Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Work out the hourly and day rate you need to reach your income target after expenses, tax and non-billable time.
Quick answer
A freelance hourly rate is the revenue needed divided by billable hours. Revenue = target income / (1 - tax rate) + business expenses. Billable hours = working weeks x weekly hours x billable share.
Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Software, equipment, insurance, co-working and similar.
Your own estimate of tax and similar contributions.
Required Hourly Rate
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Required Day Rate
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Revenue Needed per Year
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Billable Hours per Year
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Rate at Different Billable Shares
| Billable share | Billable hours / year | Hourly rate (₹) | Day rate (₹) |
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Assumptions & method
- Revenue needed = target income ÷ (1 − tax rate) + business expenses. Expenses are treated as deductible before tax.
- Working weeks = 52 − weeks off. Billable hours = working weeks × hours per week × billable share.
- Hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours. Day rate = hourly rate × (hours per week ÷ 5).
- The tax rate is a single flat percentage that you enter. No tax rules, allowances or thresholds are applied.
- Retirement saving, health cover, late-paying clients and income swings are not modelled unless you include them in expenses.
Results are estimates based on the figures you enter. They are not guarantees and not financial advice.
Pricing your time as a freelancer
Dividing a salary by 2,080 hours understates what a freelancer needs to charge. You pay your own expenses and taxes, you take unpaid time off, and a large share of your working week goes on admin, marketing and unpaid pitching rather than client work. This calculator starts with the take-home income you want, grosses it up for tax, adds business costs to get the revenue needed, and divides by the hours you can realistically bill. The result is a minimum hourly and day rate, plus a breakdown of where each unit of revenue goes.