Freelance Pentester Hourly Rates
Median hourly rate
$60/hr
Typical range
$35–$140
25th–75th percentile
Submissions
33
Latest record: June 2025
Highest country median
—
Hourly rates by country
| Location | Median / hr | Middle 50% | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| United StatesSmall sample | $100 | $100–$275 | 5 |
Hourly rates by experience
| Experience | Median / hr | Middle 50% | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3–5 yearsSmall sample | $30 | $20–$100 | 11 |
| 6–10 yearsSmall sample | $140 | $100–$180 | 15 |
USD per hour. Groups below 5 records are omitted; groups below 25 are marked as small samples. These are separate comparisons: country and experience figures must not be combined to infer a rate. The rate planner can look up the actual matching group.
What should you quote?
The median of $60/hr equals $480 for 8 billable hours. That conversion is not a separately observed day rate. Account for your non-billable time and costs before choosing a price.
Records added 2022–2025. Dates reflect when records entered the database, including imports; they do not establish when the work was performed. Methodology & limitations
Recent rate records
| Role / location | USD / hour |
|---|---|
| Pentester · Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil | $100 |
| Pentester · Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil | $100 |
| Pentester · Tunis, Tunisia | $30 |
| Pentester · Austin, TX, USA | $275 |
| Pentester · New York, NY, USA | $100 |
| Pentester · Athens, Greece | $20 |
| Pentester · Amsterdam, Netherlands | $140 |
| Pentester · London, UK | $180 |
| Pentester · Amsterdam, Netherlands | $140 |
| Pentester · Cairo, Egypt | $35 |
| Pentester · Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil | $100 |
| Pentester · Nairobi, Kenya | $50 |
| Pentester · Nairobi, Kenya | $50 |
| Pentester · Amsterdam, Netherlands | $140 |
| Pentester · Tunis, Tunisia | $30 |
| Pentester · Athens, Greece | $20 |
| Pentester · Athens, Greece | $20 |
| Pentester · Cairo, Egypt | $35 |
| Pentester · New York, NY, USA | $100 |
| Pentester · Nairobi, Kenya | $50 |
Similar roles
Freelance Pentester rate distribution
Rate distribution
Rate by experience level
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Frequently asked questions
- How much do freelance Pentesters charge per hour?
- Based on 33 crowdsourced submissions, freelance Pentesters charge an average of $91 per hour, with the middle 50% of rates between $35 and $140. Latest record added June 2025.
- What do top-earning freelance Pentesters make?
- The top 10% of Pentester submissions report $180 per hour or more. These are self-reported hourly charges, not take-home pay or guaranteed earnings.
- Which skills are most commonly reported with Pentester rates?
- The most common skills in Pentester submissions are Linux and Pentesting. Submission frequency does not measure hiring demand or prove a skill causes a higher rate.
- Where does this Pentester rate data come from?
- These are public, self-reported rate records. We do not independently verify earnings or count unique people. The dataset includes historical records; see our methodology for currency assumptions, sample thresholds, and date limitations.
Charged by the project instead? Browse project-based rates.