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Free tool · 2026

Freelance Rate Calculator

The number that pays you is not your old salary divided by 2,080 hours. You do not bill every hour you work. Set your rate from your real costs, the pay you want, and the hours you actually invoice.

Your year

Your hourly rate

Updated as you type. The rate that actually pays the bills.
Billable hours per year0
Cost to cover, per billable hour$0
Rate to charge per hour$0
Margin per hour (before tax)$0
That is this much per billable day (8h)$0

This is your floor, the rate that covers your costs and pays you what you asked for, before income and self-employment tax. The margin above is pre-tax, not money you pocket. Charge more when the work or the client justifies it. It will not set itself below your true cost.

One rate here. Your whole year in the spreadsheet.

The 1099 Sheets Freelancer spreadsheet tracks every invoice, your real expenses, your effective hourly, what to set aside for taxes and your true take-home, all year. Pay $29 once, yours forever, no subscription.

Get the Freelancer spreadsheet →

How to set your freelance rate

Most freelancers pick a rate by halving their hoped-for salary, copying a peer, or just naming a round number. Then a packed schedule still does not cover the bills. The fix is to build the rate from the bottom up. Here is the logic this calculator runs:

  • Your costs plus your pay. Add your yearly business expenses to the salary you actually want to take home.
  • Divided by the hours you really bill. Not 40 a week. After sales, admin, email, scoping and downtime, most freelancers invoice 20 to 30 hours a week. That is the number that matters.
  • Plus a profit margin. A buffer above your pay for slow months and growth. Rate equals your cost-to-cover divided by one minus your margin.

The mistake that halves your rate

The classic error is dividing the pay you want by 2,080 hours, a full-time year. But you do not bill 2,080 hours. If you only invoice half your working time, that math sets your rate at half of what you need, and you feel it every month. Charging by billable hours, not total hours, is the single biggest fix. On top of that, remember you owe 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of your net profit, because you are a 1099 contractor.

Track it for the whole year, not one rate

This calculator sets your floor rate. The 1099 Sheets Freelancer spreadsheet tracks every invoice, your real expenses, your effective hourly and your taxes, so your pricing stays grounded in what the year actually looks like. One payment of $29.