In Germany, published figures put pay for a journalist at €3.
What journalist work in Germany pays, according to the documents that set rates there, each quoted as printed. How the pay guide works →
What the published rates say
Day
Hour
1,000 characters
Day of 8 hours
Each published rate as a day's pay
US$ a day at the ECB rate for the month. A month is 12 payments over 260 working days, or 13 or 14 where the agreement says so; a year is 260 days; a shift counts as a day.
| Type of work | What | As printed | US$ a day | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On staff | Lowest of five fee levels, per 8-hour day | €485 an 8-hour day | $543.55 | DJV · Collective agreement · 25 Feb 2025 |
| Freelance | Freelancers, daily newspapers, per day | €144.80 a day | $162.28 | Freischreiber · Survey |
| Freelance | Freelancers, all media, per hour | €25 an hour | $224.14 | Freischreiber · Survey |
| Freelance | Freelancers, television, per day | €320 a day | $358.63 | Freischreiber · Survey |
Every figure, as printed
Open a row for the wording in the document and its dates.
3 Prozent lineare Erhöhung ab 1. Februar 2026DocumentPay settlement for staff editors at German daily newspapers, Jul 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force · 1 Feb 2026
In der untersten Stufe erhalten Freie 485 Euro für einen 8-Stunden-Tag.DocumentWDR new freelance fee framework, outline agreed Feb 2025 · Collective agreement StatusIn force · 25 Feb 2025
25,00 Euro pro StundeDocumentFreischreiber fee report 2024 (self-reported freelance fees) · Survey StatusIn force
200,00 Euro pro TagDocumentFreischreiber fee report 2024 (self-reported freelance fees) · Survey StatusIn force
Dieses Jahr liegt es bei 41,42 EuroDocumentFreischreiber fee report 2024 (self-reported freelance fees) · Survey StatusIn force
Beim Fernsehen beträgt der Tagessatz im Schnitt 320 EuroDocumentFreischreiber fee report 2024 (self-reported freelance fees) · Survey StatusIn force
Tageszeitungen mit durchschnittlich 144,80 Euro TagessatzDocumentFreischreiber fee report 2024 (self-reported freelance fees) · Survey StatusIn force
Questions people ask
In Germany, published figures put pay for a journalist at €3.
BDZV, DJV, Freischreiber, in 3 documents.
A journalist's minimum nearby
Lowest staff minimum in each country's agreements, as US$ a day.
About this data. These rates are compiled from publicly available sources and quoted as printed, with their date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any figure. For information only: Journalist.net does not recommend or set rates. How we count