How to Use the Freelance Rate Calculator
Enter your target annual income, estimated business expenses, self-employment tax rate, benefit costs you'll self-fund, and expected billable hours per year (accounting for non-billable admin time) — the calculator works backward to show the hourly rate needed to actually reach that target income after all these real costs.
The Freelance Rate Calculator accounts for the hidden costs covered in the rate-setting guide — here's what to enter for an accurate result.
Entering target income and costs
Enter your target take-home income, along with self-employment tax, benefit costs you'll need to fund yourself, and any business expenses — the calculator builds these into the required rate rather than treating the target income as if it were already the full picture.
Entering realistic billable hours
Entering a realistic estimate of actual billable hours per year (not total working hours) — accounting for the non-billable administrative time covered in the rate-setting guide — is essential for an accurate target rate, since overestimating billable hours understates the true rate needed.