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Tools / Freelance hourly & day rate calculator

Freelance hourly & day rate calculator

Freelance and consulting rate calculator. Translates desired net take-home pay into required billing rates, factoring in self-employment taxes, business overheads, and non-billable administrative time.

Runs entirely in your browser

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About this tool

Freelancers routinely set rates too low because they price against an employee salary without accounting for the costs employment used to cover. This calculator translates a desired net take-home into the hourly and daily rate you actually need to charge, factoring in self-employment taxes, business overheads, and the reality that not every working hour is billable.

The non-billable time adjustment is the one that surprises people: admin, marketing, and finding clients all take hours you cannot invoice, so your billable hours are a fraction of your working hours, and your rate has to cover the difference. Add taxes and overheads and the required rate is substantially higher than a naive “salary ÷ 2000 hours”.

It runs in your browser, so your figures stay private. Use it to set a sustainable rate, quote a project, or check whether an offered rate actually covers your real costs and target income.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my freelance rate higher than an equivalent salary?
Because you must cover self-employment taxes, business overheads, unpaid non-billable time, and benefits an employer used to provide. The calculator builds all of that into the required rate.
What are billable versus non-billable hours?
Billable hours are those you can invoice; non-billable hours (admin, marketing, sales) are working time you cannot charge for. Your rate must cover both, so it is based on billable hours only.
How do I set a rate from a target income?
Enter your desired net take-home and the calculator works backward through taxes, overheads and billable hours to the hourly and daily rate you need to charge.
Are my figures private?
Yes. The calculation runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded.

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