Freelancers

Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator

Work backwards from target income, overhead and the hours you can genuinely invoice to the rate you need to charge.

Delivery: Instant download
Purchase: One-time payment
Format: Google Sheets
Excel
Updated: August 2026

$5.90

What this spreadsheet does

Dividing a target salary by 2,080 hours produces a rate that cannot deliver it. On the worked figures the honest rate is 2.7 times the naive one.

What you can do with it

Set a rate that supports the income you need
Measure what share of your week you can actually invoice
See what unbillable time costs you per hour

What's included

Sheet tabs

Instructions
Rate Calculator
Billable Ratio
Rate Scenarios

Features

Rate calculated from target income, overhead, working weeks and billable ratio
Margin handled as a share of revenue rather than an uplift on cost
Twelve weeks of worked against invoiced hours, so the billable ratio is measured rather than guessed
Period ratio weighted by hours, so a light week does not count the same as a heavy one
The naive target-divided-by-2080 rate shown alongside, with the gap between them
Seven billable-ratio scenarios against the same income target

How it works

1Enter target income, overhead, working weeks and hours a week
2Measure your billable ratio on the second tab before trusting it
3Compare the rate needed at other billable ratios

Who it's for

Freelancers, consultants and sole traders setting or reviewing a rate.

Sample figures are a worked example. Overhead, working weeks and billable ratios vary widely between freelancers.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the rate so much higher than my old salary per hour?

Because an employer was carrying overhead, unbillable time, holiday, sick pay, equipment and employment taxes on top of the salary. Comparing a freelance rate to an hourly salary compares a whole business to one line of its cost.

What billable ratio should I use?

Measure it rather than choose it, which is what the second tab is for. Most solo operators land between 50% and 65%, and people who have never measured usually expect 80%.

Is this rate before or after tax?

Before. The target income is what the business has to generate, not what reaches your account. Set aside for tax separately from every payment.