Freelance Rate Calculator

Start with the income you want to keep each year, add a tax reserve if you set one aside, add your business expenses, and add the platform fees you pay. That is the revenue clients must pay you. Then divide it by the hours you can actually bill in a year, which is your billable hours a week times the weeks you work. This calculator does each step and shows the working.

Charge at least the rate that covers your income goal after fees, expenses and unpaid time. Dividing your income goal by 40 hours a week is too low for most freelancers, because some hours go on proposals, admin and revisions, and some weeks are time off. Use the calculated rate as a floor, then adjust for your skills, demand and what clients in your market pay.

A platform fee is a share of what the client pays, so you need to bill more to keep the same amount. At a 10% fee you keep 90% of each payment, so your rate has to be about 11% higher to end up with the same money. Enter your fee as a percentage and the calculator adds it for you. Leave it at 0 if you invoice clients directly.

Your income has to be earned in the hours you can bill. If you work 40 hours a week but bill 25, and take 6 weeks off, you only bill 1,150 hours in a year, not 2,080. The same income spread over fewer hours means a higher hourly rate. The calculator shows how many of your working-year hours are billable, unpaid and time off.

Many freelancers set aside part of their profit for tax. The optional tax reserve works that way: it is a percentage of your profit, meaning what is left after platform fees and expenses, that you choose to put aside before counting your take-home. It is your own estimate, not tax advice and not the tax you will owe, so check what applies to you with a tax professional.

It is free and needs no signup. Your answers stay in your browser while you use the page. They are not sent to Finviro or saved, and they clear when you close or refresh the page. Each answer is an estimate, not a guarantee of take-home pay.