Survey on Freelance IT Engineers: 'Introductions' Top Project Acquisition Method at 41.8%, 1 in 3 Experienced Price Compromise

Kikkake Creation Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Gauto Kawashima) announced that it has conducted a survey on the realities of project acquisition among 110 people who have worked as freelance IT engineers for 5 years or more.

01 | 'Introductions from acquaintances/friends' is the most common method of project acquisition at 41.8%

02 | About 1 in 3 people have experienced 'having to lower their unit price' when choosing a project

03 | 72.7% of freelance engineers wish to continue freelancing

The column publishing the full survey can be found here: https://itrend.kikkakeagent.co.jp/articles/209

Survey Overview

Survey Name: Survey on Project Acquisition Realities of Freelance Engineers

Survey Method: Internet survey planned by 'ReserPy®︎', a research marketing service provided by IDEATECH

Survey Period: December 15, 2025 – December 18, 2025

Valid Responses: 110 people working as freelance IT engineers for 5 years or more

* Since component ratios are rounded off to the nearest first decimal place, the total may not always equal exactly 100.

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Freelance project acquisition methods: 'Introductions from acquaintances/friends' most common at 41.8%

When asked, 'Q1. Please tell us the main methods you currently use to acquire projects. (Multiple answers allowed)' (n=110), 'Introductions from acquaintances/friends' accounted for 41.8%, 'Direct contracts with companies' was 37.3%, and 'Repeat business from past clients' was 37.3%.

- Introductions from acquaintances/friends: 41.8% - Direct contracts with companies: 37.3% - Repeat business from past clients: 37.3% - Via freelance agents: 34.5% - Crowdsourcing services (Lancers, CrowdWorks, etc.): 21.8% - Orders through operating own services: 18.2% - Via SNS (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.): 17.3% - Encounters at technical communities and study sessions: 9.1% - Other: 0.9% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 1.8%

Benefits freelancers feel for each project acquisition method: 'Ease of building trust' and 'Reduced sales effort' highly rated across multiple channels

When asked, 'Q2. We ask those who chose anything other than 'Don't know/Cannot answer' in Q1. Please tell us what you feel are the benefits of each project acquisition method. (Multiple answers allowed)' (n=38). For 'Via freelance agents (n=38)', 42.1% answered 'Easy to find suitable projects'. For 'Direct contracts with companies (n=41)', 41.5% answered 'Easy to negotiate unit price'. For 'Introductions from acquaintances/friends (n=46)', both 'Easy to build trust' and 'Less effort in sales activities' accounted for 37.0%.

<Via freelance agents (n=38)> - High project quality: 36.8% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 39.5% - Can acquire projects stably: 26.3% - Simple contract procedures: 34.2% - Easy to build trust: 23.7% - Easy to find suitable projects: 42.1% - Less effort in sales activities: 28.9% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 15.8% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 15.8% - Low or no commissions: 10.5% - Other: 5.3% - Nothing in particular: 2.6% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 0.0%

<Direct contracts with companies (n=41)> - High project quality: 24.4% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 41.5% - Can acquire projects stably: 26.8% - Simple contract procedures: 24.4% - Easy to build trust: 39.0% - Easy to find suitable projects: 17.1% - Less effort in sales activities: 34.1% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 4.9% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 19.5% - Low or no commissions: 26.8% - Other: 0.0% - Nothing in particular: 17.1% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 2.4%

<Introductions from acquaintances/friends (n=46)> - High project quality: 19.6% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 30.4% - Can acquire projects stably: 19.6% - Simple contract procedures: 15.2% - Easy to build trust: 37.0% - Easy to find suitable projects: 21.7% - Less effort in sales activities: 37.0% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 8.7% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 19.6% - Low or no commissions: 19.6% - Other: 6.5% - Nothing in particular: 10.9% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 0.0%

<Crowdsourcing services (Lancers, CrowdWorks, etc.) (n=24)> - High project quality: 20.8% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 16.7% - Can acquire projects stably: 25.0% - Simple contract procedures: 20.8% - Easy to build trust: 12.5% - Easy to find suitable projects: 25.0% - Less effort in sales activities: 37.5% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 33.3% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 20.8% - Low or no commissions: 12.5% - Other: 0.0% - Nothing in particular: 0.0% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 0.0%

<Via SNS (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) (n=19)> - High project quality: 10.5% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 15.8% - Can acquire projects stably: 10.5% - Simple contract procedures: 15.8% - Easy to build trust: 5.3% - Easy to find suitable projects: 26.3% - Less effort in sales activities: 15.8% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 10.5% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 31.6% - Low or no commissions: 21.1% - Other: 5.3% - Nothing in particular: 5.3% - Don't know/Cannot answer: 5.3%

<Encounters at technical communities and study sessions (n=10)> - High project quality: 20.0% - Easy to negotiate unit price: 20.0% - Can acquire projects stably: 20.0% - Simple contract procedures: 10.0% - Easy to build trust: 60.0% - Easy to find suitable projects: 40.0% - Less effort in sales activities: 20.0% - Many projects leading to skill improvement: 40.0% - Many projects allowing flexible work styles: 20.0% - Low or no commissions: 30.0% - Other