Freelance Rate Tools

Price your time like a business, not a hobby

Freelancers undercharge for predictable reasons: they copy someone else’s rate, divide by fantasy billable hours (40 a week, 52 weeks a year, no holidays, no admin, no gaps), and forget that employees get paid leave, sick pay and employer tax contributions. The result is a rate that feels fine until the tax bill arrives.

These tools fix the maths. Start from your income goal to find the rate you actually need, then convert it into whatever unit the conversation requires — hourly for US clients, daily for UK contracts, monthly for retainers, salary-equivalent when comparing against a job offer.

Choosing the right tool

• Setting your rate for the first time (or raising it)? Start with the freelance rate calculator. It works backwards from your target take-home pay, real business costs and honest billable hours — no 2,080-hour fantasy.
• Comparing a salary to hourly pay? Use the hourly rate calculator. It also reveals your “true” hourly rate once unpaid overtime is counted.
• Quoting or comparing contractor day rates (UK/AU style)? Use the daily rate calculator, which includes contracting costs and the benefits adjustment that turns a day rate into a fair salary comparison.
• Thinking in months or setting a retainer? Use the monthly rate calculator, including retainer mode: target monthly income ÷ expected hours.
• Translating between any two units? Use the rate converter for hourly, daily, monthly and annual figures side by side.

The tools

• freelance-rate-calculator — Your minimum viable rate from target income, costs, tax set-aside and realistic billable hours, plus a recommended rate with a growth buffer.
• hourly-rate-calculator — Two-way salary ↔ hourly conversion with unpaid-overtime “true rate” view.
• daily-rate-calculator — Day rate ↔ salary equivalent with UK contracting conventions (220 billable days), cost inputs and IR35 notes.
• monthly-rate-calculator — Any pay unit converted to monthly income, plus retainer-mode pricing for freelancers.
• rate-converter — All four units (hourly, daily, monthly, annual) in one comparison view with working-pattern presets.

The honest maths, in one paragraph

Take your target annual take-home, gross it up for tax, add your business costs, and divide by the hours you will actually bill (most freelancers: 20–30 a week, 46–48 weeks a year). That is your floor. Then convert it into the client’s preferred unit — but never quote the converted number without checking it still clears the floor. Every tool in this category shares that logic.

Privacy note

Income goals, costs and pay figures are personal. All five tools run entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored or seen by us.