How Freelance Rate Math Works
Use your own target income, annual business expenses, and billable capacity. The calculator adds only the costs you enter and does not assume which benefits, taxes, insurance, overhead, or non-billable workload apply to you.
Net Income + Business ExpensesWeekly Billable Hrs × Working WeeksTarget Revenue ÷ Billable HoursMethod source
Authored deterministic calculator method based only on the target income, annual expenses, billable hours, working weeks, and daily hours entered by the user. No external market benchmark is used.
Reviewed 2026-08-28
Worked baseline example
Target income 80000, expenses 16000, and 30 billable hours across 48 weeks produce annual revenue 96000, hourly baseline 66.66666666666667, and an 8-hour daily baseline 533.3333333333334.
The hourly and daily figures are a personal baseline produced from these inputs. They are not a market rate, tax estimate, quote recommendation, or guarantee that a client will accept the price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the minimum hourly rate calculated?
Your minimum hourly rate equals your Total Target Annual Revenue (Desired Pre-Tax Net Income + Annual Business Expenses) divided by your Total Annual Billable Hours (Weekly Billable Hours × Working Weeks per Year).
Why should business expenses be included in my rate calculation?
Include the annual business costs you personally want this baseline to cover. The calculator adds only the expense amount you enter to your target income; it does not assume which costs, benefits, taxes, or insurance apply to you.
What is non-billable time and why does it matter?
Non-billable time can include admin, invoicing, client acquisition, learning, and self-promotion. Enter only the weekly billable capacity you expect for your own situation; this calculator does not assume a universal utilization benchmark.
Does this calculator output market pricing or client quotes?
No. This tool calculates your personal financial baseline—the minimum rate required to cover your target net income and business expenses. It does not dictate what clients will pay or guarantee project wins. You can export your baseline rate into our Quote Calculator when creating project-specific quotes.