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IT skill · Method· Project Management & Consulting

User Stories freelancers:
What the market really pays and wants.

Demand and trends for User Stories – calculated from 115 real project and job postings of the last 90 days. No survey, no guesswork without data.

As of: week 41/2026 · updated weekly
Listings (90 d)
115
Rank 146 of 531 skills
Trend (90 d)
▲ 50 %
Market share compared with the 90 days before. IT postings overall: ▲ 42 %
Of which must-have
13 %
Rated for 115 postings (AI analysis), otherwise “nice to have”
Remote possible
94 %
21 % fully remote · stated in 89 % of postings
The jury's verdict on User Stories

Growing, but still small.

User Stories sits at rank 146 of 531, in the solid middle of demand. Its market share is rising (▲ 50 % vs. the 90 days before).

Solid demandRank 146 of 531 skills, 115 postings in 90 days.
Growing marketMarket share ▲ 50 % vs. the 90 days before.
Remote possible94 % of postings allow remote work.
And how does your User Stories profile look?Check it for free

What is User Stories – and why do companies hire User Stories freelancers?

The postings that mention User Stories fall into these types of project (share of the classified postings):

Consulting and design82 %
Consulting, concept work, architecture and project leadership around User Stories.
Operations and enhancement6 %
Looking after, supporting and continuously extending existing systems with User Stories.
New development6 %
Building new applications, platforms and products with User Stories.

Typical roles

The roles hired most often are Business Analyst (65 %), Project Manager (15 %) and Consultant (6 %). Of the postings that state an experience level, 62 % explicitly ask for senior profiles.

Demand over the last 12 weeks

new listings per week
W29W40
▲ 50 %
Market share vs. previous quarter
▲ 113 %
Postings vs. previous quarter
146 / 531
Rank among all skills

Weekly postings for User Stories are rising: from an average of 7 to 15 per week (+114 %). Volume is developing better than the IT market overall (▲ 42 %).

Which skills User Stories is wanted with – and which ones pay off

Stakeholder Management appears in 46 % of User Stories postings.

Often named together

Stakeholder Management46 %(opens in new tab)Business Analysis45 %(opens in new tab)Jira42 %(opens in new tab)Scrum41 %(opens in new tab)Requirements Engineering39 %(opens in new tab)Confluence37 %(opens in new tab)Share of User Stories postings that also name the skill.

Who wants User Stories – and under which conditions

Seniority

Senior62 %
Mid-level37 %

Senior dominates (62 %). Pure junior roles are rare (1 %).

Stated in 97 % of listings

Industries

it_software30 %
banking_finance18 %
logistics12 %
public_sector9 %
telecommunications7 %

it_software leads (30 %).

Stated in 71 % of listings

Contract type

Freelance81 %
Permanent10 %
Temp agency10 %

Freelance dominates (81 %).

Stated in 100 % of listings

Workplace

Partly remote74 %
Fully remote21 %
On site6 %

Partly remote dominates (74 %). Anyone working fully remote only reaches 21 % of postings.

Stated in 89 % of listings

Regions (on site)

Frankfurt am Main17 %
Frankfurt14 %
Zürich7 %
Bern7 %
Hannover5 %

Frankfurt am Main leads (17 %).

Stated in 70 % of listings

Project language

German91 %
English8 %

German dominates (91 %).

Stated in 100 % of listings

Market dynamics: how contested is User Stories?

Typical duration12 monthsMedian of the postings that state it. 51 % run 12 months or longer.Basis: 39 postings with this information (34 % of all postings).
Full time required73 %Share of postings stating a workload that expect full time.Basis: 40 postings with this information (35 % of all postings).

Who posts User Stories projects

FERCHAU GmbH16
Westhouse Consulting GmbH10
Postings of the last 90 days.

Current User Stories projects

Frequently asked questions about User Stories freelancing

How many User Stories projects are there right now?

In the last 90 days, 115 projects and jobs mentioning User Stories were posted. That is around 9 per week. The market share changed by ▲ 50 % compared with the previous quarter.

Is User Stories still in demand for freelancers?

User Stories ranks 146 of 531 skills.

Are User Stories projects possible remotely?

94 % of User Stories postings allow remote work. 21 % are fully remote.

Which skills should I learn as a User Stories freelancer?

Stakeholder Management (46 %), Business Analysis (45 %) and Jira (42 %) are most often required together with User Stories. What actually pays off for your profile is shown by the free CV check.

Who posts User Stories projects?

The 2 most active recruiters account for 23 % of all User Stories postings of the last 90 days.

Methodology: We count IT postings of the last 90 days that mention User Stories. Projects posted several times that are detected as duplicates count once; postings without an assignable IT category are missing, so the figures are a lower bound. The trend compares the share of all IT postings with the 90 days before and only appears with enough comparison data. We do not show figures based on fewer than 30 data points. The rating “must have” or “nice to have” comes from an AI analysis of the posting texts. Distributions only refer to postings that state the respective attribute; we state the coverage alongside. Recruiters are the posters of the listing according to the source, only above a minimum number of postings. An AI assigns the project type and role of each posting from its title, category and skills; the shares are counted postings, not estimates, and only appear with enough classified postings.

Basis: 10,565 IT listings in the window

You now know the User Stories market.
Now let the jury judge your profile.

Your CV against 115 User Stories listings – with findings, strengths and an hourly-rate check.

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