Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Tell it what you want to earn each month, how many days you work and what it costs you to work. It shows the hourly rate that actually supports that number.
Software, accountant, internet, coworking.
Varies by country and registration. Check with your accountant.
Time on email, quotes, prospecting and admin. Usually between 10% and 30%.
What you need to charge
These are estimates to guide your pricing. Consult an accountant for your own tax situation.
Not sure? Turn your internet off and try — it still works.
How it works
The most common mistake when setting an hourly rate is dividing the desired income by the hours worked. Two things break that sum. The first is that you do not bill every hour you work: answering email, writing quotes, chasing clients and doing your own bookkeeping eat a real slice of the week, and nobody pays for that directly — which is what the unbillable hours field is for. The second is that tax is charged on revenue, not on what is left: to take home 8,000 at a 15% rate, invoicing 9,200 is not enough — you need to invoice 10,588, because the tax also falls on the money that exists to pay the tax. Adding the rate on top is the wrong version of this sum, and the gap between the two grows as the rate rises. Holidays belong here for the same reason: four weeks off a year are not four weeks of lost income, they are four weeks the other forty-eight have to pay for.