Free tool for solo freelancers and consultants
Freelance hourly rate calculator
Hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours. Revenue needed is your income goal ÷ (1 − tax set-aside) plus business costs; billable hours are working weeks × hours per week × billable share. With an example income goal of $60,000, 25% set aside for tax, $6,000 costs, 46 working weeks of 40 hours and 60% billable, you need $86,000 over 1,104 hours: $77.90 an hour.
Last updated 2026-10-30.
- Hourly rate you need
- Day rate
- Revenue needed
- Billable hours a year
Check the inputs: tax 0 to 99%, billable share 1 to 100%, weeks off 0 to 51, hours above 0.
Example scenarios
Three sets of example inputs worked through the same formulas as the calculator above. They are illustrations, not averages or statistics.
| Scenario | Inputs | Revenue needed | Billable hours | Hourly rate | Day rate (8 h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | $40,000 goal, $3,000 costs, 20% tax, 46 weeks of 40 h, 50% billable | $53,000 | 920 | $57.61 | $460.87 |
| Typical | $60,000 goal, $6,000 costs, 25% tax, 46 weeks of 40 h, 60% billable | $86,000 | 1,104 | $77.90 | $623.19 |
| High | $120,000 goal, $12,000 costs, 30% tax, 44 weeks of 40 h, 70% billable | $183,429 | 1,232 | $148.89 | $1,191.09 |
Method: Revenue needed = income goal ÷ (1 − tax set-aside) + business costs; billable hours = (52 − weeks off) × hours per week × billable share; hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours; day rate = hourly rate × 8. Figures checked against the same formulas on 2026-10-30.
How the calculator works
Start from what you want to keep in a year, your income goal. Part of every dollar you earn is set aside for tax, so the calculator grosses the goal up: income goal ÷ (1 − tax set-aside). Then it adds your yearly business costs, such as software, insurance, equipment and accounting, because those come out of revenue before you are paid. The result is the revenue you need.
Next it counts the hours you can actually bill. Working weeks are 52 minus the weeks you take off for holidays, sickness and slow periods. Not every working hour is billable: sales, admin, invoicing and learning take time too. The billable share is the part of your working hours you expect to charge for. Revenue needed divided by billable hours is the lowest hourly rate that reaches your goal.
Worked example
These are example numbers, not advice; replace them with yours. Income goal $60,000, tax set-aside 25%: 60,000 ÷ 0.75 = $80,000. Business costs $6,000, so revenue needed is $86,000. Six weeks off leaves 46 working weeks; 40 hours a week at 60% billable is 24 billable hours a week, 1,104 a year. 86,000 ÷ 1,104 = $77.90 an hour. At 8 billable hours a day, the day rate is $623.19.
Choosing your own inputs
Tax set-aside depends on where you live and how your business is set up; use the share your accountant or tax office gives you, or the share you set aside today. For billable share, look back at a recent month: divide the hours you invoiced by the hours you worked. If you are just starting, the billable share is usually lower while you find clients, so the rate this page shows rises as that share falls.
The calculator gives a floor, not a market price. If clients in your field pay more, the difference is margin; if they pay less, the numbers show which input has to change: more billable hours, lower costs or a different income goal.
What this tool does not do
It does not know tax rules, market rates or your contracts, and it gives no tax or financial advice. It only does the arithmetic of your own numbers.
Questions
What is a billable share?
The part of your working hours you invoice clients for. Admin, sales and learning are usually not billable.
How do I turn the hourly rate into a project price?
Multiply the hourly rate by your honest estimate of billable hours for the project.
Does this page store my numbers?
No. The math runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.
We are also planning a paid product: Clientsroster, Notion client hub for solo freelancers. It is not available yet; its page shows the planned price, and reserving charges nothing. See the planned product