| Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 | 5,531 US professional developers: technologies used, pay, role | Developer supply, pay by stack and role, retention, adjacent talent |
| BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) | National and state wages for software developers and related occupations | Salary baselines, state rates, workforce size |
| Hacker News “Who’s Hiring” | 25,304 monthly hiring posts, July 2015 to February 2025 | Long-run hiring trends by stack |
| DB-Engines, TIOBE, PYPL, W3Techs | Popularity and usage rankings | Technology trends |
| npm and PyPI registries | Weekly package downloads | Package ecosystem momentum |
| BEA Regional Price Parities, Tax Foundation | Cost of living and state taxes | State pages |
How we calculate
Contract rates
We start from the BLS median annual wage for US software developers and adjust it per stack by how much developers who use that technology earn relative to all US developers (Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025). Hourly W-2 = annual ÷ 2,080. Contract (C2C or 1099) rates = W-2 hourly × 1.3–1.6, covering self-employment tax (15.3%), benefits, unpaid time off, business overhead and bench time. Agencies typically bill 2–3× W-2 pay.
Hiring difficulty
US job postings mentioning a technology over 30 days, divided by the estimated number of US professional developers who use it (survey usage share × BLS developer workforce), log-scaled to a 0–100 score. Full methodology and caveats.
MVP costs
Team composition and timelines for six typical project types, priced with role-level pay and engagement-model markups. Assumptions are listed on the guide.
Limits
Survey respondents skew toward enthusiasts; job postings tag some technologies more consistently than others; our Hacker News data ends in February 2025. Treat every figure as an estimate and a starting point for your own judgement.