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
$134.58
Day rate
$1,077
Gross revenue needed
$148,571
Billable hours per year
1,104
Weekly revenue target
$3,230
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter take-home income you want ($/yr).
- 2Enter business expenses ($/yr).
- 3Enter effective tax rate (%).
- 4Enter working weeks per year.
- 5Enter hours worked per week.
- 6Enter share of hours that are billable (%).
- 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
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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 %
Results
- 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: $3,229.81
What each field means
Inputs
- Take-home income you want ($/yr)
- The take-home income you want used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 95000 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Business expenses ($/yr)
- The business expenses used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 9000 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Effective tax rate (%)
- The effective tax rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 30 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–60 %.
- 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.
- Hours worked per week
- The hours worked per week used in the calculation. Starts at 40 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–80.
- Share of hours that are billable (%)
- The share of hours that are billable used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 60 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 5–100 %.
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 needed
- 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.
- 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.
FAQ
How does the freelance rate calculator work?
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.
What do I need to enter?
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.
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 Rate Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freelance Rate Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Freelance Rate Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-rate) (2026).