Freelance Rate Calculator

Find out exactly what to charge clients. Built on your real income goals, taxes, expenses, and billable hours — not guesswork.

Your Financial Goals

Desired Annual Income ? The take-home amount you want to earn after business expenses — before taxes.

Annual Business Expenses ? Software, equipment, subscriptions, internet, co-working space — anything you pay to run your business.

Your Working Schedule

Billable Hours Per Week ? Only hours actually charged to clients. Admin, marketing, and emails don't count here — those are non-billable.

Weeks Worked Per Year ? Subtract vacation, public holidays, and sick days. Most freelancers use 46–50 weeks.

Buffers & Protection

Tax Buffer ? Self-employed taxes in the US typically run 25–35% of net income. Set this to match your expected bracket.

Self-employment tax reserve 25%

Profit Buffer ? Extra margin for business growth, slow months, equipment upgrades, or savings. Adds to your rate on top of income and tax.

Growth & safety margin 20%

Estimated Project Hours

Optional: get an instant project quote based on your calculated hourly rate.

Your Rate Breakdown

Recommended Hourly Rate

—

your minimum profitable rate

Project Estimate

—

based on project hours

Annual Revenue Goal

—

to hit your income target

Billable Hours / Year

—

total client hours

Understanding Your Rate

How Your Rate Is Built

Your rate must cover personal income, business expenses, taxes, and a profit buffer. Remove any one of these and you're subsidising your clients out of your own pocket.

Rate = Revenue Goal ÷ Annual Billable Hours

Billable vs Total Hours

You work 40+ hours a week but only bill for a fraction. Admin, proposals, invoicing, and business development are real work — they just aren't billable. Your rate must absorb them.

Annual Billable Hrs = Weekly Hrs × Weeks Worked

Why You Need a Tax Buffer

Self-employed professionals in the US pay self-employment tax (15.3%) plus income tax. Together these routinely hit 25–35% of income. Charging without a buffer means paying taxes out of savings.

After-Tax Cost = Income × (1 + Tax%)

What the Profit Buffer Does

A profit buffer above break-even funds slow months, equipment upgrades, emergency savings, and business growth. It's not greed — it's resilience. Without it, one slow quarter breaks you.

Final Rate = Cost Rate × (1 + Profit%)

Business Examples

Freelance Designer

Mid-Level Brand Designer

$70k income goal · $8k expenses · 25 billable hrs/week · 48 weeks · 25% tax · 20% profit buffer

≈ $88/hr

Consultant

Marketing Strategy Consultant

$120k income goal · $12k expenses · 20 billable hrs/week · 46 weeks · 30% tax · 25% profit buffer

≈ $220/hr

Video Editor

YouTube & Social Content Editor

$60k income goal · $6k expenses · 30 billable hrs/week · 50 weeks · 25% tax · 15% profit buffer

≈ $62/hr

Contractor

Software Development Contractor

$150k income goal · $15k expenses · 35 billable hrs/week · 48 weeks · 30% tax · 20% profit buffer

≈ $175/hr

Why freelancers undercharge — and how to fix it

Ignoring taxes entirely. Charging $80/hr sounds great until you owe 30% of it in taxes. Your rate must account for what the government takes — not just what you keep.
Counting all hours as billable. Every hour spent on emails, proposals, admin, and marketing is unbillable time you still get paid nothing for. Your hourly rate has to carry that weight.
Copying competitor rates blindly. Another freelancer's rate reflects their costs, lifestyle, and location — not yours. Build from your own numbers every time.
Forgetting business expenses. Software, a good laptop, subscriptions, and insurance are business costs. They belong in your rate, not in your personal budget.
No buffer for slow months. Freelance income is inconsistent. A profit buffer converts good months into security for bad ones, not a temporary windfall you spend immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only enter hours you actually invoice clients for. Most full-time freelancers bill between 20–30 hours per week; the rest goes to admin, marketing, and business development. Overstating billable hours will make your calculated rate look lower than it needs to be.

In the US, self-employed individuals pay 15.3% self-employment tax plus federal and state income tax. A combined effective rate of 25–30% is conservative and safe for most freelancers. Those earning above $100k/year should consider 30–35% or consult a CPA.

Before lowering your rate, consider whether you can increase billable hours, reduce expenses, or work more weeks per year. If the rate still feels high relative to your market, the real answer is usually to increase your value and positioning — not to charge less than you need to be profitable.

Your calculated rate is a floor, not a ceiling. You can charge more for rush projects, specialist skills, or high-stakes work. Think of this as your minimum profitable rate — anything above it is upside you've earned by knowing your numbers.

Your income goal is what you need to live on. The profit buffer is additional margin that stays inside the business — for savings, equipment, slow months, and growth. They serve different purposes. The income goal covers your life; the profit buffer protects your business.

Revisit your rate at least once a year, and any time your expenses change significantly, your income goal changes, or you're changing your working schedule. Most experienced freelancers review pricing every 12 months and raise rates with new clients each year.