Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

How This Calculator Works

The hourly rate a freelancer needs to charge is their target income (plus business expenses) divided by how many hours they can actually bill in a year — not a full-time employee’s 2,080 theoretical hours. Enter your desired annual income, realistic billable hours per week, weeks actually worked per year, and any business expenses, and this calculator shows the rate you’d need to charge.

Billable hours are the key difference from a salaried job’s simpler math: time spent on admin, marketing, finding new clients, and gaps between projects doesn’t get billed to anyone, so a realistic weekly billable-hours estimate is usually well under 40 — and weeks worked per year accounts for vacation, holidays, and slow periods the same way.

The Formula

$$\vE{\text{Total Billable Hours}} = \vA{\text{Billable Hours/Week}} \times \vB{\text{Weeks Worked/Year}}$$ $$\text{Required Hourly Rate} = \frac{\vC{\text{Desired Income}} + \vD{\text{Business Expenses}}}{\vE{\text{Total Billable Hours}}}$$

Worked Example

A $80,000 target income, 25 billable hours per week, 48 weeks worked per year, and $5,000 in annual business expenses:

1. Total billable hours: $\vA{25} \times \vB{48} = \vE{1{,}200} \text{ hours}$.
2. Total revenue needed: $\vC{80{,}000} + \vD{5{,}000} = \vF{\$85{,}000}$.
3. Required hourly rate: $\vF{85{,}000} \div \vE{1{,}200} \approx \$70.83/\text{hr}$.