Stop guessing what to charge. Enter your real numbers and get minimum, target, and premium hourly rates based on your actual expenses and income goals.
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This calculator gives you a rate. The Freelancer Business Starter Kit gives you a complete system — 500-row invoice tracker with auto late fees, project pipeline CRM, quarterly tax estimator, and a rate calculator that updates as your numbers change.
Most freelancers set their rates by looking at what other people charge and picking a number that feels right. That's backwards. Your rate should be based on what you actually need to earn after accounting for taxes, expenses, and the hours you can realistically bill.
If you want to take home $65,000 a year, you can't just divide by 2,080 hours and charge $31/hour. You're not billing 40 hours a week. Realistically, freelancers bill 25-30 hours per week. The rest goes to admin, marketing, invoicing, and chasing clients. And then taxes take 25-35% off the top.
Instead of one rate, smart freelancers think in three tiers. Your minimum rate is the floor. Your target rate is what you actually aim for. Your premium rate is what you charge for rush work or specialized projects.
If you're booking out more than 2-3 weeks in advance, your rates are too low. If more than half your proposals are accepted without negotiation, your rates are probably too low. Raise rates for new clients first, then existing clients at renewal.
Many experienced freelancers move to project-based pricing. Even so, knowing your hourly rate is essential — it's the foundation for estimating project costs. If you know a project takes 40 hours and your target rate is $85/hour, the project price is $3,400.