{
  "slug": "freelance-day-rate",
  "title": "Freelance Day Rate Calculator",
  "heading": "Freelance Day Rate & Hourly Rate Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate",
  "summary": "Price from target income, billable days, and real overhead.",
  "description": "Freelancers underprice because they divide salary by 2,080 hours. You do not bill 2,080 hours — you bill maybe 1,100 after holidays, admin, and pitching, and you pay both halves of payroll tax.",
  "formula": "Hourly = (Target income + Overhead) ÷ (Billable days × Hours per day) ÷ (1 − tax rate).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=freelance-day-rate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "target",
      "label": "Target take-home income",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "overhead",
      "label": "Annual business overhead",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "weeks",
      "label": "Working weeks per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 46,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 52
    },
    {
      "id": "days",
      "label": "Billable days per week",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3.5,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 7
    },
    {
      "id": "hours",
      "label": "Billable hours per day",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 12
    },
    {
      "id": "tax",
      "label": "Effective tax + self-employment rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 60
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "hourly",
      "label": "Minimum hourly rate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "dayRate",
      "label": "Day rate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "gross",
      "label": "Gross revenue you must bill",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "Monthly revenue target",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "weekly",
      "label": "Weekly revenue target",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "billableHours",
      "label": "Billable hours per year",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Target take-home income: 95000 $",
      "Annual business overhead: 12000 $",
      "Working weeks per year: 46",
      "Billable days per week: 3.5",
      "Billable hours per day: 6",
      "Effective tax + self-employment rate: 28 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Minimum hourly rate: $153.84",
      "Day rate: $923.05",
      "Gross revenue you must bill: $148,611.11",
      "Monthly revenue target: $12,384.26",
      "Weekly revenue target: $3,230.68",
      "Billable hours per year: 966"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter target take-home income ($).",
      "Enter annual business overhead ($).",
      "Enter working weeks per year.",
      "Enter billable days per week.",
      "Enter billable hours per day.",
      "Enter effective tax + self-employment rate (%).",
      "Read your minimum hourly rate on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "target": 57000,
        "overhead": 7000,
        "weeks": 28,
        "days": 2.1,
        "hours": 3.5999999999999996,
        "tax": 17
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "target": 95000,
        "overhead": 12000,
        "weeks": 46,
        "days": 3.5,
        "hours": 6,
        "tax": 28
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "target": 152000,
        "overhead": 19000,
        "weeks": 52,
        "days": 5.6000000000000005,
        "hours": 9.600000000000001,
        "tax": 45
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the freelance day rate & hourly rate calculator work?",
      "a": "Freelancers underprice because they divide salary by 2,080 hours. You do not bill 2,080 hours — you bill maybe 1,100 after holidays, admin, and pitching, and you pay both halves of payroll tax. The underlying maths is: Hourly = (Target income + Overhead) ÷ (Billable days × Hours per day) ÷ (1 − tax rate)."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "6 values: target take-home income, annual business overhead, working weeks per year, billable days per week, billable hours per day, and effective tax + self-employment rate. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the minimum hourly rate result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/creator-hourly-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retainer-pricing"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Freelance Day Rate Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate)"
}