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Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Work out the hourly rate you actually need to charge as a freelancer — based on the income you want, your real billable hours, and your business costs.

Your numbers

$

The salary you want this freelance business to pay you, before income tax.

$

Software, equipment, insurance, coworking, subscriptions — your yearly overhead.

Total working hours per week — billable client work plus admin.

Vacation, holidays & sick.

%

Admin, marketing, proposals.

%

Rough buffer, not tax advice.

%

Optional cushion on top.

Your freelance hourly rate

$63.19/hr

Day rate (8h)

$506

Monthly billings

$7,425

Taxes & take-home (rough)

Set aside for taxes$18,750/yr
Estimated take-home$56,250/yr

Your income is pre-tax, so taxes come out of it — they don't change the rate above.

Invoice at this rate →

Opens the free invoice editor pre-filled at $63.19/hr.

How this rate is calculated

Working weeks (52 − 5 off)
47 weeks
Billable hours / week (40 × 75%)
30 hrs
Billable hours / year
1,410 hrs
Revenue needed ($81,000 + 10% profit)
$89,100
Hourly rate = $89,100 ÷ 1,410 hrs
$63.19

Estimates only. This tool is for general planning and is not tax, accounting, or financial advice. Tax rates vary by country, income, and business structure — check with a qualified professional.

How to Calculate Your Freelance Rate

The biggest mistake new freelancers make is copying an employee's hourly math. If you want to earn $75,000 a year, it's tempting to divide by 2,080 hours and quote about $36 an hour. But that number quietly assumes an employer is covering your taxes, benefits, paid time off, software, and equipment — and that every hour you work gets paid. As a freelancer, none of that is true. Charge like an employee and you'll end up earning far less than the salary you had in mind.

A sustainable freelance rate works backwards from the income you want and divides it across the hours you can genuinely bill. The calculator above uses a simple, transparent formula:

  1. Find your working weeks. Start with 52 weeks and subtract your weeks off for vacation, holidays, and sick time.
  2. Find your billable hours. Take the hours you work each week and remove the non-billable share — the admin, marketing, proposals, and invoicing that never gets billed to a client. Multiply by your working weeks for billable hours per year.
  3. Add up what you need to earn. Add your desired pre-tax income to your annual business expenses, then add an optional profit margin as a cushion. That total is the revenue your billings need to bring in.
  4. Divide. Revenue needed ÷ billable hours per year = the hourly rate you should charge.

Because your income figure is pre-tax, taxes come out of it rather than being added to your rate. The calculator shows a rough tax set-aside and estimated take-home separately, so you can see what actually lands in your pocket. Treat the tax number as a rough buffer only — see the note below on why it isn't tax advice.

Once you know your number, you can put it to work immediately. Use the free invoice generator to bill a client at your new rate, or read our full guide to invoicing as a freelancer for how to structure rates, deposits, and getting paid on time.

Estimates only. This calculator is a general planning tool, not tax, accounting, or financial advice. Tax rates and deductible expenses vary by country, income level, and business structure — always confirm your numbers with a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
Start with the annual income you want to earn, add your yearly business expenses, then divide by the number of hours you can actually bill in a year. Billable hours are far fewer than the hours you work: subtract vacation and sick weeks, then remove the share of each week that goes to admin, marketing, and other non-billable work. Dividing your income-plus-costs target by those real billable hours gives the rate you need to charge to hit your goal.
Why can't I just divide my salary by 2,080 hours?
2,080 hours assumes 40 paid hours a week for 52 weeks — the reality of a salaried employee whose employer also covers taxes, benefits, paid time off, software, and equipment. As a freelancer you get none of that for free, and you can't bill every hour you work. Realistically you might bill 1,200 to 1,500 hours a year, not 2,080. Dividing by 2,080 undercounts your true costs and produces a rate that leaves you earning far less than the salary you were aiming for.
What percentage should freelancers set aside for taxes?
Many freelancers reserve somewhere around 25% to 30% of their income for taxes as a rough buffer, which can include income tax plus self-employment or social contributions depending on where they live. The right number varies widely by country, total income, deductions, and business structure, so treat any single percentage as a starting estimate only. This calculator is not tax advice — confirm your actual obligation with a qualified accountant or your local tax authority.
How many hours are actually billable as a freelancer?
Most full-time freelancers bill roughly 50% to 75% of the hours they work. The rest disappears into unpaid but necessary work: sending proposals, invoicing, chasing payments, marketing, bookkeeping, learning, and email. If you work 40 hours a week and 25% is non-billable, only about 30 of those hours actually earn money. Planning around your real billable capacity — rather than assuming every working hour is paid — is the single biggest correction most new freelancers need to make.
Should I charge a different rate for each client?
Your calculated rate is a floor — the minimum that keeps your business sustainable — not a fixed price you must quote everyone. It's common and reasonable to charge more for rush timelines, complex or high-value work, difficult clients, or specialized expertise, and occasionally less for long-term retainers or work you genuinely want. Knowing your baseline number lets you flex the price up or down on purpose instead of guessing and hoping it covers your costs.
How do I raise my freelance rate?
Raise rates for new clients first, quoting your higher number from the very first conversation where there's no existing anchor. For current clients, give clear notice, tie the increase to the value and results you deliver, and apply it at a natural break such as a new project or contract renewal. Raising your billable capacity — saying no to low-value work so you can take on better-paid work — often increases your effective rate as much as changing the number on your invoice.
Does this freelance rate calculator work for any currency?
Yes. The math is the same in any currency — enter your income, expenses, and hours in whatever currency you invoice in, and read the result the same way. When you're ready to bill, the free invoice generator supports 160+ currencies, so you can create and download a professional invoice at your new rate in the currency your client expects.

Bill a Client at Your New Rate

Create Your Invoice Now

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