Freelancer Hourly Rate Calculator
Calculate your freelance hourly rate based on your income goal, business expenses, taxes, working time and realistic billable hours.
What is a freelancer hourly rate?
Your freelance hourly rate is the amount you charge for one hour of client work. A sustainable rate needs to cover more than the income you want to take home. It also needs to account for taxes, business expenses and the time you spend running your business.
The right freelance rate depends on your financial goals, available billable hours, experience, specialization and the value you provide to clients.
How to calculate your freelance hourly rate
First determine how much income you want to generate. Add your expected taxes and annual business expenses. Then estimate your realistic billable hours for the year after accounting for vacation, sick days and non-billable work.
Freelance hourly rate =
Required annual revenue ÷ Annual billable hours
For example, if you need $90,000 in annual revenue and expect 1,500 billable hours, your minimum rate would be $60 per hour.
Your actual client rate may need to be higher if you want room for additional savings, unexpected expenses, unpaid work or profit.
Not every working hour is billable
Freelancers spend time on much more than client projects. Writing proposals, finding clients, answering emails, invoicing, marketing and administration all take time but usually cannot be billed to a client. Your hourly rate needs to compensate for this non-billable work.
You can use the billable hours calculator to estimate how much of your working time is actually billable.
For a deeper explanation, see our guide to billable hours for freelancers.
Minimum rate vs. actual client rate
Your calculated minimum rate is a financial baseline. It tells you what your business needs to earn. Your actual client rate can be higher based on your experience, specialization, demand, project complexity and the value you deliver.
A useful approach is to treat your calculated rate as a floor, not automatically as the price you should quote every client.
What should a freelancer charge per hour?
There is no single hourly rate that works for every freelancer. Your minimum sustainable rate depends on your income target, expenses, taxes and realistic billable capacity.
Your market rate can then vary based on your niche, experience, location, demand, project complexity and the value of the outcome you provide to clients.
Start with your financial minimum and then compare it with the rates that make sense for your market and specialization.
Calculate your freelance hourly rate
Ready to calculate your number? Use the free Freelero freelance rate calculator and enter your income goal, expenses, taxes, working schedule and expected billable time.