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Freelance Rate Calculator

This freelance rate calculator finds the hourly and day rate that covers the income you want, your business costs and the hours you can't bill — with the working shown.

Income target is

Currency

Personal income you want (before tax)

USD

Business costs / year

USD

Software, equipment, insurance, accounting.

Reserve / profit buffer

Share of revenue kept back for quiet months.

Working weeks

Hours / week

Billable

Working weeks = 52 minus holidays, sick days and training. Billable share is the part of your working hours you can charge for — admin, sales and learning aren't billable.

Hours in a billable day

Project estimate (hours)

Rate you need to charge

$81.75/ hour

Day rate (8 h): $654
40-hour project: $3,270
Revenue / year: $97,778
Billable hours / year: 1,196

Revenue = ($80,000 income + $8,000 costs) ÷ (1 − 10% reserve) = $97,778
Billable hours = 46 weeks × 40 h × 65% = 1,196
Hourly = $97,778 ÷ 1,196 h = $81.75

How the billable share changes your rate

Hourly rate needed at different billable shares
Billable	Hours / year	Hourly	Day
40%	736	$132.85	$1,063
50%	920	$106.28	$850
60%	1,104	$88.57	$709
70%	1,288	$75.91	$607
80%	1,472	$66.43	$531
90%	1,656	$59.04	$472

A planning estimate, not tax or financial advice. Check market rates for your field — the rate you need and the rate clients pay can differ.

How the rate is calculated

Revenue needed(income before tax + business costs) ÷ (1 − reserve %)
Billable hoursworking weeks × hours per week × billable %
Hourly raterevenue needed ÷ billable hours

Worked example

You want $70,000 before tax, spend $8,000 a year on the business and keep a 10% reserve: ($70,000 + $8,000) ÷ 0.9 = $86,667 of revenue. Working 46 weeks of 40 hours and billing 60% gives 1,104 billable hours, so you need $78.50 an hour, or $628 for an 8-hour day.

Frequently asked questions

How do I work out my freelance hourly rate?+

Add the income you want to your yearly business costs, allow for a reserve, and divide by the hours you can actually bill. $80,000 of revenue over 1,000 billable hours needs $80 an hour.

What is a realistic billable share?+

Many freelancers bill 50–75% of their working hours; the rest goes on finding clients, admin, invoicing and learning. The table shows how much your rate rises as that share falls.

How is the day rate calculated?+

Hourly rate × the hours in a billable day you set — 8 by default. Some clients expect 7 or 7.5-hour days, so adjust it to match how you quote.

Does it work out my tax?+

Not exactly. By default everything is before tax. In after-tax mode it uses one flat rate you choose to gross your income up, but real income tax is usually progressive and varies by country, so check with an accountant.

Why add a reserve?+

Freelance income is uneven. A reserve — a share of revenue set aside — covers quiet months, late payers and equipment. It's added once, on top of income and costs, so nothing is counted twice.

Why is a freelance rate so much higher than an employee's hourly pay?+

Because you pay for your own time off, unbilled hours and business costs. A salary of $80,000 is $38.46 an hour over 2,080 paid hours. To earn the same as a freelancer with $8,000 of costs, a 10% reserve, 46 working weeks and 65% of hours billed, you need $81.75 an hour — and an employee's benefits and employer taxes aren't included in that comparison.

How many billable hours can a freelancer work in a year?+

Fewer than most people expect. The starting values — 46 working weeks of 40 hours, 65% of them billable — give 1,196 billable hours, well short of the 2,080 hours in a full-time employee's year. Adjust the weeks, hours and billable share to match how you really work.

How many weeks a year should I plan to work?+

Take 52 weeks and subtract holidays, public holidays, likely sick days and time for training or quiet spells. The calculator starts at 46 weeks; many freelancers plan on somewhere between 44 and 48. Being realistic here matters as much as the income target.

How do I price a fixed-price project?+

Estimate the hours the project will take, add a margin for revisions and unknowns, and multiply by your hourly rate. Enter the hours in Project estimate and the calculator shows the price — a 40-hour project at $81.75 an hour is $3,270.

Should I charge by the hour, by the day or by the project?+

Hourly suits open-ended or support work, day rates suit on-site or embedded work, and project prices suit well-defined jobs where you can estimate the effort. Whichever you quote, work out the hourly rate you need first so every quote covers your costs.

Is my information stored?+

No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is saved or uploaded.