Thinking of going freelance? Wait till you've read this...

The cost of living crisis is touching most areas of business, including the freelance market it seems, with nearly half of UK employees reportedly holding back from going it alone due to the current squeeze.

But in an effort to pinpoint which freelance professions offer the most potential, NerdWallet UK has analysed 16 of the most popular freelance jobs on YunoJuno and ranked them based on four categories: best paid, least hustle, most stable and least competitive.

The best freelance positions in the UK for 2023 include data specialists, strategy specialists, UX specialists, developers, and market researchers, with the latter earning the highest average day rate at £559.

Meanwhile, data specialists make the average full-time salary of an employee in the same field the fastest, only needing to take on 1.7 projects to match earnings.

Developers have the most stable freelancer job as well as the least competition, with over 4.6 million potential days of work available and 190 jobs per Google search for work.

Offering both the least competition and most stability, developers top the list as the best freelance profession, with an overall score of 4.4 stars. Freelancers in this role have the most steady workload with a whopping 4.6 million days of jobs available.

Market research is the second-best freelance profession, with an overall score of 3.4 stars and the highest average day rate at £559. Data comes third overall, also with a high average day rate of £556, and over 1.5 million working days available.

Also making the top 5 include strategy and UX freelancers, with average day rates between £536 and £542.

NerdWallet business expert Connor Campbell said: “While freelancing offers the potential to make above the average full-time salary, it’s important to remember that your personal level of experience will play a part in how much you can actually charge as your day rate. On top of this, your personal cost of living will help determine how much you may need to charge.

“Freelancers are also not entitled to employee benefits that come with working for a company – such as paid annual leave, or company pensions. With that being said, it is still important to try to strike a good balance between work and your personal life, while trying to plan for your future.

“Picking your business structure is important. Whether you operate as a sole trader or a limited company will have implications for the amount of tax you pay, and what you pay it on.

“Unlike a full-time employee, when freelancing it is your responsibility to keep on top of your expenses and how much tax you will need to pay. You may want to look into whether or not you need an accountant.

“To help keep on top of your finances, you may need to look into opening a business bank account. This is optional as a sole trader, but a requirement of limited companies.”