Annual Income Calculator
Convert common pay frequencies into annual gross income.
FREE FREELANCE PRICING TOOL
Freelance Rate Calculator
Work backward from your annual income goal and business costs to estimate a sustainable freelance hourly rate, day rate, and revenue target.
Income goalBillable hoursExpenses & buffer
CALCULATOR
Calculate your freelance rate
Planning estimate only. This version does not calculate personal or business taxes; add any tax reserve you want to recover through pricing to your income goal or business-cost assumptions.
How to calculate a freelance hourly rate
A practical freelance rate starts with the annual income you want to earn, adds the business expenses your client revenue must cover, and divides that total by the hours you can realistically bill.
Break-even hourly rate = (Target annual income + Annual business expenses) ÷ Annual billable hours
Why billable hours matter
Freelancers usually cannot invoice every hour they work. Proposals, marketing, bookkeeping, client communication, learning, and administrative work can reduce the number of hours available to bill clients. Using realistic billable hours prevents your rate from being based on an unrealistic 40 billable hours every week.
Example freelance rate calculation
Suppose your annual income goal is $80,000, annual business expenses are $10,000, and you expect to bill 25 hours per week for 50 weeks. That gives 1,250 annual billable hours and a break-even rate of $72 per hour.
($80,000 + $10,000) ÷ (25 × 50) = $72/hour
Adding a profit or risk buffer
A buffer can help account for slow periods, scope changes, unexpected expenses, or profit beyond your minimum income target. Numviro applies the selected percentage to the break-even rate.
| Rate type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Break-even rate | Covers the entered income goal and business expenses |
| Recommended rate | Adds your selected profit or risk buffer |
| Day rate | Recommended hourly rate × billable hours per day |
Freelance rate vs. employee hourly wage
A freelance billing rate is not the same as an employee wage. Freelancers may need their client revenue to cover business expenses, unpaid administrative time, time off, equipment, insurance, and other costs that an employee may not pay directly from an hourly wage.
Freelance rate calculator FAQ
How do I calculate what to charge per hour as a freelancer?
Add your target annual income and annual business expenses, then divide by realistic annual billable hours. Add a buffer if you want your rate to include additional profit or protection against downtime.
What are billable hours?
Billable hours are the hours you can actually charge to clients. Administrative work, marketing, proposals, and other internal work are often non-billable.
How do I calculate a freelance day rate?
Multiply your hourly freelance rate by the number of billable hours you plan to include in a day.
Should business expenses be included in my freelance rate?
If client revenue needs to cover those expenses, including them in the rate calculation helps prevent them from reducing your target income.
Does this calculator include taxes?
No. Tax obligations vary significantly by location and circumstances, so this calculator focuses on income, expenses, billable time, and an adjustable pricing buffer.
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