PocketSolo

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Freelance rate calculator

Any country · any year · exact for the numbers entered

Start from the money you want to take home in a year. See the hourly, day and project rate that gets you there once time off, unpaid admin hours, expenses and tax are counted.

Your numbers

Money
What you want to keep after tax and business costs, like a salary.
Software, equipment, insurance, phone, accountant, fees. Leave empty for none.
Your own estimate of income tax and other contributions, as a percentage.We do not guess this for you, because it depends on your country, income and situation. PocketSolo’s tax tools will help you find it (coming soon).
My tax percentage is taken from

Depending on your country and status, your tax may be worked out on profit or on everything you are paid. If you are not sure, check with your tax office or an accountant.

Time
Usually 52.
Vacation, public holidays and sick days, added up in weeks.
All working hours, paid or not.
The rest goes to admin, finding clients, invoicing and learning.
Optional extra for quiet months, unpaid invoices or savings. Leave empty for none.
Day and project
Used for the day rate.
Optional: your estimate for one project, for a project price.

Your rates

Hourly rate
$66.77
Day rate
$534.16
Project rate
$2,003.10

Exact for the numbers entered. Any country, any year: the tax percentage is yours.

General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.

Your numbers stay on this device. Nothing is sent or saved.

What this calculator leaves out

Any country, any year: no official tax numbers are used. You type your own tax percentage. Exact for the numbers entered.

  • How your tax is really worked out (brackets, deductions, credits, thresholds). You enter one percentage instead.
  • Sales tax, VAT, GST or HST you charge clients on top of your rate.
  • Health insurance, retirement savings or benefits, unless you add them to expenses or take-home pay.
  • Unpaid or late invoices, unless you cover them with the safety buffer.
  • What clients in your field usually pay. Compare your result with real offers before you quote.
  • Changes during the year, such as price rises or a slow season.

Reality check

If you spread $86,000.00 over every hour of every week (52 weeks × 40 hours), you would charge $41.35 an hour. But you can bill only 1,288 hours, so that rate would leave you $32,741.20 short in a year.

How we got there

  1. Profit you need before tax: $60,000.00 ÷ (1 − 25%) = $80,000.00. That sets aside $20,000.00 for tax.
  2. Add business expenses: $80,000.00 + $6,000.00 = $86,000.00 to bring in.
  3. No buffer: you need $86,000.00 a year.
  4. Weeks you work: 52 − 6 off = 46 weeks.
  5. Hours you work: 46 weeks × 40 hours = 1,840 hours.
  6. Hours you can bill: 1,840 × 70% = 1,288 hours. The other 552 hours are unpaid work.
  7. Hourly rate: $86,000.00 ÷ 1,288 hours = $66.77.
  8. Day rate: $66.77 × 8 hours = $534.16.
  9. Project rate: $66.77 × 30 hours = $2,003.10.

Rates are rounded to the cent; the day and project rates use the rounded hourly rate. In-between amounts are shown rounded, but the sums keep every decimal.

What this calculator does differently

How to set your freelance rate

Most people set a freelance rate by taking the salary they want and dividing it by 2,080, the hours in a full-time year. That rate is too low, because nobody bills 2,080 hours on their own. You take holidays, you get sick, and part of every week goes to emails, invoices and finding the next client. Nobody pays you for those hours.

This calculator works the other way round. It starts from the money you want to keep, adds what the business costs and what you set aside for tax, and divides by the hours you can really bill.

Worked example

Sam is a designer who wants to take home $60,000 a year. Sam spends $6,000 a year on software, a laptop and insurance, and sets aside 25% of profit for tax.

  1. Profit before tax: $60,000 ÷ (1 − 25%) = $80,000. That is $20,000 set aside for tax and $60,000 kept.
  2. Add expenses: $80,000 + $6,000 = $86,000 to bring in a year.
  3. Sam takes 6 weeks off (vacation, public holidays, sick days), so works 46 weeks of 40 hours: 1,840 hours.
  4. About 30% of that time is admin and finding work, so Sam can bill 70%: 1,288 hours.
  5. Hourly rate: $86,000 ÷ 1,288 = $66.77. Day rate for 8 hours: $534.16. A 30-hour project: $2,003.10.

Had Sam divided $86,000 by 2,080 hours, the rate would be $41.35. Billing 1,288 hours at that rate brings in only $53,258.80: $32,741.20 short of what Sam needs.

Picking your tax percentage

The calculator does not guess your tax, because it depends on your country, your status and your income. Use the percentage you already set aside, last year’s tax bill divided by last year’s profit, or a figure from your accountant. Then choose whether that percentage is taken from your profit (after expenses) or from everything clients pay you; it changes the result. PocketSolo’s own tax tools, for your country and tax year, are on the way.

Rounding

The hourly rate is rounded to the cent. The day and project rates are the rounded hourly rate times the hours, also rounded to the cent, so they match what you would write on an invoice.

Questions people ask

What share of my hours is billable?

It depends on your work and how you find clients. Many freelancers bill somewhere between half and three quarters of their working hours; the rest is admin, sales and learning. Track a few typical weeks to find your own number.

Should I charge by the hour, the day or the project?

All three come from the same hourly rate here. A project price lets you keep the gain if you work faster, but estimate the hours honestly, including calls, changes and revisions.

Does the rate include sales tax?

No. If you must charge sales tax, GST or HST, add it on top of your rate on the invoice. It belongs to the government, not to you.

Why does the currency change?

It follows the country you choose at the top of the page. The arithmetic is the same in every currency; only the sign changes.

Is my information saved or sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent, stored or put in the page address.