What day rate clears your number?
Target take-home → defensible day rate, with overhead, taxes, and realistic billable days baked in. Half-day, weekly, hourly, and utilization all derived from the same base.
What you want to keep after tax.
Realistic for solo: 120–160.
Pitching, proposals, invoicing, ops.
Including federal holidays.
Insurance, software, accounting, travel buffer.
Federal + state + SE tax.
Day rate
$2,411
Hits $180,000 take-home at 140 billable days
Utilization
61%
140 billable ÷ 230 working days
Half-day
$1,446
60% of day rate
Weekly retainer
$9,643
4× day rate (booked-out discount)
Hourly equivalent
$301
Day rate ÷ 8 hrs
Conservative
$2,049
Realistic
$2,411
Aggressive
$3,013
Conservative = price-sensitive market or first 6 months. Aggressive = booked-out specialist with proof + waitlist.
61% utilization is the burnout edge. Raise rates so you can drop to 50–60% utilization without losing income.
Your costs are clean — the lever is pricing power. Add proof (case studies, testimonials, named clients) and raise day rate 15–25% on new deals.
- Gross needed = target take-home ÷ (1 − tax %)
- Revenue needed = gross needed × (1 + overhead %)
- Day rate = revenue needed ÷ billable days
- Half-day = day rate × 0.60 · Weekly = day rate × 4
- Utilization = billable days ÷ (260 − vacation days)
Common questions
How many days a year should I assume are billable?▾
120–160 days is realistic for solo consultants. The rest goes to sales, admin, time off, and PD. New consultants overestimate billable days and underprice as a result.
What overhead should I add?▾
Health insurance, software, accounting, travel buffer, and a tax set-aside on every dollar you bill. Most solos run 30–45% overhead on top of target take-home.
Is day rate or project pricing better?▾
Day rate protects against scope creep. Project pricing rewards efficiency and lets you charge for outcomes. Most healthy consultancies quote project pricing internally derived from a defended day rate.
When should I raise day rates?▾
When you're booked 60+ days out, when you turn down work, or every January as a default. Solo consultants who never raise rates fall behind inflation in 2 years flat.
How do I price half-day vs full-day?▾
Half-day is usually 60% of day rate (not 50%) — context-switching cost is real. Weekly retainers usually 4x day rate (not 5x) to reward booked-out commitment.