Work out the hourly rate to charge as a freelancer from your target income, billable hours, business expenses and tax. Free and instant.

$
h / week
weeks
$
%
Rate to charge per hour
Day rate (8h)
Monthly revenue target
After-tax take-home
Your rate is set so gross revenue covers your target income, business expenses and tax. Billable hours exclude admin and downtime.

About Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

The freelance hourly rate calculator answers the question every independent worker faces: what should I charge per hour? It starts from your desired annual income, then layers in your billable hours per week, working weeks per year, annual business expenses and tax rate.

The logic is straightforward: your rate is set so that gross revenue covers your target income, your expenses and the tax on it all. Because billable hours exclude admin, marketing and downtime, the calculator prevents the classic mistake of pricing as if all 40 weekly hours were paid.

Alongside the hourly figure you get a day rate based on 8 hours, a monthly revenue target and your projected after-tax take-home. It is free and runs entirely in your browser — useful every time you scope a new contract.

How to use Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

  1. Enter the annual income you want to take home.
  2. Set your billable hours per week and working weeks per year.
  3. Add your annual business expenses (software, insurance, hardware).
  4. Enter your expected tax rate.
  5. Read the rate to charge, day rate, monthly revenue target and after-tax take-home.

Frequently asked questions

Because a freelancer’s rate must also cover business expenses, taxes paid without an employer match, and all the unbillable hours spent on admin and finding clients. The calculator prices those in explicitly.

Most freelancers bill 20–30 hours of a 40-hour week; the rest goes to proposals, invoicing and marketing. Overestimating billable hours is the most common way to underprice yourself.

Rarely. Subtract vacation, holidays, sick days and slow periods — 46 to 48 weeks is a common planning figure. Fewer working weeks push the required rate up.

Simply the hourly rate multiplied by 8. Many clients prefer day-rate quotes for on-site or project work, so the tool surfaces it automatically.

It applies the single tax rate you enter to your gross revenue target, which is a simplification. Real tax owed depends on your jurisdiction, deductions and structure — confirm with an accountant.

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