Why is my rate higher than my old salary's hourly equivalent?

As a freelancer you only bill a fraction of your week, you cover your own expenses and taxes, and you get no paid time off. The calculator accounts for billable-hours reality, expenses, a tax set-aside, and a profit buffer, so the number is higher than salary ÷ 2080.

Is the freelance rate calculator free?

Yes — 100% free. Everything is calculated privately in your browser; nothing is stored or sold.

Freelance Rate Calculator

Q: How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add your target take-home income and yearly business expenses, then divide by your billable hours per year (billable hours per week × working weeks). Add a profit buffer and a tax set-aside on top. This free calculator does all of that and gives you an hourly and day rate to charge.

Find the hourly rate you need to hit your income goal

Target take-home / year

Business expenses / year

Billable hours / week

Working weeks / year

Advanced — profit buffer & tax set-aside

Profit buffer %

Tax set-aside %

Recommended hourly rate

$0.00

$0/day

More free tools FREE

Quick project quote — estimated hours

Suggested project price—

Freelance Rate Calculator — guide & how to use

What it does

The Freelance Rate Calculator tells you the hourly rate (and day rate) you need to charge to actually hit your income goal — after accounting for the reality that you can't bill every hour, you pay your own expenses and taxes, and you get no paid time off. Enter a few numbers and it returns your recommended rate with a full breakdown, calculated privately in your browser, free.

How to use it

Enter your target take-home pay for the year and your business expenses.
Enter realistic billable hours per week (often 20–30, not 40) and working weeks per year (e.g. 48 after holidays).
Open Advanced to set a profit buffer and a tax set-aside.
Read your recommended hourly rate and day rate, with the math broken down below.
Use Quick project quote to price a project from your estimated hours.

How to embed this tool on your website

No account, no coding. Copy the embed code and paste it where you want it to appear:

<iframe src="https://snaptoolsuite.com/freelance-rate-calculator/?embed=1"
  style="width:100%;max-width:560px;height:1050px;border:0;"
  title="Freelance Rate Calculator" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p>Free <a href="https://snaptoolsuite.com/freelance-rate-calculator/">Freelance Rate Calculator</a> by Snap Tool Suite</p>

2 Paste it on your page

3 It just works

See it live: view a real embed example →

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add your target take-home income and yearly expenses, divide by billable hours per year, then add a profit buffer and tax set-aside. This tool does it for you.

Why is my rate higher than my old salary?

You only bill part of the week, you cover expenses and taxes yourself, and you get no paid time off — so the right rate is well above salary ÷ 2080.

Is it really free?

Yes. 100% free, everything runs in your browser.

Run a freelance project

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🔒 Everything is calculated in your browser. We don't store or sell your data.