Freelance Day Rate Calculator
Work out what to charge per day from your target income, business costs, holidays and billable days — or run it backwards from a day rate.
What you want to earn
The day rate you charge
Your working year
Fill in the numbers above to see your rate.
Your day rate —
- Hourly rate
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- Weekly rate
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- Average monthly revenue
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- Required annual revenue
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- Billable days per year
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How it works
This calculator uses the standard target-income (cost-plus) method that
freelancers, contractors and consultants use to price a day. First it works out how many days
you can actually bill: billable days = (52 − weeks off) × billable days per
week. Eight weeks off and four billable days a week leaves 44 × 4 = 176 days —
far fewer than the 260 weekdays in a year, which is why dividing a salary by 260 badly
underprices freelance work.
Next it adds up what the business has to bring in: required revenue = (target income +
annual business costs) × (1 + buffer ÷ 100). Software, insurance,
accounting, hardware, pension and training all belong in the costs box, and the buffer covers
late payers, scope creep and quiet months. Your rate is then
day rate = required revenue ÷ billable days. With a $60,000 target,
$8,000 of costs and a 10% buffer that is $74,800 ÷ 176 = $425 a day,
or $53.13 an hour on an eight-hour day.
Flip to the second mode to run it backwards: enter a day rate and see the annual revenue and pre-tax income it produces. The figures are revenue and income before income tax, self-employment tax, VAT or sales tax — those depend on where you live, so set them aside separately. Everything is calculated in JavaScript in your browser: nothing you type is uploaded, there is no sign-up and there are no ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my freelance day rate?
Use the target-income (cost-plus) method. First count the days you can actually bill: (52 − weeks off) × billable days per week. Eight weeks off and four billable days a week is 44 × 4 = 176 days, not the 260 weekdays in a year. Then add up what the business must bring in: (target income + annual business costs) × (1 + buffer ÷ 100). Finally divide: day rate = required revenue ÷ billable days. A $60,000 target with $8,000 of costs and a 10% buffer needs $74,800 of revenue, which across 176 days is $425 a day.
What should I charge per day as a freelancer?
There is no single right number, but the floor is the rate that covers your target income plus every business cost — software, insurance, accounting, hardware, pension, training — spread across the days you can realistically bill. Most freelancers bill three to four days a week rather than five, because selling, admin and invoicing are unpaid. Anything above that floor is what your specialism, results and demand let you charge. Enter your own figures above and the calculator shows the floor as you type.
How do I convert a day rate into an annual salary?
Multiply the day rate by your billable days per year, then subtract your business costs to get pre-tax income: $500 a day × 176 billable days = $88,000 of revenue, less $8,000 of costs = $80,000 before tax. Switch to the second mode above to do exactly that. Remember the result is before income tax, self-employment tax and any VAT or sales tax, and that a day rate carries no paid holiday, sick pay or employer pension — which is why it should sit well above the daily equivalent of an employed salary.