Our annual survey delves into the opinions and perspectives of almost 700 contractors, business owners and freelancers to understand what’s shaping the future of self-employment.
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Qdos 2025 self-employed survey key takeaways
Despite ongoing challenges including low growth and high living costs, 75.12% of respondents rated their business performance in 2025 as ‘consistent’ or ‘successful’.
More than 40% of respondents earned between £500-749 per day in 2025, while 18% achieved higher rates.
Meanwhile, more than half said their annual earnings stayed the same compared to 2024 and a further 20.29% said they’d increased year-on-year.
Uncertainty over IR35 continues to complicate matters for self-employed professionals, with almost half of those who said their 2025 performance had been inconsistent, poor or unsteady blaming a lack of opportunities outside of IR35.
Finding that all-important work-life balance topped the reasons people enjoy being self-employed (33.28%), with the benefits of being your own boss also ranking highly (27.60%).
A lack of income security continues to be the biggest negative of self-employed life with 59.31% of professionals citing it as their primary challenge.
More than half of respondents indicated that their own networks are the most common place they find work, highlighting the importance of a strong network in the self-employed world.
Despite concerns around IR35, low growth and tax, more than half of those professionals surveyed said they were either fairly or very confident about their business prospects in 2026.
A significant 70.27% of respondents plan to continue being self-employed in the medium to long term, demonstrating the resilience of those in that field and their ability to adapt to policy changes and an uncertain economic environment.
