Free Freelance Rate Calculator
The rate that actually covers your life - income, business costs, a buffer for slow months, and the truth that only part of your week is billable. Get your minimum hourly rate, day rate, and monthly revenue target. Free, no sign-up.
This is your floor, not your price. Charge more when the value, urgency, or expertise justifies it - never less than this.
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The unbillable half of your week
A designer who wants 6,000,000 a year looks at 40-hour weeks and thinks "about 2,900 an hour". Then reality: proposals, revisions calls, invoicing, chasing payment, learning tools, finding the next client. She actually bills 25 hours a week, 46 weeks a year - 1,150 hours - and the business itself costs 800,000 to run.
With a 10% buffer for the quiet months, she needs to bill about 7,480,000, which is roughly 6,500 an hour - more than double the naive number. Freelancers who skip this math don't charge less; they just earn less than they think, and find out in December.
Freelance Rate FAQ
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
Add the income you want to your yearly business costs, add a buffer for slow months, then divide by your real billable hours: billable hours per week x working weeks per year. The result is your minimum rate - the floor below which freelancing pays worse than it looks.
Why can't I just divide a salary by 2,080 hours?
Because employees are paid for every working hour; freelancers aren't. Admin, proposals, invoicing, marketing, and gaps between projects all eat the week - most freelancers genuinely bill 50-60% of the hours they work. Divide a salary by 2,080 and you've priced the unbillable half of your week at zero, and your laptop, software, and internet too.
How many billable hours per week is realistic?
For most full-time freelancers, 20-30. The calculator defaults to 25 and 46 working weeks - six weeks off for holidays, sickness, and public holidays. If your niche keeps you consistently fuller, raise it; but start honest and adjust from your records, not your hopes.
Should I quote hourly or a day rate?
Day rates suit blocks of committed time and are harder to nibble apart in negotiation; hourly suits small, unpredictable work. For well-defined outcomes, a fixed project price built on your day rate usually earns more than either - you keep the gains from working fast.
What if clients won't pay my calculated rate?
The calculator tells you what freelancing must earn to beat a job; the market tells you what your current positioning commands. If there's a gap, the fix is rarely cutting the rate - it's raising the value: a tighter niche, stronger portfolio, faster delivery, or clients in markets that pay more. Working below your floor is a slow-motion resignation letter.
How is this different from a Growpins Ledger account?
This sets the rate; getting paid is the other half. A free Growpins Ledger account puts that rate on professional invoices, tracks who has paid and who's overdue, and shows your real income per month - so next year's rate is based on what actually happened.
Rate set. Now get it paid.
A free Growpins Ledger account puts your rate on professional invoices, tracks who has paid and who's overdue, and shows your real monthly income - so next year's rate comes from records, not guesswork. Built by the team behind Growpins, founded by Dokun Bamigboye.
Invoice at your new rate - sign up freeSending the first invoice today? Use the Free Invoice Generator, and the Payment Reminder Generator when it goes quiet - or browse all free tools.