Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
What should you charge per hour? Start from the take-home income you want, subtract holidays, taxes and business costs — this calculator does the arithmetic backwards for you.
| Day rate (8 h) | — |
| Weekly rate | — |
| Monthly equivalent | — |
| Annual revenue target (before tax) | — |
How the math works
The calculator solves a simple chain: gross revenue → minus business expenses → minus tax → take-home. Most freelancers get this wrong by forgetting that only a fraction of their working hours are billable — meetings, admin, marketing and holidays all eat into them.
Rules of thumb baked into the defaults: 46 billable weeks a year (6 weeks off), 30 billable hours a week (the rest is admin), 15% of revenue for software, insurance and equipment, and a 30% effective tax + social contribution rate. Change any number to fit your situation.
Common mistakes
- Charging the same rate as an employed salary hourly equivalent. Your employer paid pension, insurance and sick days on top — you must cover those yourself.
- Forgetting unpaid work. If only 60% of your hours are billable, your real hourly rate must be 1.67× what the calendar suggests.
- Ignoring tax differences between countries. Check the VAT/GST side too — see the UK VAT calculator or your country's page.
Related
Once you know your rate, price your work properly: free invoice generator on our sister site, or the Germany VAT calculator if you invoice EU clients.