Set Your Goal
Enter the annual net income you actually want to deposit into your personal bank account.
100% Client-Side · Your Income Data Never Leaves
A freelance rate calculator reverse-engineers the minimum hourly or day rate you must charge to hit your desired annual take-home pay. It accounts for self-employment taxes, health insurance, retirement contributions, unbillable hours, vacation, and overhead costs most freelancers forget.
Your Goals & Reality
Your Real Rates
Minimum Hourly Rate
Minimum Day Rate
Gross Revenue Needed
Billable Hours / Year
Weekly Billing Target
Monthly Billing Target
Where Your Income Goes
Watch your gross revenue get devoured by deductions.
Enter your goals to see the deduction waterfall.
The 40-Hour Myth
How your "40-hour work week" actually breaks down.
Enter your goals and hit Reverse-Engineer to see the reality.
What If You Charged
See how different hourly rates affect your annual income.
| Hourly Rate | Day Rate | Annual Gross | Annual Take-Home | Monthly Take-Home | Viable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter your costs above to generate rate scenarios. | |||||
Salary vs. Freelance
How It Works
Add the Reality Tax
We layer on self-employment taxes, insurance, overhead, PTO, and unbillable admin hours.
See the Waterfall
Watch your gross revenue get devoured layer by layer taxes, insurance, tools, and lost time.
Get Your Floor
See the absolute minimum hourly and day rate you must charge or you're working for free.
Freelance Tech Essentials
Tracking time accurately is the single most important habit for hitting your target rate. We recommend a physical time-tracking cube to build the habit of logging every billable minute without opening software. For invoicing and tracking your business expenses to lower your taxable income, an automated bookkeeping platform is essential so you aren't wasting your unbillable hours in spreadsheets.
How to Calculate Your True Freelance Rate
Most freelancers make the mistake of calculating their hourly rate based on a standard 40-hour work week (2,080 hours a year). This is a fast track to burnout and undercharging. As a freelancer, you are running a business, which means you have unbillable hours (marketing, admin, invoicing), business overhead (software, equipment, insurance), and self-employment taxes that W-2 employees don't pay. RateRealist reverses the math: you start with your desired take-home pay, and we calculate the exact gross revenue you need to generate, divided only by the actual billable hours you'll work after accounting for vacations and admin time. This ensures your hourly or day rate actually covers your life and your business expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do freelancers calculate their hourly rate?
Start with your desired annual net income, then add: self-employment taxes (15.3% in the US), health insurance, retirement contributions, software/tools, and professional development. Divide by actual billable hours — not 2,080 (40hrs × 52 weeks), but typically 1,200-1,400 hours after subtracting vacation, sick days, admin time, and business development.
How many billable hours do freelancers actually work?
Most freelancers bill 60-70% of their working hours. The rest goes to invoicing, client communication, proposals, marketing, bookkeeping, and professional development. On a 40-hour work week, that is 24-28 billable hours — not 40. This is the single biggest mistake new freelancers make when setting rates.
Should I charge hourly or a day rate?
Day rates reduce scope creep and admin overhead. Clients know exactly what a day costs, and you avoid the awkwardness of tracking 15-minute email blocks. Day rates also tend to be higher per-hour than hourly rates because clients perceive them as a project commitment rather than a meter running.