Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Enter your target income, working hours, and expenses. Get the rate you actually need to charge — accounting for taxes, non-billable time, and business costs that most rate calculators ignore.
Your Numbers
What you want to take home after expenses (before tax).
Vacation, sick days, holidays. 4-6 is typical for freelancers.
Total working hours, billable and non-billable combined.
Software, insurance, coworking, equipment, courses, etc.
Income tax plus self-employment or social contributions in your country.
What percentage of your working hours are actually billable? Most freelancers land around 60-70%.
Your Rate
Charge This Hourly Rate
This is what you need to charge to hit your target income, cover business expenses, pay taxes, and account for non-billable hours.
Naive Rate
$39/hr
Income divided by total working hours. Ignores taxes and expenses — what most freelancers wrongly quote.
Break-Even Rate
$5/hr
Below this, you are losing money on expenses alone.
- Total working hours per year
- 1,920
- Of those, billable hours
- 1,248
- Revenue you must invoice
- $115,714
- Your take-home after expenses and tax
- $75,000
Adjust the values to model different scenarios. All calculations happen in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Why Most Freelancers Underprice
The four mistakes that make freelance rates too low.
Ignoring Taxes
An employed worker's take-home is calculated after payroll deductions. A freelancer has to gross substantially more for the same take-home once self-employment tax, income tax, and social contributions are covered.
Ignoring Non-Billable Time
Sales calls, invoicing, admin, proposals, learning new tools, taxes — none of it is billable. Realistic freelancers bill 55-70% of their working hours, not 100%.
Ignoring Business Expenses
Software subscriptions, insurance, coworking, equipment, courses, conference travel. These come out of your top-line revenue before your income.
Ignoring Time Off
You are your own paid-time-off department. Two weeks vacation plus a week sick plus holidays is roughly four weeks off. Your rate needs to cover 48 weeks of billing to fund 52 weeks of life.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Start with your target income
This is what you want to take home before tax — the amount that would make you say the freelancing thing is working. Be honest, not aspirational.
- 2
Set realistic time off
Two weeks vacation plus one week sick plus holidays is about four weeks. If you are new to freelancing, err higher — burnout kills more freelance careers than low rates.
- 3
Be honest about billable ratio
Track it for a week if you are not sure. Most freelancers land at 55-70%. Higher than 75% usually means undercounting admin, sales, and learning time.
- 4
Sanity-check the number
If your calculated rate is 30-50% higher than what you charge today, that is normal — most freelancers underprice by exactly that much. The number is your floor, not your ceiling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a realistic billable ratio for freelancers?
Most independent freelancers bill 55-70% of their working hours. The rest goes to sales, invoicing, admin, and learning. Full-time consultants and agency freelancers can reach 75-80% with strong systems. Solo freelancers should not plan around numbers above 70%.
Why is my calculated rate so much higher than what I currently charge?
Because most freelancers underprice — usually by 30-60%. The rate this calculator shows is what you need to charge to actually earn your target income after all real-world costs. If it feels too high, look at your fixed costs first. Otherwise you are either accepting a lower income or working more hours than you planned.
How do I actually move to a higher rate with existing clients?
Two paths. First, grandfather existing clients at their current rate but quote all new work at the new rate — the mix shifts naturally over 6-12 months. Second, give existing clients 60 days notice of a rate increase, framed around expanded scope or specialization. Losing 20-30% of clients at a 40% higher rate is a net win.
Should I charge different rates to different clients?
Yes. Rates should reflect the value delivered and the client's ability to pay. A large corporate client can pay two to three times what a solo entrepreneur can for the same work. Set a floor rate — what this calculator shows — and price up from there based on complexity, timeline, and client size.
How do I convert my hourly rate into a monthly retainer?
Multiply your hourly rate by the retained hours per month, then apply a 10-20% discount for the commitment and revenue predictability. For example, 40 hours at your rate, minus 15% for the guaranteed monthly commitment.
How does a freelance rate compare to an employee salary?
A rough rule: multiply a salaried role's hourly-equivalent rate by 2.0 to 2.5 times to get the freelance equivalent. The multiplier covers benefits you now self-fund, self-employment taxes, non-billable time, and business expenses.
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