About Freelancer Rate Calculator

Reverse-engineers an hourly rate from your financial targets. Input desired annual income, yearly business expenses, tax rate, billable hours per week, and working weeks per year. The calculator divides gross revenue needed (income + expenses, grossed up for taxes) by total billable hours to produce your hourly rate, day rate (8-hour day), and monthly revenue target. Three presets—US Contractor, EU Consultant, and Lean Stack—populate realistic starting values.

• Gross-up formula: (income + expenses) / (1 - tax rate) gives the total you need to bill before taxes
• Day rate assumes an 8-hour billable day; monthly target is gross needed divided by 12
• Presets: US Contractor ($90k/27%), EU Consultant ($75k/33%), Lean Stack ($65k/22%)
• Export rate plan as JSON with full input/output breakdown

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the calculator use billable hours instead of total hours?

Admin, sales, accounting, and learning eat roughly 30–50% of your week. Only hours you can invoice generate revenue. The default 25 billable hours per week accounts for this overhead.

Should I include health insurance in expenses?

Yes. Any cost you’d otherwise get from an employer—insurance, retirement contributions, software licenses, equipment—belongs in the expenses field. Undercount here and your rate will be too low.