Price your time to hit a target income

Freelancer hourly rate

Calculate the hourly rate you need to charge as a freelancer to hit a target annual income.

Formula

hourly rate = (target income + business expenses) ÷ (billable hours per week × working weeks per year)

Assumptions

• Assumes every "billable" hour is actually billed — in practice, admin, marketing, and unpaid pitching time reduce real billable hours.
• Does not account for income tax — this is a pre-tax revenue target.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the suggested rate higher than my target income divided by hours worked?
It also has to cover business expenses and account for weeks off — the rate is calculated only against billable hours, not every hour you're working or available.

Should I round the rate up?
Most freelancers round up to a clean number for client-facing quotes, since this figure assumes every billable hour is actually billed — a buffer helps absorb the admin and downtime hours that inevitably creep in.