Freelance Rate Calculator
Enter the yearly income you want to take home, your business expenses and how much of your revenue you set aside for tax and other costs. Then add your weeks off and billable hours. You get the hourly and day rate to charge.
Your numbers
Estimate for information only, not professional advice. Last reviewed .
How we calculate it
Revenue needed = (income you want + business expenses) ÷ (1 − share set aside as a decimal). Billable hours in a year = (52 − weeks off) × billable hours per week. Hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours, and day rate = hourly rate × hours in a billable day.
With 60,000 of income, 12,000 of expenses and 25% set aside, you need 96,000 of revenue. Over 48 weeks at 25 billable hours that is 1,200 hours, so the rate is 80.00 an hour and 640.00 a day.
Assumptions and limits
- Billable hours are only the hours you can charge for. Time spent on admin, finding clients and learning is not billable, so your billable hours per week are usually much lower than your working hours.
- The share set aside is your estimate of tax and other costs taken out of revenue. This is not tax advice.
- The result is a minimum rate to reach your target, not a market price. Check what clients in your field pay.
Frequently asked questions
How do I decide my billable hours?
Start from the hours you work in a week and subtract time for admin, marketing and gaps between projects. Many freelancers can bill well under their total working hours, so be honest.
What should I set aside for tax?
It depends on your income and where you live, so ask a tax professional or your tax authority. Enter that share here so the rate covers it.
Why charge more than an employee’s hourly pay?
Freelancers pay their own expenses and tax, have unpaid time off and unbillable hours, and do not get benefits. The rate has to cover all of those as well as your income.
Related calculators
- Hourly to Salary CalculatorEnter your hourly pay and schedule to see the equivalent annual salary, with an optional adjustment for unpaid time off.
- Salary to Hourly CalculatorEnter your yearly salary, the hours you work in a week and the weeks you work in a year.
- Break-Even CalculatorLearn how many units you must sell before you start making a profit.
- Profit Margin CalculatorEnter what a product costs you and what you sell it for to see your profit, profit margin and markup.
Worked example (a fixed example using the starting numbers, it does not change as you type)
Inputs: Income you want per year ($) = 60000; Business expenses per year ($) = 12000; Share of revenue set aside for tax and costs (%) = 25; Weeks off per year = 4; Billable hours per week = 25; Hours in a billable day = 8.
- Hourly rate $80.00
- Day rate $640.00
- Revenue you need $96,000.00
- Billable hours in a year 1,200
- Weeks you work 48
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