Enter your income goal, working hours, weeks per month, and platform fee to calculate the hourly rate you need to charge after fees.
This calculator helps you estimate the freelance hourly rate you need to charge based on your monthly income goal, working hours, and platform fees. It is designed to give you a realistic rate instead of relying on guesswork.
This calculator is useful for freelancers who want a clearer and more structured way to price their work, including:
Many freelance platforms charge a percentage-based service fee on each payment, which reduces your take-home pay. If you ignore these fees when setting your hourly rate, you may underprice your work and miss your monthly income goals.
Calculating your freelance hourly rate starts with understanding how much money you want to earn and how many hours you can realistically work. Unlike salaried jobs, freelancers must account for unpaid time, platform fees, and irregular workloads.
First, set a clear monthly income goal based on your living expenses, savings, and financial priorities. Next, estimate how many hours per week you can spend on paid client work, not total working hours.
Then, decide how many weeks you work per month. Most freelancers use four weeks, but this may vary depending on time off and workload. Finally, include platform fees so your rate reflects your actual take-home pay.
Many freelancers struggle with pricing, not because they lack skills, but because they make a few common mistakes when setting their hourly rate.
One of the most common mistakes freelancers make is undercharging their hourly rate. This often happens because they compare themselves to salaried employees or other freelancers without understanding the full cost of freelancing.
Freelancers usually have unpaid time for client communication, marketing, revisions, and administration. When these hours are ignored, the hourly rate may look acceptable on paper but result in much lower real income.
Another common mistake is overestimating the number of billable hours per week. Many freelancers assume they can bill 40 hours per week, similar to a full-time job, but this is rarely realistic.
Time spent on emails, meetings, finding new clients, and managing projects is usually unpaid. Failing to account for this leads to an hourly rate that does not support long-term income goals.
Many freelancers forget to include platform fees and unpaid work time when pricing their services. Platforms often take a percentage of each payment, which directly reduces take-home pay.
Ignoring these factors often results in freelancers working more hours while earning less than expected.
Suppose your monthly income goal is $2,000. You work 20 hours per week and 4 weeks per month, which gives you a total of 80 working hours per month.
$2,000 รท 80 = $25 per hour.
If a platform charges a 10% fee, charging $25 per hour would not be enough to reach your income goal. To compensate for the fee, you would need to increase your rate to approximately $28 per hour.
This example shows why considering working hours and platform fees is essential when calculating a realistic freelance hourly rate.
There is no single correct freelance hourly rate. The right rate depends on your income goals, available working hours, experience level, and expenses. A structured calculation based on your monthly target income is more reliable than copying average rates.
A $25 hourly rate may be reasonable for some freelancers, but it depends on workload, location, and platform fees. For many freelancers, this rate can become unsustainable if unpaid time and commissions are not included.
Most freelancers cannot bill 40 hours per week consistently. Billable hours are usually lower due to client communication, marketing, and administrative work. Estimating realistic billable hours helps prevent underpricing.
Both pricing models can work. Hourly pricing offers transparency, while project-based pricing provides clearer expectations. Many freelancers use hourly calculations to set a minimum rate, even when pricing projects.
Average freelance hourly rates vary widely by skill, experience, and market. Relying on averages alone can be misleading. Calculating a personalized rate based on your own goals and constraints is usually more effective.
This calculator is designed only to help freelancers calculate a sustainable hourly rate. It does not provide pricing advice for specific industries or regions.
Use the calculator above to test different income goals, working hours, or platform fees and see how your freelance hourly rate changes.
This helps you find a rate that fits both your lifestyle and financial goals.