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Freelance Rate Calculator
Work backwards from the salary you actually want to the hourly rate clients need to pay — taxes, expenses and time off included.
Please enter valid numbers: a salary of $0 or more, hours and weeks above 0, and expenses/taxes between 0% and 99%.
Estimates only — educational, not financial advice. Assumes every billable hour is billed and paid, and that the percentage you entered covers your real tax and expense load. Most freelancers also pad for slow months and unpaid admin time.
About this tool
What this freelance rate calculator does
Most new freelancers pick an hourly rate by copying someone else's, or by dividing a salary by 2,000 hours and calling it done. Both shortcuts undercharge, because a salary quietly includes things freelancers must fund themselves: employer taxes, paid holidays, sick days, software, and the hours spent pitching and doing admin that nobody pays for. This freelance rate calculator rebuilds that hidden load into your rate, so the number you quote actually adds up to the income you want.
A quick example
Take the defaults: a $60,000 target salary, 25 billable hours a week, 48 working weeks, and 30% set aside for taxes and expenses. The calculator says you need to charge about $71 an hour. The naive shortcut — $60,000 divided by 2,000 working hours — gives $30 an hour, which would leave you tens of thousands short at year end once taxes, holidays, and unpaid admin time take their share.
How to use it — 3 steps
- Enter the annual salary you want to take home — the amount that should land in your pocket, not your total billings.
- Set your realistic billable hours per week and working weeks per year. Be honest: nobody bills 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year.
- Add a percentage for business expenses and taxes, then read the hourly rate you need to charge — plus the gross income behind it.
Who it is for
New freelancers leaving a job who need a defensible first rate, side-hustlers pricing their first real clients, and experienced freelancers who suspect they have been undercharging for years. It is also a reality check before quitting: if the rate your market will bear is far below the rate the calculator gives, that gap is worth seeing now.
Honest limitations
The math assumes every billable hour gets billed and paid on time. Real freelancing includes slow months, late payers, and unpaid pitching, and no calculator can know your local tax rules. Treat the result as a floor to negotiate from — not a guarantee that clients will pay it. Estimates only — not financial advice.
FAQ
Freelance Rate Calculator — common questions
How does the freelance rate calculator work?
Enter the annual salary you want, your billable hours per week, the weeks you plan to work each year, and a percentage for business expenses and taxes. The calculator grosses your target salary up for those costs and divides by your total billable hours to suggest an hourly rate. Estimates only — not financial advice.
Why is the hourly rate higher than a salary divided by hours?
Because employees receive more than a salary: employer-side taxes, benefits, paid holidays, and equipment. As a freelancer you fund all of that yourself, and only part of your working time is billable — the calculator rebuilds that missing load into your rate.
Should I charge by the hour or per project?
Hourly is simpler when the scope is fuzzy. Per project usually pays better once you are fast, because clients pay for the result, not your time. Many freelancers quote a project price with this hourly rate working underneath it.
What if clients say my rate is too high?
Some will — that happens at almost any price. Dropping below the rate this calculator gives usually means quietly paying yourself less than your target salary. Tightening the scope — fewer deliverables, a longer deadline — is usually a better lever than cutting the rate.
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