Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Calculate your freelance hourly rate based on desired income, billable hours, and expenses. All calculations run in your browser — no signup, no tracking, no cookies.
Run the calculator
Adjust the inputs and the output updates instantly in your browser.
Inputs
Adjust your desired income and working hours.
Results
Live estimate based on your inputs.
How the math works
Required annual revenue = annual business expenses + desired after-tax income ÷ (1 − effective tax rate). This simplified assumption applies tax to revenue after business expenses. Billable hours/year = billable hours/week × (52 − weeks off). Minimum hourly target = required annual revenue ÷ billable hours/year. This is an estimate, not tax or financial advice; use your own effective rate and include all costs.
Illustrative scenarios — not benchmarks
$50,000 after-tax target, 20 billable hrs/week, 4 weeks off, $5,000 expenses, 25% effective tax
Required revenue: $71,666.67. Billable hours: 960/year. Hourly target: $74.65. Modeled after-tax target: $50,000. Example assumptions only.
$100,000 after-tax target, 30 billable hrs/week, 2 weeks off, $10,000 expenses, 30% effective tax
Required revenue: $152,857.14. Billable hours: 1,500/year. Hourly target: $101.90. Modeled after-tax target: $100,000. Example assumptions only.
FAQ
Do I have to sign up to use this?
No. The calculator is fully client-side. No login, no account, no email capture.
How accurate is this estimate?
It's a model, not a guarantee. Actual rates depend on your skills, market demand, and client negotiation. Use the calculator for scenario planning.
Want the context behind the numbers?
Use the calculator for quick directional math, then move into the guide archive for execution steps, trade-offs, and time-to-first-dollar context.