Freelance Rate Calculator
Calculate your ideal freelance hourly rate
Last updated: January 2025
About This Tool
Setting the right freelance rate is crucial for earning what you deserve while remaining competitive. This calculator helps you determine an hourly rate that covers all your costs and achieves your income goals.
What is Freelance Rate Calculator?
A freelance rate is the amount you charge clients per hour (or per project/day) for your services. Unlike employees, freelancers must account for self-employment taxes, health insurance, retirement savings, business expenses, and unbillable time when setting rates.
How It Works
The calculator starts with your desired take-home income and works backward, adding taxes, expenses, and profit margin, then dividing by billable hours to find your required hourly rate. It accounts for the fact that freelancers typically bill only 50-70% of their working hours.
Formula
Hourly Rate = (Salary + Taxes + Expenses + Profit) / Annual Billable Hours
Typically 50-70% of working hours are billable
Your Hourly Rate Should Be
$109/hr
Based on 1200 billable hours/year
Rate Options
Hourly
$109
Daily (8h)
$872
Weekly
$2,725
Monthly Retainer
$10,900
Cost Breakdown
💡 Tips
- • Round up to a clean number
- • Value pricing can earn more
- • Review rates annually
Related Tools
When to Use This Calculator
- 1Starting a freelance career and setting initial rates
- 2Re-evaluating rates after costs or goals change
- 3Preparing to negotiate with potential clients
- 4Comparing freelance income to traditional employment
- 5Creating pricing tiers (hourly, daily, project-based)
Pro Tips
- •Bill only 60-70% of your time; the rest is admin, marketing, etc.
- •Increase rates by 10-20% annually to keep pace with experience and costs
- •Round up to clean numbers that sound professional
- •Consider value-based pricing for results over hours
- •Have a minimum project size to avoid inefficient small jobs
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Forgetting to account for self-employment taxes (15.3% in US)
- •Assuming you can bill 40 hours every week
- •Not including business expenses in rate calculations
- •Undervaluing your skills compared to market rates
- •Setting rates too low and being unable to raise them later