Your goals
Your time
Your costs
You should charge at least
$0
per hour
Day rate (8h)$0
Billable hours / year0
Revenue needed / year$0
Revenue / month$0
Find out what you should actually charge per hour — covering your income goal, time off, unbillable hours, expenses and taxes. Instant and private.
Your take-home goal plus business expenses is grossed up by your effective tax rate to get the revenue your business must earn.
Weeks worked × hours per week × your billable share. Admin, marketing and gaps between projects don't pay — your rate has to.
Required revenue ÷ billable hours = your floor rate. Charge below it and you're quietly paying to work.
We work out how much revenue you need per year (income goal + expenses, grossed up for taxes), then divide it by your realistic billable hours: working hours per week, minus weeks off, multiplied by the share of time you can actually bill.
Employees are paid for every working hour; freelancers aren't. Admin, proposals and project gaps are unbillable, and you pay your own taxes, tools and insurance. Your rate must cover all of it.
Most freelancers bill 50–75% of their working time. Starting out or heavy on sales/admin? Use 50–60%. Established with steady clients? 75–80% is realistic.
A minimum. It's your break-even floor for the lifestyle you described. Value-based pricing, scarce skills and strong demand can justify charging well above it.