BYTETOOLS

Freelance Rate Calculator

Calculate the hourly and day rate you need to charge as a freelancer from your target income, expenses and billable hours. Free, private and instant.

$60.87
Hourly rate
$304.35
Day rate
63%
Utilisation
1,150
Billable hrs / year

A starting estimate that covers your income and expenses across billable hours only. Adjust for taxes, your market and the value you deliver — this is not financial advice.

  • Turns income goals into an hourly and day rate
  • Includes business expenses in the rate
  • Accounts for billable versus total working hours
  • Shows effective utilisation as a percentage
  • Currency selector and instant recalculation
  • Private by design — nothing leaves your browser

How to use the Freelance Rate Calculator

  1. 1

    Enter the annual income you want to take from the business.

  2. 2

    Add your total yearly business expenses.

  3. 3

    Enter your billable hours per week and total working hours per week.

  4. 4

    Set how many weeks you work per year after time off.

  5. 5

    Read your recommended hourly rate, day rate and utilisation.

About the Freelance Rate Calculator

The ByteTools Freelance Rate Calculator works out the hourly rate you need to charge to hit your income goals. Enter your desired annual income, your yearly business expenses, your billable hours per week and the number of weeks you actually work, and it returns a recommended hourly rate, a day rate and your effective utilisation.

Because not every working hour is billable and freelancers cover their own costs and time off, charging a simple salary-based rate leaves you short. This tool folds expenses and non-billable time into the number so your rate actually sustains your business. All calculations run locally in your browser.

The recommended rate is a starting estimate, not financial advice. Adjust it for your market, experience, taxes and the value you deliver before quoting clients.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add your target income and annual expenses, then divide by the number of billable hours you work in a year. If you want $60,000 income plus $10,000 expenses from 1,000 billable hours, your rate is $70 an hour. This calculator does it for your exact figures.

Why can't I just charge my old salary as an hourly rate?

As a freelancer you pay your own expenses, taxes and time off, and only some hours are billable. Dividing a salary by 2,080 hours ignores all of that and undercharges you. Building in expenses and non-billable time gives a rate that actually covers your costs.

What is billable utilisation?

Utilisation is the share of your working hours that you can actually bill to clients. If you work 40 hours a week but bill 25, your utilisation is about 63%. Lower utilisation means each billable hour must cost more to reach your income goal.

How is the day rate calculated?

The day rate is your hourly rate multiplied by your billable hours in a typical working day, based on the billable hours per week you enter. It gives clients a simple daily figure to quote against.

Is my income information stored?

No. Everything runs in your browser with JavaScript, so your income, expenses and hours are never uploaded, saved or shared.

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