Free Hourly Rate Calculator
Find your ideal freelance or consulting rate. Account for billable hours, expenses, and time off to price your work profitably.
Your desired take-home income
Software, insurance, equipment, etc.
% of hours that are billable to clients (typically 60-80%)
Compare your rate to an equivalent salary
Enter your income goal to see rates
As a freelancer or consultant, not all your working hours are billable. You also spend time on:
- Sales and marketing
- Admin and invoicing
- Learning and skill development
- Client communication (often unbilled)
Most freelancers have 60-80% billable time. If you work 40 hours/week but only 30 are billable, your billable percentage is 75%.
Billable Hours Per Year
(Hours/Week × Working Weeks) × Billable %Hourly Rate
(Income Goal + Expenses) / Billable HoursExample
Goal: €80,000 + €5,000 expenses = €85,000 needed
40 hrs/week × 47 weeks × 75% = 1,410 billable hours
€85,000 / 1,410 = €60.28/hour
Frequently Asked Questions
Add your desired annual income to your business expenses, then divide by your billable hours per year. For example: (€80,000 + €5,000) / 1,400 billable hours = €60.71/hour. Our calculator handles all the math for you.
Billable percentage is the portion of your working hours that you can bill to clients. Most freelancers can only bill 60-80% of their time — the rest goes to admin, marketing, learning, and unbilled client communication.
With a 40-hour week, 5 weeks off, and 75% billable time, you get about 1,400 billable hours per year. Full-time employees work roughly 1,800-2,000 hours but don't need to account for unbillable time.
Yes. As a freelancer, you pay for your own insurance, equipment, software, retirement, sick days, and have no paid vacation. You also spend unbillable time on admin and sales. Most experts recommend charging 25-50% more than an equivalent hourly salary.
Yes, completely free with no limits. Your calculations happen in your browser and are not stored or sent anywhere.
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