{
  "slug": "freelance-rate",
  "title": "Freelance Rate Calculator",
  "heading": "Freelance Rate Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-rate",
  "summary": "The hourly rate that actually pays your bills.",
  "description": "Most freelancers price off their old salary and go broke. Your rate has to cover unbillable time, holidays, sick days, tax, insurance, and business costs — typically only 55–65% of your working hours are billable.",
  "formula": "Rate = (Target income + costs + tax) ÷ Billable hours per year.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=freelance-rate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "income",
      "label": "Take-home income you want",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "expenses",
      "label": "Business expenses",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9000,
      "unit": "$/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "taxRate",
      "label": "Effective tax rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 30,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "weeks",
      "label": "Working weeks per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 46,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 52
    },
    {
      "id": "hours",
      "label": "Hours worked per week",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 80
    },
    {
      "id": "billable",
      "label": "Share of hours that are billable",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 5,
      "max": 100
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "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 needed",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "billableHours",
      "label": "Billable hours per year",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "weeklyTarget",
      "label": "Weekly revenue target",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Take-home income you want: 95000 $/yr",
      "Business expenses: 9000 $/yr",
      "Effective tax rate: 30 %",
      "Working weeks per year: 46",
      "Hours worked per week: 40",
      "Share of hours that are billable: 60 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Minimum hourly rate: $134.58",
      "Day rate: $1,076.60",
      "Gross revenue needed: $148,571.43",
      "Billable hours per year: 1,104",
      "Weekly revenue target: $3,229.81"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter take-home income you want ($/yr).",
      "Enter business expenses ($/yr).",
      "Enter effective tax rate (%).",
      "Enter working weeks per year.",
      "Enter hours worked per week.",
      "Enter share of hours that are billable (%).",
      "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": {
        "income": 57000,
        "expenses": 5500,
        "taxRate": 18,
        "weeks": 28,
        "hours": 24,
        "billable": 35
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "income": 95000,
        "expenses": 9000,
        "taxRate": 30,
        "weeks": 46,
        "hours": 40,
        "billable": 60
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "income": 152000,
        "expenses": 14500,
        "taxRate": 48,
        "weeks": 52,
        "hours": 64,
        "billable": 95
      }
    }
  ],
  "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 rate calculator work?",
      "a": "Most freelancers price off their old salary and go broke. Your rate has to cover unbillable time, holidays, sick days, tax, insurance, and business costs — typically only 55–65% of your working hours are billable. The underlying maths is: Rate = (Target income + costs + tax) ÷ Billable hours per year."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "6 values: take-home income you want, business expenses, effective tax rate, working weeks per year, hours worked per week, and share of hours that are billable. 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/1099-vs-w2",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/project-quote",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/agency-utilization"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Freelance Rate Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-rate)"
}