Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Turn an income goal into a freelance hourly rate — with billable hours and a simple tax/expense overhead.
Inputs
Result
Visual breakdown
Formula
Grossed-up revenue = income ÷ (1 − overhead/100). Hourly rate = grossed-up revenue ÷ (billable hrs/week × weeks/year). Overhead bundles taxes and business expenses as one editable percentage.
Example
$80k take-home goal, 25 billable hrs/wk, 48 weeks, 30% overhead → rate ≈ $95/hr (~$9,524/mo in revenue).
Related: Hourly → salary · Salary → hourly · Monthly budget
How to use
- Set billable hours realistically — sales, admin, and rest aren't billable.
- Use a higher overhead if you carry software, hardware, or insurance costs.
- Try 40, 45, and 48 working weeks to factor PTO and slow periods.
When it's useful
- Setting or raising a freelance rate.
- Pricing a consulting engagement.
- Sanity-checking project quotes against an income goal.
Common examples
Frequently asked
What counts as billable hours?
Only time clients pay for. Admin, prospecting, learning, and unpaid revisions don't count — they're why your rate needs an overhead buffer.
Is the overhead percentage taxes or expenses?
Both, combined for simplicity. Edit it to match your situation (e.g. self-employment tax + software + insurance + retirement).
Why is the rate higher than a salary-equivalent?
Because employees get unpaid time off, benefits, and employer-side taxes paid for them. Freelancers fund all of that.
Does this account for project-based pricing?
Not directly — but you can use the monthly revenue target as a quote baseline.
People also calculate
More money & work →Educational estimate only — not financial or tax advice. Overhead is a simple, editable assumption.