Freelance day rate & project rate calculator

Start with the income you want to take home, gross it up for tax, add your annual business expenses and a profit buffer, then divide by the days you can realistically bill in a year. Billable days are your working days per week × working weeks × the share of time that is actually billable. The calculator above does this in one step and also shows the hourly equivalent.

As an employee your employer paid for equipment, software, holidays, sick leave, training, part of your taxes and the time you spent in meetings. As a freelancer you cover all of it yourself and only get paid for billable hours. A rate of 1.5–3× your old salaried hourly figure is normal.

Most solo freelancers bill 60–75% of the hours they work. The rest goes on sales, proposals, invoicing, email, bookkeeping and learning. If you are new or still building a client base, 50% is a safer assumption.

Use your effective (average) rate across income tax and any self-employment or social security contributions, not your top marginal bracket. Many freelancers land between 20% and 35%. Check your last return or ask an accountant for a precise figure.

Include public holidays, vacation, sick days and gaps between projects. Four to eight weeks is a common range. Planning for zero time off is the most common reason freelance rates end up too low.

Both come from the same number: your day rate is your hourly rate × the hours in a billable day (usually 7.5 or 8). A day rate suits longer engagements, reduces time tracking and avoids clients questioning individual hours. Hourly works best for small, prepaid blocks of time — see below.

Offer three options instead of one quote. The cheapest is your floor day rate × estimated days plus a scope buffer. The middle — the one you want chosen — is priced on what the outcome is worth to the client, not your hours. The top option is a premium anchor that makes the middle look reasonable. Present the top option first, take a deposit on whichever they pick (50% is common; split long projects into milestones), and price anything outside the agreed scope as a change request.

No — it is your floor: the minimum day rate below which you lose money against your goals. Use it to make sure your cheapest option is still profitable, then price above it based on the value you create for each client. Never quote below the floor.

For custom work, usually not. The right price depends on the client and what the outcome is worth to them, which you only learn in conversation. Publishing a day rate invites clients to compare you on hours. A minimum project size or a few example price ranges give enough guidance without boxing you in. Productized services with a fixed scope are the exception.

Keep hourly or daily billing for your lowest-priced option: small blocks of time, paid in full upfront, for clients who just want hands on keyboards. It is also fine for spare capacity. For anything strategic or high-impact, price the project and its outcome instead of the time it takes.

No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server.