Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Find the minimum rate you need to charge to pay yourself a salary, cover business expenses and self-employment tax, and take time off.
Work out your rate
Before income tax, like a job offer.
Software, equipment, insurance, health coverage, coworking, accountant.
Vacation, holidays and sick days.
The rest goes to sales, admin and invoicing. 50 to 75% is typical.
Savings for slow months and growth.
How the calculation works
- Add up what the business must earn: the salary you want, plus business expenses, plus self-employment tax, plus a profit buffer.
- Count your real billable hours: (52 weeks − weeks off) × hours per week × billable share.
- Divide the revenue you need by the billable hours. That's your minimum hourly rate.
With the default numbers: $75,000 salary + $9,000 expenses + about $10,597 self-employment tax, plus a 10% buffer, comes to about $104,057 a year. 46 working weeks × 40 hours × 65% billable is 1,196 billable hours, so the minimum rate is about $87 an hour.
Why freelancers need a much higher rate than employees
An employee earning $75,000 a year makes about $36 an hour on paper. A freelancer needs more than double that to end up in the same place, because they:
- Pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. Employers normally cover 7.65%; the self-employed pay the full 15.3% self-employment tax.
- Pay their own benefits: health insurance, retirement contributions and paid time off.
- Can't bill every hour. Finding clients, writing proposals, invoicing and admin are real work that nobody pays for directly.
- Cover their own tools and overhead.
Use the rate as a floor, not a target
This calculator tells you the least you can charge and still hit your goals. What you should charge also depends on your experience, your niche, and the value you create for the client. Our guide to pricing freelance services covers project pricing, retainers and when to raise your rates.
Self-employment tax here is a simplified estimate: it ignores the Social Security wage cap and the deduction for half of self-employment tax, and it doesn't include federal or state income tax.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge per hour as a freelancer?
Start from your costs: the salary you want, your business expenses and taxes, divided by the hours you can realistically bill. Then check market rates for your skill and niche, and charge whichever is higher.
How many billable hours does a freelancer have in a year?
Usually far fewer than 2,080. After time off, and with 50 to 75% of working hours billable, most full-time freelancers bill roughly 1,000 to 1,500 hours a year.
How do I convert a salary to a freelance hourly rate?
A common rule of thumb is to divide the salary by 1,000. A $75,000 salary suggests about $75 an hour. The calculator above gives a more precise number based on your own expenses and schedule.
Should I charge hourly or by project?
Hourly is simplest when scope is unclear. Project pricing rewards you for working efficiently and is easier for clients to budget. Many freelancers use their hourly rate to estimate a project price, then quote the project.