Free Freelance Rate Calculator
Stop guessing your rate. Enter what you want to take home, add self-employment taxes, business expenses, health insurance, retirement contributions, and a slow-month buffer — and get the minimum hourly rate you need to charge to hit your goals. See the full revenue breakdown so you understand exactly where every dollar goes.
Income Goal
Work Schedule
Total hours you plan to work
4 weeks off (vacation + holidays)
Admin, emails, sales, accounting — time you work but can't charge for
Taxes
Freelancers pay 15.3% SE tax + income tax. 28–35% is typical in the US.
SEP-IRA (up to 25% of net), Solo 401(k), or SIMPLE IRA
Expenses & Buffer
Extra margin to survive low-billing months and chase late invoices
Your Minimum Hourly Rate
$113.61
per billable hour
Daily (8h)
$909
Weekly
$3,636
Monthly
$14,542
Annual
$174,510
Revenue Breakdown
This is the minimum rate to meet your goals. Charge more when scope is unclear, timelines are tight, or the work is outside your niche.
Your Minimum Hourly Rate
$113.61
per billable hour
Daily (8h)
$909
Weekly
$3,636
Monthly
$14,542
Annual
$174,510
Revenue Breakdown
This is the minimum rate to meet your goals. Charge more when scope is unclear, timelines are tight, or the work is outside your niche.
Minimum Rate
$113.61/hr
annual revenue
$174,510/yr
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my freelance rate higher than my salaried hourly equivalent?+
Because as a freelancer you pay 100% of your own expenses that employers normally cover: self-employment tax (15.3% — both the employee and employer FICA portions), health insurance, retirement contributions, software, equipment, and time lost to admin. A salaried employee at $80k actually costs an employer $100k+ when benefits and payroll taxes are included. Your freelance rate has to cover all of that.
What is the self-employment tax and how much is it?+
Self-employment tax is 15.3% of your net self-employment income: 12.4% for Social Security (up to the wage base, $176,100 in 2025) and 2.9% for Medicare (no cap). As a W-2 employee, your employer pays half of this (7.65%). As a freelancer, you pay both halves. You can deduct the employer-equivalent portion (half of SE tax) from your gross income, which reduces your income tax slightly.
What should I set as my effective tax rate?+
For a US-based freelancer: start with 15.3% SE tax, then add your estimated federal income tax rate (10–37% depending on income), and any state income tax (0–13.3%). A combined effective rate of 28–35% is typical for freelancers earning $60k–$150k. If you're unsure, use 30% as a safe default and adjust as you understand your actual tax situation.
What counts as non-billable time?+
Any time you work but can't invoice a client: writing proposals, client discovery calls before a contract is signed, accounting and invoicing, continuing education, marketing your services, networking, and fixing scoped work that ran over. Most freelancers find that 20–30% of their working hours are non-billable. If you bill 40 hours a week but 20% is non-billable, you're only generating revenue for 32 hours — your rate needs to cover all 40.
What retirement account options do freelancers have?+
The most powerful options: SEP-IRA (up to 25% of net self-employment income, max $69,000 in 2024 — easy to open, one form), Solo 401(k) (highest contribution limits — up to $69,000 in 2024 as both employee and employer, but requires more paperwork), SIMPLE IRA (up to $16,000 in 2024). All reduce your federal taxable income dollar for dollar. The retirement % field in this calculator reserves that portion of your gross revenue.
What is the slow-month buffer and why does it matter?+
Freelance income is lumpy. Clients go quiet in December, projects end unexpectedly, invoices go 60–90 days past due. A 15–20% buffer means you're building that runway into every invoice. It's not a profit margin — it's insurance. Without it, one slow quarter can wipe out months of careful budgeting.
Should I charge the same rate for all projects?+
The rate this calculator gives you is your floor — the minimum below which you're losing money relative to your goals. In practice, charge more for: rush timelines, ambiguous scope, clients with a history of revisions, highly specialized work, and projects outside your core niche. The floor protects you; the ceiling is determined by the market and the value you deliver.
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Why Your Freelance Rate Is Probably Too Low
The most common mistake new freelancers make is pricing themselves like employees. They take their target annual salary, divide by 2,080 hours (52 weeks × 40 hours), and call that their rate. A $80,000 salary becomes $38.46/hr. The problem: that math only works if you bill every single working hour of the year, never take vacation, never spend time on admin, and pay zero overhead. None of that is true for a freelancer.
The Hidden Costs of Being Your Own Boss
A salaried employee earning $80,000 actually costs their employer $95,000–$105,000 once you factor in: employer FICA match (7.65%), health insurance contribution, 401(k) match, paid vacation, payroll processing, and HR overhead. As a freelancer, you absorb every one of these costs yourself. Your rate isn't just paying you — it's paying for the employer half of FICA, your full health insurance premium, your own equipment, software, and the weeks you don't bill anyone.
Billable Hours Are Not Working Hours
If you work 40 hours a week, you are almost certainly not billing 40 hours a week. Industry research consistently shows that freelancers and consultants bill 60–80% of their working time. The rest goes to writing proposals that don't convert, onboarding calls, accounting, invoicing, chasing late payments, marketing, networking, and skill development. A realistic non-billable estimate of 20–30% is not pessimistic — it's honest. This calculator lets you set exactly how much of your working time you expect to turn into revenue.
The Self-Employment Tax Trap
Self-employment tax is one of the biggest surprises for new freelancers. As a W-2 employee, you pay 7.65% in FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) and your employer quietly pays another 7.65% on your behalf. The moment you go freelance, you pay both halves — the full 15.3%. On $80,000 of net self-employment income, that's $12,240 before a dollar of income tax is owed. Combined with federal and state income tax, it's not unusual for a freelancer to owe 30–40% of gross revenue in taxes, which is why the tax rate field in this calculator defaults to 30%.
Building in a Buffer Is Not Greed
A 15–20% slow-month buffer is standard financial hygiene for freelancers, not overcharging. Freelance income is inherently uneven: a single client pausing a project, a 60-day payment net term, or one slow December can wreck a carefully planned budget. The buffer isn't extra profit — it's the reserve that lets you survive income volatility without draining your personal savings. Clients who question it don't fully understand the economics of independent work.
When to Charge More Than the Minimum
This calculator gives you a floor — the rate below which you're subsidizing your client. The ceiling is determined by market rates, your specialization, and the value you deliver. Charge above your minimum when: the scope is ambiguous and likely to expand, the deadline is tight, the client has a history of requesting revisions, the work is outside your core expertise, or you simply don't want the project. Higher rates also filter out low-quality clients, reduce revision cycles, and give you leverage to walk away from bad fits.