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Freelance Rate Calculator
Slide to set your income goals, expenses, and work schedule — see your ideal hourly and day rate update in real time.
$75,000
$12,000
4 weeks
30%
5 days
8 hrs
60%
Your hourly rate
$108
Day rate (8 hrs)
$863
Rate breakdown
Take-home target$75,000
+ Business expenses$12,000
Pre-tax needed$87,000
Grossed up for tax (30%)$124,286
Billable hours/year1,152
÷ billable hours$108/hr
How this calculator works
Your freelance rate isn't just "what you want to earn divided by hours worked." You need to account for taxes, business expenses, non-billable time, and time off. This calculator walks through that math so you can see exactly where your number comes from.
- Take-home + expenses — your real annual cost of doing business
- Gross up for taxes — if you keep 70¢ of every dollar after tax, you need to earn more gross to hit your target
- Divide by billable hours — only the hours you actually invoice count, not admin or marketing time
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