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📘 Overview: Know Your Worth as a Freelancer
The Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator helps independent professionals set a fair, profitable, and sustainable hourly rate based on real expenses, expected income, and working hours. It's designed for freelancers, consultants, remote workers, contractors, and creatives across all industries.
- 💸 Includes your personal and business expenses
- 📈 Adds your desired monthly profit goal
- 🕐 Considers billable hours realistically (excluding non-paid admin time)
- 💼 Optional tax and overhead percentages included
This tool empowers you to stop undercharging, value your time properly, and quote projects with confidence.
📐 Formula & Methodology
The core formula to determine your base hourly rate is:
Base Rate = (Monthly Expenses + Desired Profit) ÷ Billable Hours
You can optionally apply a tax/overhead adjustment to get a more realistic rate:
Final Hourly Rate = Base Rate × (1 + Additional Percentage ÷ 100)
- Monthly Expenses – Total cost of living and business operations (rent, insurance, tools, food, etc.)
- Desired Profit – The income you'd like to earn beyond covering expenses
- Billable Hours – Only the hours you can actually charge clients for (usually 60–80% of your total work time)
- Additional % – Optional tax, insurance, software fees, and buffer margin
This structure gives you a minimum sustainable rate and a fully loaded rate for quoting.
📊 Example Calculation
Let’s say you’re a freelance designer:
- 📉 Monthly Expenses: €2,000
- 💰 Desired Profit: €1,000
- 🕐 Billable Hours: 100
- 🧾 Tax/Overhead: 10%
Step 1: Calculate base hourly rate → (2000 + 1000) ÷ 100 = €30/hour
Step 2: Apply additional costs → €30 × 1.10 = €33/hour
So, you should aim to charge at least €33/hour to remain profitable and sustainable.
📌 Use Cases for This Calculator
- 🧑💻 Freelancers calculating their baseline hourly rate
- 💼 Agencies budgeting hourly pricing for team members
- 📊 Comparing full-time employment vs freelance earnings
- 📋 Quoting hourly or fixed-price client projects
- 📅 Planning workload and monthly revenue goals
This calculator works for graphic designers, developers, writers, coaches, marketers, translators, and all kinds of independent professionals.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know how many billable hours to use?
Most freelancers can only bill 60–80% of their total working hours due to non-billable time like admin, sales, breaks, and learning. If you work 40 hours a week, aim for 80–120 billable hours/month.
Why should I include profit and not just expenses?
Your time is valuable! Profit ensures you're growing your business, saving for slow months, and not just surviving paycheck to paycheck.
What percentage should I use for tax and overhead?
It depends on your location and industry. 10–30% is a common range to cover income tax, business insurance, subscriptions, payment processor fees, and more.
Can I use this to set a fixed project price?
Yes. Use your calculated hourly rate and estimate the number of hours the project will take. Multiply the two to quote a flat rate that’s still profitable.
Is this useful for part-time or hybrid freelancers?
Absolutely. Just adjust your expenses and working hours accordingly to reflect your part-time situation.
How often should I update my rate?
Review your rate at least once a year—or when your expenses, goals, or workload change significantly.
How do I use this tool for international pricing?
You can switch the currency in the tool and input your local expenses. Just make sure you're comparing your rate to international market standards if you work with global clients.