Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
The rate you must charge to hit your income target.
Enter your values
ⓘ Live results
Results
- Minimum hourly rate
- $103.57
- Day rate (8 hrs)
- $828.60
- Required annual revenue
- $119,111.11
- Billable hours per year
- 1,150
Quick answer
A freelance rate must cover target income plus taxes and business costs, divided only by genuinely billable hours — usually 50–70% of your working week.
How to use the Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
- 1Enter the take-home income you want.
- 2Add business expenses and your tax rate.
- 3Be honest about billable hours per week.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Target take-home income80000 $
- Annual business expenses8000 $
- Effective tax rate28 %
- Billable hours per week25 hrs
- Working weeks per year46 weeks
Results
- Minimum hourly rate$103.57
- Day rate (8 hrs)$828.60
- Required annual revenue$119,111.11
- Billable hours per year1,150
Frequently asked questions
Why not use 40 billable hours?
Admin, sales, invoicing and dead time consume much of the week. Most sustainable freelancers bill 20–30 hours.
Should I charge by project instead?
Often yes — value pricing rewards efficiency, but you still need this rate as the floor for scoping a project.
About this calculator
- Built and reviewed by James Whitfield · How we build and test calculators
- Report an error
Results are estimates for general information. For medical, legal, structural or financial decisions, confirm with a qualified professional.