What's a normal billable ratio?

Most full-time freelancers bill 50–65% of a 40-hour week, 20–26 hours. The rest is sales, admin, email, and estimating. If your rate math assumes 40 billable hours, it's wrong by nearly half.

Should I charge different rates to different clients?

Yes, this tool gives your floor, not your ceiling. Price by client budget and value delivered; the floor's only job is telling you when to walk away.

How often should I raise my rate?

Re-run this yearly (costs change) and quote higher to every new client until the yes-rate drops below roughly 70–80%. Existing clients get smaller, announced increases.

Calculators

Freelance hourly rate calculator

Work backwards from the life you need to fund to the rate you should quote. An employed salary is not a rate: you are also buying your own equipment, insurance, slow months, and every hour you spend not billing.

Your numbers

Target annual take-home

What you want left over for living, after business costs and taxes.

Weeks not worked per year

Vacation, sick days, holidays, conference weeks, everything.

Billable hours per week

Hours you can actually invoice. Most freelancers bill 20–25 of a 40-hour week; the rest is admin, sales, and email.

Annual business overhead

Software, hardware, insurance, accounting, coworking, subscriptions.

Tax buffer

Rough combined rate set aside for income and self-employment tax. 25–35% is a common range in the US; refine it with the quarterly tax tool.

What the ledger says

Quote at least$110per hour

Day rate (at your billable hours): $875
Billable hours per year: 1,150
Gross revenue needed: $125,714

Estimate, not advice

The formula

Gross needed = (take-home + overhead) ÷ (1 − tax buffer). Rate = gross ÷ (billable hours × working weeks). Round up, never down.

What this ignores

Retirement contributions, health premiums as a separate line, currency risk, and the market ceiling for your niche. It gives you a floor, not a quote.

Field notes

What's a normal billable ratio?: Most full-time freelancers bill 50–65% of a 40-hour week, 20–26 hours. The rest is sales, admin, email, and estimating. If your rate math assumes 40 billable hours, it's wrong by nearly half.
Should I charge different rates to different clients?: Yes, this tool gives your floor, not your ceiling. Price by client budget and value delivered; the floor's only job is telling you when to walk away.
How often should I raise my rate?: Re-run this yearly (costs change) and quote higher to every new client until the yes-rate drops below roughly 70–80%. Existing clients get smaller, announced increases.