Freelance Rate Calculator
Find the hourly rate you need to hit your income goal — after self-employment tax, business expenses, and the hours you can't bill. Then see what each rate actually leaves you.
Gross revenue required
Income + expenses + tax
$77,922
Self-employment tax
What you set aside
$11,922
Billable hours per year
Hours you can actually invoice
1,200 hrs
At your compare rate $75/hr
Annual take-home after tax & expenses
$63,360
Charging $75/hr clears your $60,000 goal with room to spare.
Creator Finance OS
Knowing your rate is step one. Finance OS is the Notion command center for tracking clients, projects, invoices, and income so you actually hit the number you just calculated.
See Finance OS →How to set your freelance rate
Most rate calculators hand you a single number and stop. The problem is that number usually ignores the three things that quietly eat a freelancer's income: self-employment tax, business expenses, and the hours you work but can't bill. This tool builds your rate up from your real take-home goal instead.
Start with take-home, not revenue
Decide what you want to actually keep in a year. Everything else gets added on top of that, so the rate you land on is the rate that leaves you with your goal — not the rate that looks good before tax season arrives.
Add self-employment tax
Freelancers pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare, roughly 15.3% on net earnings, plus income tax. The slider lets you raise it to a blended rate that matches your bracket so nothing surprises you in April.
Only bill the hours you can bill
A 40-hour week is rarely 40 billable hours. Invoicing, proposals, marketing, and admin are unpaid. Setting billable hours to 25–28 for a full-time week is realistic, and it's the single biggest reason freelance rates run higher than an equivalent salary.
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
Start with your target take-home income, add self-employment tax (about 15.3%) and your annual business expenses, then divide by your realistic billable hours per year. This calculator does all of that and shows the floor rate you need to charge.
Why is my freelance rate higher than an equivalent salary?
You cover costs an employer normally pays — the full 15.3% self-employment tax, health insurance, retirement, software, and unpaid time off — and you can't bill every working hour. Matching a given take-home usually needs a rate 25–50% higher than the equivalent W-2 wage.
What percentage of my hours are actually billable?
Most freelancers bill only 60–70% of their working hours. If you work 40 hours a week, plan on roughly 25–28 billable hours. This tool lets you set your own number so the rate reflects reality.
Is this freelance rate calculator free?
Yes — free, no ads, no signup, and it runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored.
