Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Minimum hourly rate
$153.84
Day rate
$923
Gross revenue you must bill
$148,611
Monthly revenue target
$12,384
Weekly revenue target
$3,231
Billable hours per year
966
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter target take-home income ($).
- 2Enter annual business overhead ($).
- 3Enter working weeks per year.
- 4Enter billable days per week.
- 5Enter billable hours per day.
- 6Enter effective tax + self-employment rate (%).
- 7Read your minimum hourly rate on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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 %
Results
- 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: $3,230.68
- Billable hours per year: 966
What each field means
Inputs
- Target take-home income ($)
- The target take-home income used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 95000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual business overhead ($)
- The annual business overhead used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 12000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Working weeks per year
- The working weeks per year used in the calculation. Starts at 46 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–52.
- Billable days per week
- The billable days per week used in the calculation. Starts at 3.5 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0.5–7.
- Billable hours per day
- The billable hours per day used in the calculation. Starts at 6 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–12.
- Effective tax + self-employment rate (%)
- The effective tax + self-employment rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 28 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
Results
- Minimum hourly rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Day rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Gross revenue you must bill
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Monthly revenue target
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Weekly revenue target
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Billable hours per year
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
How does the freelance day rate & hourly rate calculator work?
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).
What do I need to enter?
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.
What does the minimum hourly rate result mean?
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.
Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser.
How accurate is the result?
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.
Who is this tool for?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Freelance Day Rate Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freelance Day Rate Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Freelance Day Rate Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate) (2026).