Freelance day rate calculator

Find the day rate you need to charge to reach your target take-home pay. The day rate is shown under the hourly rate in the results.

Take-home pay you want per yearAfter tax, what you want in your pocket

Where do you pay income tax?

How should tax be worked out?

Business costs per yearSoftware, insurance, equipment, accountant, etc.

Weeks off per yearHoliday, sickness and bank holidays

weeks

Hours you work per week

hours

Share of those hours you can billThe rest goes on admin, marketing and finding clients. 60-70% is common

Optional: other income, pension, student loan

Other taxable income per yearE.g. a salary from a job, before tax. It uses up your tax bands first

Pension contributions you pay yourselfPer year, gross, before tax relief. Treated as extra cash you need on top of your take-home

Student loan

I also have a postgraduate loan

£0

per hour, minimum to hit your target

£0per 7.5-hour day

0billable hours a year

Take-home pay£0

Plus income tax£0

Plus Class 4 National Insurance£0

Plus student loan£0

Plus pension contributions£0

Plus business costs£0

Revenue you need to invoice£0

An estimate, not tax advice. Rates exclude VAT. Add a buffer if you want a safety net or to save for slow months.

What if you changed your working year?

The hourly rate you would need at different levels of time off and billable hours, using your other numbers above.

How to set a freelance day rate

A day rate is the amount you charge for a full day of work, whatever the number of hours. It suits work where clients expect to book you by the day, such as contracts, on-site work and consultancy.

How many days can you actually bill?

A working year has around 260 weekdays. Take off bank holidays, annual leave, sick days and training, and then the time you spend finding clients, quoting and doing admin. Many freelancers end up billing between 180 and 220 days. This calculator works that out from your weeks off, your hours and your billable share, so you don't have to guess.

From hourly rate to day rate

The day rate here is your minimum hourly rate multiplied by a 7.5-hour day. If you would rather charge for a longer or shorter day, scale the figure to match. A day rate also usually covers travel and prep time, so it is worth adding a margin.

Treat the result as a floor

The figure is the minimum you need to reach your take-home target. What you can charge depends on your field, experience and what the work is worth to the client. Use the what-if tables to see how much extra holiday or less billable time would raise your rate.

Prefer an hourly figure? Try the freelance hourly rate calculator.