How Much Should I Charge Per Hour as a Freelancer? — Rex's Toolbox

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

Target annual take-home income($)

Annual business overhead($)

Working weeks per year

Working hours per week(hrs)

% of hours billable(%)

Result

Hourly rate to charge

$72.05

Billable hours per year

1,152

Total working hours per year

1,920

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How to use this

1Enter target annual take-home income ($).
2Enter annual business overhead ($).
3Enter working weeks per year.
4Enter working hours per week (hrs).
5Enter % of hours billable (%).
6Read your hourly rate to charge on the right — it updates as you type.
7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

Freelance hourly rates must cover your target take-home income, self-employment taxes, business overhead, and the reality that not all your hours are billable — time spent on admin, marketing, and slow periods eats into working hours. This calculator reverse-engineers your rate from your income goal, billable percentage, and overhead costs.

FormulaBillable Hours per Year = Work Weeks × Hours per Week × Billable %. Rate = (Target Income + Annual Overhead) ÷ Billable Hours.

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

Target annual take-home income: 75000 $
Annual business overhead: 8000 $
Working weeks per year: 48
Working hours per week: 40 hrs
% of hours billable: 60 %

Results

Hourly rate to charge: $72.05
Billable hours per year: 1,152
Total working hours per year: 1,920

What each field means

Inputs

Target annual take-home income ($): The target annual take-home income used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 75000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Annual business overhead ($): The annual business overhead used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 8000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Working weeks per year: The working weeks per year used in the calculation. Starts at 48 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–52.
Working hours per week (hrs): The working hours per week used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 40 hrs so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–80 hrs.
% of hours billable (%): The % of hours billable used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 60 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 10–100 %.

Results

Hourly rate to charge: 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.
Billable hours per year: Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Total working 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 much should I charge per hour as a freelancer?

To take home $75,000 with $8,000 in overhead while billing only 60% of a 48-week, 40-hour-per-week schedule (1,152 billable hours), you need to charge about $72/hour.

Why isn't 100% of my time billable?

Admin, invoicing, marketing, client acquisition, and slow periods between projects typically eat 30-50% of a freelancer's working time, so basing your rate on 100% billability guarantees you'll fall short of your income goal.

Should overhead include software and health insurance?

Yes — software subscriptions, self-funded health insurance, equipment, and self-employment tax (an extra ~7.65% beyond what an employer would cover) should all be folded into overhead or the target income line.

How do I know my billable percentage?

Track your actual hours for a month using a time tracker split between client work and everything else — most freelancers are surprised how low their real billable percentage is compared to their assumption.

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

How Much Should I Charge for a Logo?

At a $75/hour rate and 12 estimated hours of work, a logo project should be priced at about $900.

How Much Do I Need to Sell to Break Even?

With $8,000 in fixed monthly costs and a 40% contribution margin, you need $20,000 in monthly sales to break even.

Cite this calculator

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APA

RevenueLab. (2026). How Much Should I Charge Per Hour as a Freelancer?. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-should-i-charge-per-hour-freelance

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-should-i-charge-per-hour-freelance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Much Should I Charge Per Hour as a Freelancer? — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [How Much Should I Charge Per Hour as a Freelancer? — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-should-i-charge-per-hour-freelance) (2026).