Free freelance rate calculator
Freelance Rate Calculator
Turn a salary into the freelance hourly rate you need to match it, once you account for overhead, benefits you now pay yourself, and unbillable time.
Your numbers
Your current or desired employed salary, the take-home lifestyle you want to keep.
Benefits, self-employment tax, and paid time off you must now fund yourself. 25-35% is typical.
Software, tools, insurance, marketing, and other costs of running solo.
Share of your working hours you can actually invoice. 50-70% is realistic.
Recommended freelance rate
$98.04/hr
Employed equivalent
$38.46/hr
Freelance multiplier
2.55×
How we got there
- Salary to match
- $80,000
- + Benefits & SE costs (30%)
- $24,000
- Income you must clear
- $104,000
- ÷ (1 − overhead 15%)
- $122,353 revenue
- ÷ Billable hours (60% of 2,080)
- 1,248 hrs
- = Freelance rate
- $98.04/hr
Based on a 2,080-hour work year (40 hrs × 52 wks). Estimate only, not tax advice.
Why a freelance rate is not just your salary divided by 2,080
When you are employed, your employer quietly pays for a lot: half of your payroll tax, health insurance, paid vacation, sick days, equipment, software, and the hours you spend in meetings or training instead of producing billable work. As a freelancer, all of that lands on you, and you only get paid for the hours you actually invoice.
That is why dividing a salary by 2,080 hours badly underprices freelance work. This calculator adds the cost of the benefits and taxes you now cover yourself, grosses up for overhead, and divides by your realistic billable hours, not your total working hours. The result is the rate that leaves you no worse off than the salary you are comparing against.
Common pitfalls
Assuming 100% billable time. Sales, admin, and unpaid revisions mean most freelancers bill 50-70% of their hours. Charging as if every hour is billable guarantees a shortfall.
Ignoring the benefits gap. Health insurance, retirement matching, and paid time off can be worth 25-35% of a salary. If your rate does not cover them, freelancing pays less than the job you left.
Anchoring to your old hourly wage. Your employed hourly figure is a floor, not a target. The right freelance rate is usually 1.5× to 2× that number once everything is accounted for.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert my salary to a freelance hourly rate?
Add the benefits and self-employment costs your employer used to cover, divide by one minus your overhead percentage to cover business costs, then divide by the hours you can realistically bill in a year. This tool does the full calculation and shows each step.
Why is my freelance rate so much higher than my old hourly wage?
Because the freelance rate has to cover everything an employer used to pay for, plus the unpaid hours you spend running your business. A freelance rate of 1.5× to 2× your employed hourly wage is normal and usually necessary just to break even.
What percentage of my hours will be billable?
Most established freelancers bill 50-70% of their working hours once sales, admin, invoicing, and unpaid revisions are accounted for. New freelancers are often lower while they build a pipeline. Use a realistic number, not your ideal.
Should I charge hourly or set a project rate?
Use this rate as your internal floor even if you quote fixed project prices. Estimate the hours a project will take, multiply by your calculated rate, and that is the minimum the project should earn you.
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