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Freelancer Rate Calculator
Turn a salary goal into a billable rate
Employees get benefits, paid time off, and half their payroll tax covered. Freelancers cover all of it — so your rate must be much higher than salary ÷ 2080. Defaults use dated US planning assumptions (as of 2026-09-28). Instant recalculation — no signup.
Results
Required hourly rate
$0.00
0 billable hours / year · Gross needed $0.00
Target take-home$0.00
Business expenses$0.00
Self-employment tax (~14.1%)$0.00
Benefits buffer$0.00
Gross you must earn$0.00
Planning math only. Self-employment tax is approximated at 14.13% of (gross − expenses). Real liability depends on deductions, brackets, quarterly payments, and state rules. Not tax advice.
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How this freelancer rate calculator works
The classic mistake is dividing your old salary by 2,080 and calling it your rate. That ignores three costs employees never see: the employer's half of payroll tax, benefits, and unpaid time. PlainCalc grosses up your target take-home plus expenses for self-employment tax (~14.13% effective) and a benefits buffer, then divides by your real billable hours.
Billable hours deserve honesty. A 40-hour work week rarely yields 40 billable hours — proposals, admin, and marketing eat a third or more. Many full-time freelancers bill 20–25 hours a week for 46–48 weeks. Enter those numbers truthfully; the rate only works if the hours are real.
The 2× rule of thumb
A quick sanity check: your freelance rate should usually be 1.5–2× your old hourly wage. If you made $40/hr as an employee, $60–$80/hr freelance is the realistic range once taxes, gaps, and benefits are priced in. If this calculator lands far below that, your billable-hours assumption is probably optimistic.
Start with the annual take-home you want. Add business expenses. Gross that up for self-employment tax (about 14.13% effective) and a benefits buffer for retirement and insurance. Divide by your realistic billable hours per year — not 2,080. This calculator runs that math with dated US assumptions.
What is self-employment tax?
US freelancers pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare: 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings, which works out to about 14.13% effective. Employees only see half (7.65%) because employers pay the rest. This is the single biggest cost new freelancers underestimate.
How many billable hours should I assume?
Be conservative. Most full-time freelancers bill 20–30 hours a week for 46–48 weeks a year after admin, marketing, and time off. Using 40 hours × 52 weeks produces a rate that looks cheap but starves you.
What should my benefits buffer cover?
Everything an employer used to fund: retirement contributions, health insurance, paid time off, and an emergency fund for dry spells. Ten percent is a floor; many planners use 15–25% depending on insurance costs.
Should I charge hourly or per project?
Use the hourly rate from this calculator as your internal floor, then quote projects at hourly × estimated hours plus a buffer for revisions. Never quote below the floor — that is the number that keeps you solvent.
Is this tax advice?
No. Dated planning math for rate-setting. Estimated quarterly payments, deductions, and entity choice (LLC, S-corp) change real liability — talk to a tax professional.
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