Day rate calculator

A freelance rate calculator that starts from what you want to earn and works backwards to a day rate and an hourly rate. The rate has to pay for your income, your costs and every day you don't bill.

Currency

Income you want per year (USD)Before personal income tax: what you'd pay yourself as a salary.Business costs per year (USD)Software, hardware, insurance, workspace, accountant, training.Tax and contributions on profit (%)Optional. Leave 0 if your income figure already includes tax.Working days per week (days)Holidays per year (days)Including public holidays.Sick days per year (days)Plan for some. Nobody bills while ill.Billable share of working days (%)The rest goes on admin, sales, learning and gaps between jobs.Billable hours per day (hours)For the hourly rate.

$460day rate to quote

$65hour rate

146billable days a year

Revenue you need$66,000

Working days after time off225

Billed at 65%146 days

Exact day rate$451.28

Exact hour rate$64.47

The quoted rates are rounded up to a clean number. This is the floor that covers your target, not what the market will pay: if clients regularly say yes without blinking, it is too low.

How the number is worked out

Revenue needed = income you want (grossed up for tax, if you enter a rate) + business costs. Billable days = (52 weeks × working days per week − holidays − sick days) × billable share. Day rate = revenue needed ÷ billable days. Hour rate = day rate ÷ billable hours per day.

The part people leave out is the billable share. Invoicing, quoting, chasing payments, learning, and the gap between one project ending and the next starting all come out of working days, and none of them are paid. A rate built on every working day being billed falls short in the first quiet month.

Questions

How do I calculate my freelance day rate?

Add the income you want to your yearly business costs, and gross it up for tax if your income figure is after tax. Then divide by the days you will actually bill: working days, minus holidays and sick days, times the share of those days that end up on an invoice.

What billable percentage should I use?

It depends on how much selling, admin and waiting your work involves, and only your own records can tell you. If you don't track it yet, be conservative: a year with no gaps between projects is rare, and every unbilled day has to be paid for by the billed ones.

Should I charge by the day or by the hour?

A day rate stops clients from counting your minutes and suits work that needs focus. An hourly rate suits small, interrupt-driven jobs. Many freelancers quote a day rate and keep an hourly rate for small changes. Either way, fixed prices for well-defined work are often better for both sides.

Is the calculated rate what I should charge?

It is the floor: the rate below which your plan doesn't work. What you charge also depends on your market, your experience and the value of the work to the client. If nobody ever pushes back on your price, it is probably too low.

Put the rate on paper

OIO puts it on proposals and invoices in any currency, tied to the client and the project, and shows what is outstanding and what is paid. Free plan, no card.

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Other free tools: invoice generator, quote template, payment reminder email.