How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate from the salary I want?

Enter Desired take-home, Business expenses, Billable hours per week, Weeks off and Tax rate. The tool adds salary and expenses, grosses up for tax, and divides by your yearly billable hours to give the Hourly rate.

How many billable hours should I enter per week?

Enter only hours you can invoice, not total working hours. Admin, marketing and sales time are unbillable, so many freelancers enter fewer than a full week. The tool accepts any positive number.

Does the tax rate include self-employment tax?

The Tax rate is one flat percentage applied to gross revenue, so use your own combined estimate of income and self-employment tax. It must be between 0 and 99 percent, otherwise an error is shown.

What is the maximum number of weeks off I can enter?

Weeks off must be between 0 and 51, because at least one working week is needed to divide your costs across. Holidays, sick days and gaps between projects all count toward it.

What is the Day rate based on?

Day rate (8h) is simply your Hourly rate multiplied by 8. The results also show Monthly revenue, Billable hours/yr and the gross revenue per year needed. It is a planning estimate, not tax advice.

Yes. Every tool is free to use, with no account and no credit card. The work runs on your device rather than on our servers, which is what keeps it free to run.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. It runs in current mobile browsers on iOS and Android, with nothing to install.

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Free Freelance Rate Calculator

Work out the hourly rate you need to hit a take-home salary after expenses, tax and unbillable time.

Runs in your browserNo sign-up, no pop-upsNo login requiredFree foreverTax-awareHourly + day rate

Works offline once loaded

Work backward from the take-home salary you want — after business costs, tax and time off — to the hourly and day rate you should charge. Calculated in your browser.

Currency

Desired take-home

$/yr

Business expenses

$/yr

Billable hours

/week

Weeks off

weeks

Tax rate

Hourly rate

$76.52

Day rate (8h)

$612

Monthly revenue

$7,333

Billable hours/yr

1150 hrs

💡 To take home your target after tax and expenses, you need about $88,000 in gross revenue per year.

⚠️ A planning estimate. Tax, expenses and billable time vary widely — consult an accountant for your situation.

🔒 All figures are calculated in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Common uses

Freelance Hourly RateFind the hourly rate you should charge.
Contractor Day RateWork out a defensible day rate.
What Should I Charge?Stop guessing your freelance price.
Consulting RateSet a consulting rate that covers costs.
Side-Hustle RatePrice part-time freelance work.
Going Full-Time FreelanceFind the rate to replace a salary.

How It Works

Work backward from the take-home salary you want — after business expenses, tax and unbillable weeks off — to the hourly and day rate you should charge as a freelancer or contractor. All calculated in your browser.