inbill
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№ 013/Free tool

What should you
charge per hour?

Your freelance rate = (take-home income ÷ (1 − tax rate) + yearly costs) ÷ billable hours per year. Most freelancers bill 1,000–1,400 hours a year, not 2,080 — so the rate has to be well above an equivalent salary. Enter your numbers below.

What you want to keep, after tax and business costs.

Software, laptop, internet, coworking, payment and transfer fees.

Your effective rate, not the top bracket. 15–30% is typical.

52 minus holidays, sick days and quiet weeks. 44–48 is realistic.

Hours clients pay for. Admin, sales and email are not billable — most freelancers bill 20–30.

Used for the day rate.

Your minimum hourly rate

$47/h

Exact: $46 — rounded up to quote.

Day rate (7 h)
$325
Monthly retainer
$4,650
Revenue needed / year
$53,000
Billable hours / year
1,150
Invoice at this rate — free

Opens the free invoice generator with this rate filled in. No sign-up.

Charging it is the easy part. Getting paid is the work.

Inbill turns this rate into invoices clients actually pay: saved clients and rates, a hosted link that opens on WhatsApp, partial-payment tracking, and a voice assistant that drafts the invoice when you say "bill Sarah 12 hours at my rate". 5 invoices a month free.

Start invoicing free

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Questions, answered plainly.

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add the take-home income you want to your yearly business costs, gross the income up for tax, then divide by the hours you can actually bill in a year — weeks worked times billable hours per week. Billable hours, not working hours: admin, sales and gaps between projects are unpaid.

Why is my rate higher than my old salary divided by 2,080 hours?

A salary assumes 52 paid weeks of 40 hours with the employer covering equipment, software, holidays and sick days. Freelancers usually bill 1,000–1,400 hours a year and pay all of those costs themselves, so the hourly rate has to be well above salary ÷ 2,080 to take home the same amount.

Should I charge hourly, daily or per project?

Use the hourly figure as your floor, then quote whatever the client finds easiest to approve. Day rates suit on-site or retainer work; fixed project prices suit well-scoped deliverables — estimate the hours, multiply by your rate, and add 15–25% for revisions and unknowns.

Does this calculator store what I type?

No. The maths runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. "Invoice at this rate" passes only the rate and currency to our free invoice generator in the page address.

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