How much should I charge as a freelancer?
- 1Enter the take-home pay you want each month and your monthly business costs.
- 2Enter the share you set aside for tax and the fee your platform or payment service keeps.
- 3Enter the hours a week clients actually pay for and how many weeks a year you work.
- 4Read the hourly and day rate, then round up and compare it with what clients in your field pay.
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
- 01Profit needed = take-home × 12 ÷ (1 − tax%)
- 02Invoices needed = (profit needed + costs × 12) ÷ (1 − fee%)
- 03Hourly rate = invoices needed ÷ (billable hours per week × working weeks)
Work backwards from what you want to keep. Tax is paid on profit, so the profit you need is your take-home divided by what's left after tax: keeping 150,000 a month with 10% set aside for tax needs 1,800,000 ÷ 0.9 = 2,000,000 of profit a year.
Costs are added on top, and platform fees come off every invoice, so divide by what's left after the fee. Finally, spread the yearly total over the hours you can really bill — usually 20 to 30 a week for a full-time freelancer, because proposals, messages, revisions and admin aren't paid.
Freelance rate example
To keep 150,000 a month with 15,000 of costs, 10% set aside for tax and 10% in fees, you need to invoice 2,422,222.22 a year.
Over 1,150 billable hours (25 hours a week for 46 weeks) that is 2,106.28 an hour, or 16,850.24 for an 8-hour day.
Good to know
- Price per project when you can: estimate the hours, multiply by your rate and add a margin for revisions.
- Raise your rate for new clients first; keep a written rate card so every quote starts from the same number.
- Count the fee on the money you receive too — currency conversion and withdrawal charges add up.
- If the rate looks too high for your market, the fix is usually more billable hours or lower costs, not working for less than you need.
Freelance rate calculator — common questions
How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?
Add the take-home pay you want for a year, the tax on it and a year of business costs, divide by what's left after platform fees, then divide by the hours you can bill in a year. This calculator does each step for you.
How many billable hours does a freelancer work?
Far fewer than the hours they work. Finding clients, writing proposals, messages, revisions, invoicing and learning are unpaid, so many full-time freelancers bill about 20 to 30 hours a week. Track your own hours for a month to get your real number.
Should I include platform fees in my rate?
Yes. A marketplace that keeps a share of each order takes it from every invoice, so divide by what's left after the fee. Use the fee your platform charges today, and 0 for direct clients paid by bank transfer.
What is a day rate and how is it worked out here?
A day rate is the price for one full working day. Here it is the hourly rate × 8 billable hours. If you bill fewer hours in a day, multiply the hourly rate by your own number.
Should I charge by the hour or by the project?
Either can work, but work out your hourly rate first. To price a project, estimate the hours, multiply by your rate and add a margin for revisions and unexpected work — that way a fixed price still pays you properly.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Working for yourself (tax and records for the self-employed)
- Cost-plus pricing — standard business arithmetic
Formulas last reviewed: September 30, 2026 ·How we check our formulas