'Freelancer' and 'contractor' more or less are synonymous terms although the former is more common in the software industry. The latter arguably is a bit less p

'Freelancer' and 'contractor' more or less are synonymous terms although the former is more common in the software industry. The latter arguably is a bit less prestigious, too. The difference between a consultant and a freelancer is that a freelancer solves a technical problem while a consultant helps with solving a business problem (which might involve solving technical problems, too). Freelance jobs typically are more hands-on while consulting gigs tend to be more high-level. As others on this thread mentioned this is also why consultants usually get higher rates than freelancers. Consultants also come in an employee variety, i.e. as in working for larger consulting agencies. In that case and depending on their seniority within the agency their work can range from anything a freelancer or employed programmer would do to work a self-employed consultant would do.