Freelance Rate Calculator
Works out the hourly rate that covers your target income and business costs.
Share sends a link that reopens these numbers. Copy details pastes the full breakdown as a list.
The formula
working days = 52 × days per week − days off billable hours = working days × hours per day × (1 − non-billable %) hourly rate = (income ÷ (1 − tax %) + costs) ÷ billable hours
Your income and costs are spread over only the hours you can charge for. The tax allowance is a single percentage of income that you choose.
What to watch out for
Enter what you want to earn in a year, then what the business costs to run. Be realistic about days off and non-billable time, since both reduce the hours that have to pay for everything.
The result is before tax unless you enter an allowance. Tax and payroll rates change and differ by country, so enter the current ones for yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I work out a freelance hourly rate?
Add your target income and business costs, then divide by your billable hours. 50,000 of income and 8,000 of costs over 1,288 billable hours is 45.03 an hour.
How much does non-billable time change the rate?
A lot. With the same figures, moving non-billable time from 30% to 50% raises the rate from 45.03 to 63.04 an hour.
How does the tax allowance work?
The income is divided by (1 − your percentage), so the amount left after that percentage is your target. As an example only, entering 20% turns the rate above into 54.74 an hour. Tax and payroll rates change and differ by country, so enter the current ones for yours.