Free tool

Freelance hourly rate calculator

Start from what you want to take home, not from what other people charge. Put in your income goal, costs, tax and the hours you can really bill — get the lowest rate that still pays you.

Your minimum hourly rate

$74.78 /hour

Day rate (8 hrs)

$598.26

Revenue you need to invoice: $86,000
of which tax set aside: $20,000
of which expenses: $6,000
Billable hours per year: 1,150 hrs
Working weeks: 46

Price a project

Estimate the hours, add a buffer for the things estimates always miss.

Estimated hours

Buffer (%)

Minimum project price

$3,440.00

40 hrs × $74.78 × (1 + 15%)

Written by Shaish Guni, Founder, ApeiroCraft — the formula is shown in full below so you can check it.Last reviewed 12 October 2026Kathmandu, Nepal

The formula, step by step.

There is no secret here — it is division. What makes most rate guesses wrong is the inputs: people divide a salary they used to earn by 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year, and end up charging well below what the job costs them to do.

The calculator treats tax as a percentage of profit. Expenses are added after the tax step because, in most countries, business costs are deducted before profit is taxed. If your situation is different, raise the tax rate to compensate.

1.Working weeks = 52 − weeks off
2.Billable hours per year = billable hours per week × working weeks
3.Pre-tax profit needed = target take-home ÷ (1 − tax rate)
4.Revenue needed = pre-tax profit + yearly expenses
5.Minimum hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours per year
6.Day rate = hourly rate × hours in a billed day
7.Project price = estimated hours × hourly rate × (1 + buffer)

A worked example

Say you want to keep 60,000 a year, spend 6,000 on running the business, pay around 25% tax on profit, can bill 25 hours a week, and take 6 weeks off.

Working weeks: 52 − 6 = 46
Billable hours: 25 × 46 = 1,150 a year
Pre-tax profit: 60,000 ÷ 0.75 = 80,000
Revenue needed: 80,000 + 6,000 = 86,000
Minimum hourly rate: 86,000 ÷ 1,150 ≈ 74.78
Day rate at 8 hours: ≈ 598.26

Compare that with the naive version — 60,000 ÷ (40 × 52) ≈ 28.85 an hour — and the gap is the whole reason this calculator exists.

Getting the inputs right

Billable hours

Only count time a client pays for. Finding work, writing proposals, chasing invoices, bookkeeping and learning all happen in hours nobody is billed for, so your billable week is usually a good deal shorter than your working week.

Weeks off

Include holidays, public holidays, a few sick days and the quiet gaps between projects. Freelancers don't get paid leave, so the rate has to fund it.

Expenses

Software subscriptions, hardware replacement, insurance, an accountant, coworking, training, and anything an employer used to pay for — pension contributions and health cover included, if they apply where you live.

The rate is a floor

The number above is the least you can charge and still hit your target. Price above it when the work is specialist, urgent, or worth a lot to the client. Below it, you are subsidising the client out of your own income.

Turn the number into a proposal.

Once you have a price, send it as a link instead of an attachment. ApeiroCraft proposals show you when they've been read, collect an e-signature, and turn into an invoice once accepted.

Free plan: 3 proposals and 3 invoices sent a month, no credit card. Solo is $19/mo for up to 3 people.

Send it as a tracked proposal

Rate math, answered.

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add the take-home income you want, grossed up for tax, to your yearly business expenses. Divide that by the hours you can actually bill in a year: billable hours per week times the weeks you work. The result is the minimum hourly rate that hits your target; anything above it is margin.

How many billable hours should I assume per week?

Fewer than you work. Sales calls, proposals, invoicing, email and learning are real work that no client pays for directly. Track a normal fortnight and count only the hours you could put on an invoice; use that number, not your desk hours.

Why does the calculator gross up income for tax but not expenses?

In most tax systems business expenses are deducted before profit is taxed, so they don't need to be earned twice. Your take-home does: to keep a given amount after tax, you need to earn it divided by one minus your tax rate. Check the details with an accountant where you live.

Should I charge hourly or a fixed project price?

Use the hourly rate as a floor, not necessarily as the price you show. A fixed price built from an hour estimate plus a buffer protects you from overruns and lets clients compare a single number. Hourly suits open-ended work where scope can't be pinned down.

Is my data saved or sent anywhere?

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is stored or sent to a server, and there is no signup.

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