Welcome to the #MedComms
Freelancing Barometer

Every January, we conduct the #MedComms Freelancing Barometer – a comprehensive survey of specialist freelancers working across medical communications, medical education, and medical publishing.

The survey serves as a vital pulse check for our global community, capturing trends in workload, rates, well-being, and industry sentiment. Founded by Peter Llewellyn in 2024, the Barometer has been led by Eleanor Steele since 2025.

Accessing the data

Participation is entirely anonymous, and we believe in open data; the results are published freely every February.

Below, you will find the data from each previous survey, along with videos of the results webinars and summary articles. We update this page annually with information regarding the next Barometer cycle and its subsequent findings.

The freelance life offers unmatched flexibility, but it can also be a solitary journey.

Why participate in the Barometer?

By sharing your experiences, you help benchmark exactly how the freelance environment, and the broader MedComms industry, has shifted in the previous year. The Barometer data also helps provide a collective voice for the freelance community.

For many of us, the freelance life offers unmatched flexibility, but it can also be a solitary journey.

By contributing your anonymous insights, you help us build a bridge between those individual desks. The Barometer results prove that while we may work alone, we are not alone. Seeing hundreds of peer responses provides a sense of solidarity, validating the highs and lows we all navigate.

Individual freelancers can sometimes feel invisible to larger agencies or industry bodies. This data provides a robust, evidence-based voice for the community, ensuring our contributions and concerns are recognized and understood by the wider MedComms world.

While we may work alone, we are not alone.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2026

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2026:
Data download

>> Download a PDF of the full results of the Barometer.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2026:
Results webinar

>> Watch the webinar discussing the results of the Barometer.

In this webinar, recorded on 12th February 2026, Eleanor Steele was joined by a panel of regional experts – Lori De Milto (US/Canada), Heather Mason (Europe), and Steph Carter (UK). Together, we examined 3 years of comparative data to reveal how the freelance landscape has shifted since 2023 and what these changes may mean for the year ahead.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2026:
Overall results summary article

Written by Eleanor Steele

>> Read the full article.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2026:
Job satisfaction and future outlook summary article

Written by Alexander P.P. Lowe

>> Read the full article.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2025

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2025:
Data download

>> Download a PDF of the full results of the Barometer.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2025:
Results webinar

>> Watch the webinar discussing the results of the Barometer.

In this webinar, recorded on 13th February 2025, Peter Llewellyn was joined by Lisa Baker (Freelancers in Pubs), Adriana Rocha (EMWA Freelance Business Group) and Eleanor Steele (The MedComms Mentor).

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2025:
Summary article

Written by Eleanor Steele

>> Read the full article.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2024

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2024:
Data download

>> Download a PDF of the full results of the Barometer.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2024:
Results webinar

>> Watch the webinar discussing the results of the Barometer.

In this webinar, recorded on 15th February 2024, Peter Llewellyn was joined by Lisa Baker (Freelancers in Pubs), Laura Kehoe (EMWA's Freelance Forum) and Eleanor Steele (The MedComms Mentor).

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2024:
Summary article

Written by Peter Llewellyn

>> Read the full article.

#MedComms Freelancing Barometer 2024:
Summary article

Written by Sarah Nelson

>> Read the full article.