Freelance hourly rate calculator

Find the hourly rate you need to charge to reach your target take-home pay, including tax, costs and time you cannot bill.

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 hourly rate

An hourly rate is the simplest price to explain, and it works well for open-ended work, support and retainers. The risk is setting it too low by dividing a salary by the hours in a year.

Why a salary divided by 2,080 hours is wrong

That figure assumes every working hour is paid, with paid holiday, sick pay, no business costs and an employer covering part of the tax. As a freelancer you pay for all of these yourself, and a good share of your week goes on finding work and admin. Your rate has to cover those hours too.

What goes into the rate

Your hourly rate comes from the revenue you need divided by the hours you can really bill. The revenue includes your take-home pay, income tax and Class 4 National Insurance, any student loan or pension payments, and your business costs.

Hourly, daily or per project?

Hourly rates suit work with an unclear scope. For well-defined jobs a fixed project price can earn you more, as you are paid for the result and not the time. Use the figure here as the minimum you need either way.

Prefer to quote by the day? Try the freelance day rate calculator.