free tool

Freelance Rate Calculator

"Just match your old salary ÷ 2,080" is how freelancers go broke. Work backwards from what you want to take home — after tax, vacation, and the hours nobody pays you for.

Target take-home ($/yr)

Tax set-aside (30%)

Business expenses ($/yr)

Weeks off (5/yr)

Billable share (60% of hours)

Hours worked / week (40)

HOURLY RATE

$132/hr

DAY RATE

$1,056/day

YOU MUST BILL

$148,857

across ≈ 1,128 billable hrs

Gross needed = take-home ÷ (1 − tax) + expenses. Round up — clients negotiate down, never up. Everything runs in your browser.

Why the number is higher than you expect

Employees get paid for 2,080 hours a year. Freelancers bill maybe 1,000–1,200 of them — the rest is admin, sales, invoicing, and the gap between contracts. Once you find your rate, put it on paper with the invoice generator.