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Freelancer Hourly Rate Calculator

Work out the minimum hourly rate that covers your target income, self-employment tax, expenses and time off.

Updated 2026-09-30
$ /yr

Before income tax

$ /yr

Software, insurance, equipment

hrs

Hours you can invoice

wks

Vacation, holidays, sick days

%

For slow months and late payments

Setting a freelance rate

Your rate has to cover more than your old salary. As a freelancer you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare, cover your own expenses and time off, and only get paid for the hours you can bill.

Billable hours are usually well under 40 a week once you count sales, admin and email. They have the biggest effect on your rate, so be realistic about them.

Minimum hourly rate
— Per billable hour
Target income
—
Business expenses
—
Self-employment tax
—
Buffer
—
Revenue needed
—
Day rate (8 hrs)
—
Monthly revenue target
—

Minimum hourly rate
—

Common questions

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate?

Add your target income, business expenses and self-employment tax, add a buffer, then divide by the hours you can bill in a year. $121,788 of revenue over 1,150 billable hours is $105.90 an hour.

What is self-employment tax?

15.3% on 92.35% of your net earnings: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. It replaces the half an employer would normally pay, and half of it is deductible.

How many billable hours should I plan for?

Start from 52 weeks, subtract the weeks you’ll take off, and multiply by the hours you can actually invoice. 25 billable hours for 46 weeks is 1,150 hours.

Should I charge hourly or by the project?

Your hourly minimum helps either way. Estimate the hours a project will take, multiply by your rate, and price the project at or above that number.

How this is calculated

Method
Self-employment tax = target income × 92.35% × 15.3% (12.4% Social Security up to the wage base, 2.9% Medicare).
Revenue needed = (target income + expenses + self-employment tax) × (1 + buffer).
Billable hours = hours per week × (52 − weeks off). Rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours.
Assumptions
  • Income tax isn’t included; the target is before income tax.
  • Social Security applies up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 of net earnings.
  • Expenses are fixed for the year.
Sources
Methodology reviewed 2026-09-30 · See our methodology for how we build and test calculators.