Freelance rate calculator
The hourly rate you need to charge if you actually want to pay yourself, save, and not burn out.
What this tool does
Most freelancers price their work by looking at what other freelancers charge. That number is almost always too low — because the people you're looking at are also too cheap, and the whole industry got anchored to rates that don't cover taxes, healthcare, equipment, slow months, or any real version of paid time off. This calculator works the math the other direction: start with the life you want, end with the rate it costs.
How to use it
- Decide the annual salary you actually want to take home — not just survive on.
- Add expected business expenses (software, equipment, accountant, healthcare if you pay your own).
- Add a tax buffer — 25-35% of income for most jurisdictions.
- Decide how many weeks you'll actually work (52 minus vacation, minus sick days, minus admin weeks).
- Estimate billable hours per work week — usually 50-60% of total hours; the rest is sales, admin, and unpaid revisions.
- Divide total cost by total billable hours. That is your real minimum hourly rate.
Why it matters
Almost every freelancer who burns out underpriced their work by 40-60% from the start, then spent years trying to compensate by working more hours. The math doesn't work — there are only so many hours. The fix is to price at the rate that makes the life you want viable, even if it means losing the clients who can't afford that rate. Those weren't your clients.
Questions people actually ask.
My rate seems impossibly high compared to competitors.
Your rate is right; your competitors are wrong. Most freelancers in any field are quietly losing money or unable to take a vacation. Don't calibrate to a broken market — calibrate to a sustainable life.
What if clients refuse to pay this rate?
Some will, some won't. The ones who won't were never going to make you healthy. You need fewer better clients, not more cheaper ones. This is the hardest lesson in freelancing and the one that takes most people five years to learn.
How do I justify the rate?
You don't justify it — you charge it. If asked, the framing is value, not effort: 'this engagement will produce X outcome that is worth Y.' Hourly numbers anchor clients on the wrong axis; outcomes anchor them on the right one.