How In-Browser Freelance Rate Calculation Works
Freelance Hourly & Day Rate Calculator runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. There is no sign-up, and whatever you type or open here is processed on your device instead of being sent to a server.
Calculate Your True Freelance Hourly and Day Rate
Determine what you need to charge to cover your desired take-home salary, health insurance, software subscriptions, retirement savings, and self-employment taxes. All financial calculations execute directly inside your browser memory, keeping your income targets and business margins strictly private. The result is a minimum rate: it covers your take-home target, your tax estimate and your expenses, but adds no profit margin or buffer for unpaid invoices.
Realistic Billable Hours Accounting
Freelancers rarely bill 40 hours per week. You enter the hours you can really bill each week (25 by default) and your weeks off a year (add sick days to them), so admin, pitching and holidays are left out of the hours your rate is spread over.
Includes Your Tax Estimate and Overhead Expenses
Put equipment, accountant fees and software licences into annual business expenses and enter one overall tax estimate (%); the calculator does not apply any country's tax rules.
Worked Example: From Take-Home Pay to Your Freelance Price
Say you want to take home $60,000 a year, expect $6,000 of business costs, set aside 25% for tax, take 4 weeks off and can bill 25 hours a week. The calculator first grosses up your take-home pay for tax ($60,000 / 0.75 = $80,000), then adds your costs, so you need to earn $86,000. Spread over 48 working weeks of 25 billable hours (1,200 hours), that is about $72 an hour, or $573 for an 8-hour day. These are the minimum rates that cover your income, costs and tax; price your work above them to leave a profit margin for slow months, late payments and growth. The calculator works backwards from the income you need: it does not track your real invoices, income or profit.
Turning Your Rate into a Price: Hourly, Project and Retainer
The calculator gives the minimum hourly rate that covers your income, costs and tax; how you charge clients is up to you, and anything you earn above that rate is profit. With the $72-an-hour rate from the example above, a project you estimate at 30 hours costs $2,160 at that rate, and a 15% margin for overruns and revisions makes the quote $2,484. The 15% is only an example: pick a margin that matches how often your estimates run over. For ongoing work, 20 hours a month is a $1,440 retainer.
| Pricing model | How to work it out | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Your hourly rate × the hours you work | Work whose scope may change |
| Day rate | The calculator's day rate (8 billable hours) × the days booked | Full days on site or on call |
| Fixed project | Estimated hours × your hourly rate, plus a margin for overruns | A clear brief with a defined result |
| Monthly retainer | Hours promised each month × your hourly rate | Ongoing work for one client |
Why processing in your browser matters
Many online tools upload your files or text to a server to process them. This one does the work on your computer or phone, so your data is not sent to us or stored anywhere else. That lowers the risk when you work with confidential material, although you should still follow your organisation's own rules. Read how this works in our Privacy Policy.
- No uploads: files are opened and saved on your device, so there is no upload or download wait.
- No account: nothing to sign up for or install.
- Free to use: no subscriptions or paywalls.