Worked example
$80,000 income plus $8,000 costs
With a 10% contingency, 220 working days, and 6 billable hours a day, required revenue is $96,800. The baseline is about $73.33 per hour or $440 per day.
Free browser-local planning tool
Freelance hourly and day rate calculator
Estimate the revenue your business needs and turn realistic billable capacity into baseline and buffered hourly and day rates.
- Set an income goal and costs.
- Estimate billable capacity.
- Compare rates and review one in an invoice.
Annual rate planner
Plan a sustainable rate
Capacity matters
Not every working hour is billable
Sales, admin, learning, leave, and project gaps reduce invoiceable capacity. Use assumptions you can defend, then compare the 10% and 20% pricing scenarios.
Privacy
Planning inputs stay local
Your income goal, expenses, and capacity stay on this page. If you choose a rate for an invoice, only the selected rate, unit, currency, and a generic service description are transferred for review.
Freelance rate calculator FAQ
Is the result a market rate?
No. It is a planning floor based on your inputs, not a prediction of what clients will pay.
Why are day and hourly rates calculated separately?
Independent calculation prevents display rounding in one rate from distorting the other.
Does “Use in invoice” expose my income or expenses?
No. Those private planning inputs are deliberately excluded from the editor handoff.
Does this include tax or benefits advice?
No. Review taxes, insurance, pension, benefits, utilization, and local obligations with an appropriate adviser.