Freelance Rate Calculator: What Should You REALLY Charge Clients?
Momer
Finance & Career Expert
Calculate Your Rate
The Truth About Freelance Pricing That Nobody Tells You
I used to charge $25/hour.
I thought I was doing fine. I was staying busy, clients seemed happy, and I was making money. But then I did the math.
After expenses, time off, unpaid admin work, and accounting for the fact that I wasn't billable 100% of the time—I was actually making $12/hour. Less than minimum wage in many states.
That changed when I finally calculated what I should be charging.
Turns out, I was leaving $60,000+ on the table annually by underpricing.
If you're a freelancer, consultant, or independent contractor, you've probably felt this frustration too. Maybe you're charging what "seems reasonable" without actually knowing if it covers your costs and goals. Or maybe you're charging what competitors charge, not realizing they might be underpriced too.
Here's the problem: Most freelancers price based on emotions, not math.
We price based on:
Fear
"If I charge too much, I'll scare clients away"
Imposter syndrome
"I'm not experienced enough to charge premium rates"
Comparison
"My competition charges $40/hour, so I should too"
Desperation
"I need work badly, so I'll accept anything"
None of these are valid pricing strategies.
What if instead, you priced based on actual numbers? Your desired income. Your actual expenses. The hours you can realistically bill.
That's exactly what this freelance rate calculator does.
Why Freelance Rate Calculators Matter (And Why Most Suck)
Before I built this calculator, I checked out the existing ones online.
Most were terrible.
They either:
- Only calculated hourly rate (missing project-based pricing)
- Ignored non-billable time (making results unrealistic)
- Didn't account for taxes (leaving you short come tax season)
- Assumed full-time freelancing (ignoring part-time hustlers)
- Were overly complicated (10+ fields, confusing jargon)
I wanted something different. Something that actually works.
The calculator we built takes into account:
- ✅ Your desired annual income (your actual goal)
- ✅ Hours you can actually bill (realistic, not theoretical)
- ✅ Weeks you work per year (accounting for vacation/sick days)
- ✅ Monthly business expenses (software, equipment, etc.)
- ✅ Platform fees (if you use Upwork, Fiverr, etc.)
And it spits out something really useful: Not just your hourly rate, but your actual project rates and monthly income targets.
The Freelance Rate Calculator: How It Works
Using the calculator is simple. You enter 5 pieces of information:
1. Desired Annual Income
This is the number that matters.
Not "what sounds good." Not "what my competition charges." But the actual dollar amount you need to earn annually to hit your lifestyle and financial goals.
Example: If you want to earn $60,000/year, you enter 60,000.
Pro tip: Include everything you need to live on—not just survival money, but money for savings, investments, and the lifestyle you want. If you want to take two weeks off per year, you shouldn't work 52 weeks and earn the same as someone who never takes time off.
2. Billable Hours Per Week
Here's where most freelancers get it wrong.
They think: "I can work 40 hours per week, so 40 × my hourly rate = my weekly income."
But that's not realistic.
Billable hours ≠ total hours. Your billable hours are the hours you can actually charge clients for.
The other hours? That's admin work:
- Email management
- Invoice sending
- Proposal writing
- Follow-up calls
- Project management
- Accounting/bookkeeping
- Networking
Pro tip: Be honest here. Overestimating billable hours is the #1 reason freelancers underprice themselves.
3. Weeks Worked Per Year
This accounts for vacation, sick days, holidays, and unpaid time off.
If you want to take:
- 2 weeks vacation
- 1 week sick days
- 1 week for holidays
- 2 weeks for conferences/professional development
That's 6 weeks off. So you work 46 weeks/year (52 - 6).
The math: If you charge $60/hour and work 25 billable hours × 46 weeks, you make $69,000/year (before expenses).
4. Monthly Business Expenses
This is crucial and often ignored.
Running a freelance business costs money:
- Software subscriptions: $50-200/month
- Equipment: $100-300/month
- Home office: $200-500/month
- Professional development: $50-100/month
- Insurance/accounting: $50-150/month
- Marketing/website: $20-100/month
- Miscellaneous: $100+/month
Total monthly expenses for most freelancers: $600-$1,500/month
That's $7,200-$18,000/year that needs to come out of your gross income before you take home what you actually want.
5. Platform Fees
If you work through Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, or similar platforms, they take a cut.
Platform fees:
- Upwork: 5-20% (depending on client history)
- Fiverr: 20-30%
- Toptal: 10%
- Freelancer.com: 5-10%
The calculator adjusts your rate to account for this. If you need to net $60/hour but lose 15% to platform fees, you actually need to charge $71/hour.
Real Examples: What Should You Actually Charge?
Let me walk through some realistic scenarios:
Scenario 1: Full-Time Freelancer Starting Out
Inputs:
- Desired annual income: $50,000
- Billable hours/week: 25
- Weeks worked/year: 48
- Monthly expenses: $1,000
- Platform fees: 15%
Output:
- Recommended hourly rate: $63/hour (base), $79/hour (adjusted for fees)
- Per 10-hour project: $790
- Monthly target income: $4,200
- Annual gross needed: $80,600 (covers expenses + taxes)
Reality check: At $63/hour with these parameters, you hit your $50K goal. Anything less, you're behind.
Scenario 2: Side Hustle (15 hours/week)
Inputs:
- Desired extra income from side hustle: $15,000/year
- Billable hours/week: 15 (from a side hustle)
- Weeks worked/year: 48
- Monthly expenses: $200 (tool subscriptions only)
- Platform fees: 10%
Output:
- Recommended hourly rate: $34/hour
- Per 5-hour project: $170
- Monthly side income: $1,250
Reality check: Working 15 hours/week at $34/hour gets you $1,250/month side income ($15,000/year).
Scenario 3: Experienced Specialist (High-End)
Inputs:
- Desired annual income: $100,000
- Billable hours/week: 20 (selective about clients)
- Weeks worked/year: 50
- Monthly expenses: $2,000 (premium tools, office, etc.)
- Platform fees: 0% (direct clients only)
Output:
- Recommended hourly rate: $115/hour
- Per 10-hour project: $1,150
- Monthly target: $9,200
Reality check: Experienced freelancers working directly with clients (no platform fees) and being selective (20 billable hours) can justify $100K+/year income at $115/hour.
Why This Matters: The Pricing Psychology Behind Your Number
Here's something most freelancers don't realize:
Your rate communicates your value.
Charge $25/hour, and clients assume you're inexperienced.
Charge $75/hour, and clients assume you know what you're doing.
It's not fair, but it's true. There's research on this (called "price anchoring" in psychology).
So the rate you choose—when backed by confidence and delivered by a calculator showing it's justified—becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Clients who can afford $75/hour are usually better clients:
- They value quality over price
- They don't endlessly nitpick
- They pay on time
- They're less likely to scope creep
- They refer other good clients
Common Objections (And Why They're Wrong)
"But my market doesn't pay that much!"
Maybe. Or maybe you're looking at the wrong market.
If the average rate in your niche is $40/hour but the calculator says you should charge $70/hour, you have options:
- Specialize deeper - "WordPress developer" → "Shopify e-commerce developer" = 30% higher rates
- Target better clients - International clients pay 2-3x more than local
- Shift your service - Hourly → project-based pricing (easier to justify higher rates)
- Build reputation - As you get testimonials and case studies, you can raise rates 10-20%
"If I charge that much, I won't get any work!"
This is fear talking.
Here's the truth: There's always a market for good work at fair prices. But you won't find it by competing on price.
You'll find it by:
- Targeting specific niches (not "I'm a writer" but "I write conversion copy for SaaS")
- Building a reputation (portfolio, case studies, testimonials)
- Networking (LinkedIn, referrals, communities)
- Providing value (show results, not just effort)
"I'm just starting out, I should charge less!"
Disagree.
Starting out is actually when you need to charge market rates (or close to it).
Why? Because you have no cash buffer. You need to hit your income target immediately, not "build up to it someday."
Here's a better strategy: Start at your calculated rate, but offer:
- Money-back guarantee (build confidence)
- Case study discounts (get testimonials + portfolio pieces)
- Referral bonuses (incentivize word-of-mouth)
These strategies let you be competitive without underpricing yourself.
Beyond Hourly Rates: When to Charge Project-Based Instead
Here's a shift that most freelancers never make:
Move from hourly to project-based pricing.
Why? Because project-based pricing:
- ✅ Rewards efficiency (faster work = same pay)
- ✅ Attracts better clients (they see fixed cost)
- ✅ Scales better (10-hour project at $100/hr = $1,000 regardless if you do it in 8 hours or 10)
- ✅ Feels more professional (clients prefer not to worry about time)
How to transition:
- Use the calculator to determine your hourly baseline
- Estimate typical project sizes (10 hours, 20 hours, etc.)
- Multiply: $75/hour × 15 hours = $1,125 project price
- Round up 10-20% (you'll always be more efficient than estimated)
- Offer that as a fixed price
Example: Instead of saying "I charge $75/hour," you say "Social media setup is $1,200 flat" or "Website redesign is $3,000."
Clients love fixed prices. And you love the efficiency bonus.
The Next Step: What to Do After You Know Your Rate
Using the calculator gives you a number. But knowing your rate and actually commanding it are two different things.
Here's what to do next:
1. Update Your Profiles on Every Platform
- Upwork: Set your hourly rate to your calculated number (or project-based equivalent)
- Freelancer.com: Same
- Your website: Showcase your pricing confidently
2. Update Your Pitch
Stop saying: "I'm a freelancer, looking for work."
Start saying: "I help [specific clients] with [specific problem] for [specific outcome]. My typical project rate is $X."
3. Track Your Actual Billable Hours
For the next month, log exactly how many hours you actually spend on billable vs. non-billable work.
4. Raise Your Rates Gradually
If you're currently underpriced, don't jump to your calculated rate overnight.
5. Build Proof
Get testimonials, case studies, and results from clients. Use these to justify your rates to new prospects.
The Math That Actually Matters
Here's the calculation the calculator does behind the scenes:
Gross annual income needed = Desired income + (Monthly expenses × 12) + (Tax buffer at 30%)
Hourly rate = Gross annual income needed ÷ (Billable hours/week × Weeks/year)
Project rate = (Hourly rate × Project hours) + 15% efficiency bonus
Platform-adjusted rate = Final rate ÷ (1 - Platform fee %)
Example:
- Desired income: $50,000
- Monthly expenses: $1,000 ($12,000/year)
- Tax buffer (assume 30% taxes): $18,600
- Total needed: $80,600
- Billable hours: 25/week × 48 weeks = 1,200 hours/year
- Hourly rate: $80,600 ÷ 1,200 = $67/hour
- Platform fee: 15%
- Final rate to charge: $67 ÷ 0.85 = $79/hour
That's your number. Not guesswork. Math.
Real Talk: What Happens When You Price Right
I've raised my rates 4 times in the past 3 years. Each time, I was terrified.
"Nobody will pay this!"
Each time, I was wrong.
Not only did I get clients at the higher rate, but:
- The quality of clients improved dramatically
- Projects became more interesting
- I had more freedom to choose who to work with
- My annual income increased even though I worked fewer hours
The freelancers I know who are killing it ($150K+/year)?
They all have one thing in common: They're not competing on price. They're competing on value. And they charge rates that reflect that value.
You can too.
Your Action Plan: Start This Week
Do This Today (30 minutes):
- Use the calculator above
- Enter your real numbers
- Write down your calculated rate
- Don't overthink it—your first instinct is usually right
Do This This Week:
- Update your Upwork/Fiverr profiles with your new rate
- Tell someone else your rate (say it out loud—makes it real)
- Apply to 5 jobs at your new rate
Do This Next Week:
- Track your actual billable hours (see if the calculator was accurate)
- Prepare your pitch (focus on value, not hourly rate)
- Send proposals confidently
Do This Month:
- Land your first client at the new rate
- Document the project and results (testimonial + case study)
- Raise rates again in 3 months based on feedback
Your goal: Charge what you're worth. This month.