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Freelancer Rate Calculator

Calculate your freelance hourly and daily rate based on desired income, accounting for taxes, PTO, holidays, and billable hours.

All fields update results live. Adjust sliders or type directly.

$
%
Include federal, state, and self-employment / social contributions
%
% of work time on billable client work (rest = admin, marketing, breaks)
Time off & hours per day 15 PTO · 10 holidays · 8 h/day
Results update as you type

What you'd earn at common rates

Using your current hours & tax settings
Hourly rate Gross / year After tax Daily Monthly (net)

How the number is built

Gross income needed —
Take-home — Taxes —
Work hours per year —
Billable — Non-billable —
Show full numeric breakdown
ItemValue

Formula

Four steps from your desired take-home to a recommended hourly rate.

  1. 1

    Gross up for taxes

    Gross Income = Desired Income ÷ (1 − Tax Rate)

    You receive gross revenue, then pay taxes out of it. Work backwards from the take-home you want.

  2. 2

    Subtract non-working days

    Working Days = 260 − PTO − Holidays

    A standard year has 260 weekdays. Remove the days you won't be working.

  3. 3

    Account for non-billable time

    Billable Hours = Working Days × Hours/Day × Billable %

    Admin, marketing, invoicing and breaks eat into the day. Only a fraction becomes billable hours.

  4. 4

    Divide to get the hourly rate

    Hourly Rate = Gross Income ÷ Billable Hours

    Everything your business needs to earn, spread across the hours a client actually pays for.

Plugged in with your numbers
    Desired Income
    Annual take-home after taxes — the amount that actually lands in your pocket.
    Tax Rate
    Combined income tax plus self-employment / social contributions. Varies by country and income bracket.
    Billable %
    Percentage of work time spent on billable client work (vs admin, marketing, sales, learning).

    Examples

    How It Works

    Setting freelance rates requires accounting for costs that employers normally cover. The calculator works backward from your desired take-home income through four adjustments:

    1. Tax gross-up: Freelancers pay self-employment tax (15.3% in the US) plus income tax. If you want $80,000 after taxes and your combined rate is 30%, you need to earn $80,000 ÷ (1 − 0.30) = $114,286 gross.

    2. Non-working days: A year has 260 weekdays. Subtract PTO and holidays to get actual working days. With 15 PTO days and 10 holidays, you have 235 working days.

    3. Billable hours: Not all work time is billable. Admin, marketing, invoicing, professional development, and sales typically consume 25-30% of your time. At 75% billable, 235 days × 8 hours × 75% = 1,410 billable hours.

    4. Final rate: Gross income ÷ billable hours = hourly rate. $114,286 ÷ 1,410 = $81.06/hour.

    Most new freelancers undercharge because they only divide desired income by 2,080 hours, ignoring taxes, time off, and non-billable work.

    Tips & Best Practices

    Don't forget self-employment tax (15.3% in the US) — it's in addition to income tax and significantly affects your rate.
    75% billable hours is realistic for established freelancers. New freelancers may be closer to 50-60% as they spend more time on marketing and admin.
    Round your rate up to a clean number — $85/hr or $90/hr instead of $81.06. Clients expect round numbers.
    Review and adjust your rate annually to account for inflation, experience, and market changes.
    Factor in business expenses (software, equipment, insurance, coworking space) — they should come out of your gross income.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why is the hourly rate so much higher than a salaried equivalent?

    Employees receive benefits (health insurance, 401k, PTO, payroll taxes) worth 20-40% of salary. Freelancers must cover all of this themselves, plus they have non-billable time. An $80/hr freelance rate roughly equals a $100-120K salaried position.

    75% is a good starting point for established freelancers. New freelancers should use 50-60% to account for more time spent on marketing and client acquisition. Agencies typically target 65-80% for their teams.

    Daily rates work well for on-site or full-day engagements. Hourly rates are better for project-based work or when scope varies. Many freelancers offer both, with the daily rate set at 7-8× the hourly rate (slight discount for commitment).