Freelance rate calculator
Find the rate and the hours behind the pay you want.
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Nothing leaves your browser — the math runs on your device.
Your rate, your hours, and the salary they add up to appear right here as you type — or press the button to try example numbers.
Good to know
Why salary ÷ 2,080 is always too low
The usual shortcut is to take the salary you want and divide it by 2,080 hours — 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. It produces a number that would have you working for less than you earned as an employee. It assumes you're paid for every hour you work, that you never take a week off, that your business costs nothing to run, and that nobody takes a cut at tax time. Four assumptions, all false. This calculator strips each one out, which is why the honest rate usually lands 50–90% above the shortcut.
Billable hours: the number that decides your rate
You get paid for the hours you invoice, not the hours you work. Proposals, invoices, sales calls, marketing, admin, and the client who went quiet mid-project are all unpaid, and they take real time. The share of your week you actually bill is called utilization, and for most solo freelancers it sits between 50% and 70% — not the 100% the shortcut assumes. At 40 hours a week, 48 working weeks, and 70% utilization you have about 1,344 billable hours a year, not 2,080. That gap alone lifts your required rate by more than half.
What you're really replacing when you leave a salary
A salary is never just the number on the offer letter. Your employer also paid the employer half of payroll tax, some or all of your health insurance, a retirement contribution, your equipment, and — the expensive one — your paid holiday and sick days. Freelancing, all of that comes out of the same rate. That's why this tool shows the salaried job your rate is genuinely equivalent to: it takes your pre-tax earnings and subtracts the employer costs you now fund yourself, so you can compare a rate to an offer without kidding yourself.
Three ways to close the gap
If the hours don't fit the week, you have exactly three levers. Raise the rate: it's the strongest, because required hours fall as a curve — the first ten dollars buy back far more time than the next ten. Raise utilization: templated proposals, a smaller client list, and fewer discovery calls can move you from 55% to 70% without working any longer. Or cut business costs, which lowers the revenue you have to bill before you're paid at all. Change one input at a time here and watch which one actually moves your week.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
Take the pay you want after tax, gross it up for tax, add your annual business costs, then divide by the hours you can actually invoice in a year — not the hours you work.
What is a realistic billable share for a freelancer?
Most solo freelancers invoice 50–70% of their working hours. The rest goes to sales, admin, and unpaid client back-and-forth. Start at 60–70% and adjust once you've tracked a few months.
Should my rate include taxes?
Yes — you pay income tax and self-employment tax out of what you invoice. This tool uses one combined percentage you type in yourself; it never guesses your country's tax rules for you.
How do I turn an hourly rate into a day rate?
Multiply by the hours in your working day (8 by default). Day rates usually assume the whole day is billable, so they carry less unbillable slack than an hourly rate does.
How does a freelance rate compare to a salary?
Subtract the employer payroll tax, benefits, and paid time off an employer used to cover — around 25% for many freelancers. This tool shows that equivalent salary next to your rate.
Do you store the numbers I enter?
No. It runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type is sent to a server, saved, or shared.