Career & Income Calculators
Freelance Rate Calculator
Estimate an hourly, day, project, or retainer rate based on your income goal, business expenses, taxes, billable hours, unpaid time, benefits, and utilization.
Freelance pricing is not just your desired salary divided by hours. You also need to account for taxes, business expenses, unpaid admin time, vacation, sick days, benefits, retirement savings, client acquisition, and utilization. This calculator estimates practical rate targets using your assumptions.
Educational estimate only. This calculator is not financial, tax, legal, employment, accounting, business, pricing, or professional advice.
This is a pricing estimate based on your assumptions. It does not determine tax liability, client demand, or market acceptance.
Jump to resultsIncome goal
Your take-home goal is not the same as your gross revenue target. Freelancers usually need to price for taxes, business costs, benefits, and unpaid time.
Examples: disability insurance, life insurance, professional benefits, or other costs formerly covered by an employer.
Business expenses
Enter realistic business expenses. This calculator does not determine whether an expense is deductible.
Examples: bookkeeping, tax prep, legal, design, consulting.
Tax set-aside
This is a planning estimate. Use the Self-Employment Tax Estimator for a more detailed tax set-aside estimate.
Working time and utilization
Billable hours are used directly. Utilization is shown as a sensitivity indicator so it is not counted twice.
Utilization is the share of available work time that becomes paid client work.
Pricing model
Project and retainer pricing should account for scope risk, communication, revisions, and client management time.
Current pricing comparison
Use this section to see whether current pricing is above or below the estimated target.
Scenario presets
Use a preset to quickly test a common freelance situation, then adjust any input.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?+
Start with a take-home goal, then add taxes, benefits, expenses, savings, and unpaid time. This calculator divides the resulting revenue target by estimated billable hours.
Why does my freelance rate need to be higher than an employee hourly rate?+
Freelancers often cover taxes, benefits, business expenses, client acquisition, admin time, vacation, and unpaid gaps that may not be visible in an employee wage.
How many billable hours should I assume?+
Use a realistic estimate based on client work after vacation, sick days, holidays, admin time, sales, and other non-billable work.
Should I charge hourly or by project?+
Both can work. Hourly pricing is simple to estimate, while project pricing may need extra buffer for scope, revisions, and communication.
How do taxes affect freelance pricing?+
Tax set-asides increase the gross revenue needed to reach a take-home goal. This calculator uses a simple planning percentage, not a tax filing calculation.
Should I include business expenses in my rate?+
Yes, for planning. Expenses reduce what is available for take-home income, but this calculator does not determine whether any expense is deductible.
Does this calculator tell me market rates?+
No. It estimates a target from your inputs. Market demand, industry, client type, positioning, and sales pipeline can all affect accepted rates.
Is this financial, tax, legal, or business advice?+
No. This is an educational pricing estimate based on user-entered assumptions and is not financial, tax, legal, employment, accounting, business, pricing, or professional advice.