Freelance hourly rate calculator
The rate you need isn't your old salary divided by 2,080. You're covering taxes, unpaid time, business costs, and the hours you spend running the business instead of billing for it.
Estimate only. Figures update as you type. Not tax advice — see the note at the bottom of this page.
Why your rate has to be higher than your old salary
A salaried job hides a lot of costs. Your employer paid half your payroll taxes, covered your unproductive hours, paid you during holidays, and absorbed the cost of your laptop and software. Freelancing moves all of that onto your invoice.
Billable hours are the number people get wrong
A full-time freelancer rarely bills 40 hours a week. Sales calls, proposals, invoicing, admin, and marketing all take real time and none of it appears on an invoice. Many established freelancers bill somewhere between 20 and 30 hours in a typical week. Setting that number honestly matters more than any other input here.
Charging by project instead
Even if you quote flat project fees, this rate works as a floor. Estimate the hours a project will take, multiply by this number, and you have the minimum the project needs to earn to be worth doing.
If the number looks too high
That reaction is common and usually means one of three things: the target income is ambitious, the billable hours are optimistic, or the market you're selling into doesn't support the rate. All three are useful to know before you quote, rather than after.
Common questions
What tax rate should I enter?
A combined estimate covering self-employment tax and income tax. Many freelancers land in the twenties to low thirties as a percentage, but it depends on income, filing status, deductions, and state.
Should I count vacation weeks?
Yes, by subtracting them. Freelancers aren't paid for time off, so if you plan four weeks away plus holidays, your working weeks are closer to 46 than 52.
Does this work for part-time freelancing?
Yes. Lower the billable hours per week to match what you actually work and the required rate rises accordingly.