Freelance hourly rate calculator
Most freelancers pick a rate by guessing. This works backwards from the income you actually need.
Your numbers
Be honest about the unbillable hours. That is where most rates go wrong.
What to charge
How to use this freelance hourly rate calculator
- Choose your currency and enter your target income and business costs.
- Add your working weeks, your weekly hours and the billable share.
- Add your tax rate, then read your hourly and day rates.
Who it is for
For freelancers and consultants in any country setting or reviewing their rates, including those selling to overseas clients.
Why "my salary divided by 2,000 hours" is wrong
It is the most common way freelancers set a rate, and it under-prices by roughly half. Three things it misses:
- You do not bill every hour you work. Quotes, invoices, chasing late payment, marketing, email, admin. For most freelancers 55–65% of working hours are billable. Some months it is 40%.
- You do not get paid holiday or sick leave. An employee gets around 5–6 weeks a year covered. You get zero.
- You pay your own costs and your own tax. Software, laptop, phone, accountant, insurance, and the employer half of contributions.
A worked example
You want to take home 12,00,000. Costs 1,50,000. You work 46 weeks × 40 hours = 1,840 hours, of which 60% (1,104) are billable. Tax takes 30%.
The naive calculation — 12,00,000 ÷ 2,080 — suggests 577 an hour. That is less than a third of what is actually required, and it is why so many freelancers work constantly and never get ahead.
Then stop selling hours
Use this number to know your floor, not to build your pricing on. Hourly billing punishes you for getting faster: the better you get, the less you earn for the same work.
Once you know your hourly floor, price the outcome instead. If a project takes you 20 hours, your floor is 20 × your rate — but what the client is buying is the result, and the result is often worth several times that. The rate tells you when to say no. It does not have to be what you put on the invoice.
Common questions
How much should a freelancer charge per hour?
Add your target income and business costs, then divide by your billable hours, not your total hours. Most freelancers bill only a share of their working week, so the honest rate is higher than a salary conversion suggests.
What percentage of my hours will really be billable?
For established freelancers with steady clients, 60–70%. When you are new and doing a lot of pitching, 40–50% is realistic. Track it for a month before you trust a number.
Should I include holiday in the weeks?
Yes — subtract it. If you want four weeks off and expect two weeks of illness or quiet periods, enter 46 weeks, not 52.
Is the rate what I should quote?
It is your floor, not your price. Below it you are losing money. Above it is a question of the value of the work and what the market will pay.
What tax rate should I put in?
Whatever you actually lose to income tax and self-employment contributions combined. For many freelancers that is 25–35%. Ask your accountant rather than guessing low.
Need more customers as well?
This tool is free and always will be. If you also want ads, search and follow-up that bring in customers, I offer a free 45-minute consultation for businesses in the USA, UK, UAE, Australia and India.
Book a free consultationBuilt and maintained by Premkumar Ragav, an independent performance marketing specialist. Updated November 2026.