Rate Calculator
Calculate your optimal hourly, project, or retainer rate based on your income goals, expenses, and working hours.
Your Details
Usually 48 (52 weeks minus 4 weeks vacation/sick)
About the Rate Calculator
Calculate your optimal hourly, project, or retainer rate based on income goals, expenses, and working hours.
What you can do with it
- Hourly & project rates
- Yearly breakdown chart (Recharts)
- PDF export
- Shareable URL
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my freelance rate?
Start with the target annual income you actually need (living costs + savings + reinvestment), add business expenses and taxes, then divide by your realistic billable hours — not 2,080. Most solo freelancers bill 800–1,200 hours a year after admin, marketing, and vacation. This calculator does that math for you.
Should I charge hourly, per project, or a retainer?
Hourly protects you from scope creep but caps your upside. Project pricing rewards efficiency but punishes rework unless your scope is airtight. Retainers smooth cash flow for ongoing work. A common hybrid: a project rate for defined deliverables plus a monthly retainer for maintenance or support.
What hourly rate is fair for my experience level?
Junior freelancers (0–2 years) commonly bill $25–$60/hour, mid-level (2–5 years) $50–$120/hour, and senior specialists (5+ years, niche expertise) $100–$250+/hour depending on discipline and market. Your floor is set by what you need to earn; your ceiling is set by the value you deliver. Raise rates annually — every flat year quietly lowers your effective rate.
Related guides
A practical framework for pricing freelance work: start from your real floor, weigh the market and the value, pick the right model, and price brand-new services without guesswork.
Retainer vs. Project Work: How Freelancers Choose Predictable IncomeRetainers smooth the feast-and-famine cycle but can quietly become open-ended hourly slavery. How to decide which clients belong on one, what to include, and the terms that keep a retainer profitable.
Your results will appear here
Fill in the details on the left and hit calculate to see your numbers.
Rate Calculator: Common Questions
How do I calculate my freelance rate?
Start with the target annual income you actually need (living costs + savings + reinvestment), add business expenses and taxes, then divide by your realistic billable hours — not 2,080. Most solo freelancers bill 800–1,200 hours a year after admin, marketing, and vacation. This calculator does that math for you.
Should I charge hourly, per project, or a retainer?
Hourly protects you from scope creep but caps your upside. Project pricing rewards efficiency but punishes rework unless your scope is airtight. Retainers smooth cash flow for ongoing work. A common hybrid: a project rate for defined deliverables plus a monthly retainer for maintenance or support.
What hourly rate is fair for my experience level?
Junior freelancers (0–2 years) commonly bill $25–$60/hour, mid-level (2–5 years) $50–$120/hour, and senior specialists (5+ years, niche expertise) $100–$250+/hour depending on discipline and market. Your floor is set by what you need to earn; your ceiling is set by the value you deliver. Raise rates annually — every flat year quietly lowers your effective rate.
Explore the rest of the toolkit in the free tools directory, or read practical guides in the blog.