Empowering freelancers to charge what they are truly worth.
We built freelancerateperhour.com because most freelance pricing advice online is fundamentally broken.
The Problem: The "Salary ÷ 2,080" Trap
When engineers, designers, copywriters, or consultants switch from full-time employment to freelancing, standard career blogs give them dangerous advice:
This formula leads directly to freelancer burnout and undercharging because it ignores the fundamental realities of self-employment:
- Non-Billable Overhead: Freelancers spend 30% to 45% of their working hours on client acquisition, proposals, administrative accounting, invoicing, and professional development.
- Unpaid Time Off: There are no paid sick days, vacations, or public holidays. If you don't work, you don't earn.
- Self-Employment Tax Burdens: Employers no longer split your payroll taxes. In the US, freelancers pay an extra 7.65% SECA tax; in the UK and Europe, contractor taxes require dedicated accounting.
- Hardware, Software, & Subscriptions: You must self-fund high-end workstations, cloud servers, Figma/Adobe licenses, insurance, and legal counsel.
Our 4 Core Principles
Client-Side & 100% Free
No paywalls, no mandatory signups, and no email gating to see your math. All financial computations run locally in your web browser.
Realistic 1,200 Hour Baseline
We base pricing on 25 sustainable billable hours per week over 48 weeks, ensuring you earn your target take-home pay with realistic capacity.
Global Tax Intelligence
Pre-configured regional tax rules for the United States (SECA), United Kingdom (HMRC), India (Section 44ADA), Germany (Freiberufler), Canada (CRA), Australia, and the Philippines.
Urgency & Geo-Arbitrage
Adjust rates dynamically for client purchasing power (US/EU/Global Tier 1 vs emerging markets) and apply standard rush surcharges (+25% to +75%).
Who We Are
Freelance Rate Calculator was founded by a collective of seasoned independent software engineers, product designers, and technical writers who have navigated the freelance economy for over a decade.
Having worked with clients ranging from Y Combinator-backed startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, we consolidated our internal rate-setting spreadsheets into an open, modern, and accessible web application.