Freelance rate calculator

Start from the income you want to keep, then add taxes and costs, and spread it over the hours you can actually bill.

Why the rate is higher than a salary's hourly pay

An employee at $60,000 earns about $28.85 an hour over 2,080 paid hours. A freelancer pays for holidays, sick days, equipment and benefits, and rarely bills more than 25 to 30 hours a week once admin and finding clients are counted. The tax share is a placeholder you set: in the U.S., self-employed people also pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. Read how to set a freelance rate for the full reasoning.