Free & private

Freelance Rate Calculator

Work backward from the income you want to earn to the hourly rate you actually need to charge, based on your real billable hours and expenses.

Your goals

Tell us what you want to earn and how you work.

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$
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$/hYour rate will appear hereAdd your income goal and working hours, then select calculate to see your rate.
Hourly rate to charge
$0.00
Day rate (8 hrs)
Monthly target revenue
Annual revenue target
Billable hours / year

This is a planning estimate. Your actual market rate may also depend on your experience, niche, and what clients in your area typically pay.

How to use the freelance rate calculator

This free tool works backward from your income goal to a realistic hourly rate. Enter your desired annual income, your business expenses, how many weeks a year you work, and how many hours per week you can actually bill clients. The calculation runs locally in your browser, so your numbers are never uploaded or stored.

1. Set your income goal

Enter the annual income you want to take home, plus yearly expenses.

2. Add real billable hours

Use weeks worked and hours you can actually invoice — not total hours worked.

3. Get your rate

See your hourly rate, day rate, and the revenue you need each month.

Understanding your freelance rate

Freelancers often underprice themselves by dividing a salary by 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks), which assumes every hour is billable and ignores time off, admin work and business costs. This calculator instead uses your realistic billable hours and adds a buffer for taxes and profit, so the rate you land on is one you can actually sustain.

The core formula

Hourly rate = (income + expenses) ÷ billable hours per year ÷ (1 − buffer%).

Why billable hours matter

Marketing, admin and finding clients take real time but earn nothing directly, so basing rates on total hours undercharges you.

Using the buffer

The profit/tax buffer inflates your rate so that after tax and savings, your take-home still hits your goal.

How is a freelance hourly rate calculated?

Add your desired annual income and annual business expenses, then divide by your billable hours per year. Dividing further by a profit or tax buffer accounts for money you want left over after tax and savings.

Why use billable hours instead of total working hours?

Not every working hour can be billed to a client. Time spent on admin, marketing and finding new work is unpaid, so basing your rate on realistic billable hours keeps your income goal achievable.

What is the profit and tax buffer for?

It inflates your rate so that after paying self-employment tax and setting aside profit, the amount you actually keep still matches your desired income.

Is this freelance rate calculator free and private?

Yes. It is free to use, and every number you enter is calculated locally in your browser rather than uploaded or stored.

Try another free calculator: Invoice Generator, Tax Calculator, or Hourly to Salary Converter. Browse all online tools.