Freelance Rate Calculator
Work backward from the income you actually want. Plug in your numbers and see exactly what to charge per hour, per day, or per project.
Your Numbers
What you want to take home before taxes
Software, insurance, equipment, coworking, etc.
Vacation, sick days, holidays
Hours you can actually bill (not admin, not marketing)
How it works
Set your income goal
Enter what you want to take home this year, plus any business expenses. Software, insurance, equipment, taxes you're setting aside. The calculator adds them up so your rate covers everything.
Adjust your availability
Not every week is a work week. Account for vacation, sick time, and holidays. Then set how many hours per week you can actually bill. Be honest here. Admin, marketing, and emails don't count.
Get your rates
The calculator divides your total needed income by your actual billable hours. You get an hourly rate, day rates, weekly and monthly retainers, and project estimates at different sizes.
Why most freelancers undercharge
The biggest mistake? Dividing a full-time salary by 2,080 hours and calling it a rate. That math ignores everything that makes freelancing different from a salaried job.
You don't bill 40 hours a week. Realistically, 25-30 billable hours is a good week. The rest goes to finding clients, sending invoices, updating your portfolio, answering emails, and doing all the stuff an employer used to handle for you.
Then there's the stuff nobody tells you about. Self-employment tax eats 15.3% right off the top. Health insurance, retirement contributions, software subscriptions, and equipment. That $80K salary? You need to bill closer to $110K to actually take home $80K.
And you don't work 52 weeks. Between holidays, sick days, and actual vacations (you should take them), most freelancers work 46-49 weeks a year. That's 3-6 fewer weeks of income with the same expenses.
This calculator accounts for all of it. Plug in your real numbers and let the math tell you what to charge.
Questions
Round up. Always. Your rate needs to cover the months where clients are slow, projects get delayed, or invoices are paid late. A small buffer built into your rate saves you from scrambling later.
This calculator shows what you need to earn before taxes. In the US, freelancers typically pay 15.3% self-employment tax plus income tax. A good rule of thumb: set aside 25-30% of everything you bill for taxes. Include that in your 'expenses' field if you want your rate to cover it.
For most solo freelancers, 25-30 hours per week is realistic. The rest goes to client communication, proposals, invoicing, marketing, and admin. If you're freelancing part-time alongside a job, 10-15 hours is more accurate.
Yes. This rate is your baseline. For rush work, charge 1.5-2x. For ongoing retainer clients who provide steady income, you might offer a small discount. For enterprise clients with bigger budgets and longer payment terms, charge more.
Use the project estimate table as a starting point. Estimate the hours honestly, then add 20% for scope creep. Over time, you'll get better at estimating and can quote flat project rates confidently. Project pricing usually earns more than hourly because you get faster with experience.
If the math says you need $95/hour and that feels scary, that's normal. Your rate isn't about what feels comfortable. It's about what the math requires for you to pay your bills, save for retirement, and not burn out. Start quoting it. The clients who can't afford you weren't going to be good clients anyway.
Know your number
Stop guessing your rate. Let the math decide.