Freelance pricing calculator

Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Turn your annual income goal, business costs and realistic billable time into an hourly rate that supports your target.

Desired annual income €Annual business expenses €Working weeks per year Hours worked per week Billable time %Safety / profit buffer %

Your desired income is before personal income tax. This calculator does not estimate taxes.

Why billable time matters

Your working hours are not all client hours.

Sales, proposals, admin, bookkeeping, learning and gaps between projects still consume time. The billable percentage prevents those hours from disappearing from your pricing.

Formula

Simple, visible assumptions.

Revenue target = (income goal + business expenses) × (1 + buffer).
Hourly rate = revenue target ÷ annual billable hours.

Planning tool, not tax advice. Taxes, VAT, pension contributions, insurance and country-specific rules are not calculated automatically. Add the reserve you need to your income goal or buffer based on your own situation.

Calculator guide

How to set a sustainable freelance hourly rate

A freelance rate has to cover more than the hours spent directly on client work. Proposals, administration, bookkeeping, learning, sales and gaps between projects all use working time. This calculator converts those realities into a rate using your own income target and assumptions.

Formula

Annual revenue target = (desired income + annual business expenses) × (1 + safety or profit buffer). Annual billable hours = working weeks × hours per week × billable percentage. Suggested hourly rate = annual revenue target ÷ annual billable hours.

Example

With the default example of €50,000 desired income, €8,000 business expenses, 46 working weeks, 40 hours per week, 60% billable time and a 10% buffer, the calculator produces 1,104 billable hours and a suggested rate of about €57.79 per hour.

Frequently asked questions

Does the rate include income tax or VAT?

No. The tool deliberately avoids country-specific tax estimates. Your desired income is entered before personal income tax, and VAT, pension, insurance and other obligations should be handled according to your own situation.

What billable percentage should I use?

Use a realistic share of your working time that can actually be charged to clients. If you are unsure, start conservatively and update the percentage after tracking a few months of real project and non-project time.