How it works
Freelancers need to charge much more per hour than an employee earns, because the rate must also cover business expenses, the employer side of payroll taxes, unpaid time off and all the hours spent on sales and admin.
This calculator works backward from the income you want: it adds expenses and extra self-employment tax, adds a buffer for slow months and profit, then divides by the hours you can realistically bill.
Most full-time freelancers bill 50–70% of their working hours. Being honest about that number matters more than any other input.
Formula
Rate = (Income + Expenses + Extra SE tax) ÷ (1 − Buffer) ÷ ((52 − Weeks off) × Hours per week × Billable share).
Questions people ask
Why is my freelance rate so much higher than my old hourly wage?
An employer paid for your time off, benefits, equipment and half of your payroll taxes, and paid you for non-billable hours. As a freelancer you cover all of that from billable hours alone. Rates of 1.5 to 2.5 times the equivalent salaried hourly wage are common.
What is self-employment tax?
In the US, self-employed people pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare: 15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base, then 2.9%. An employee pays only 7.65%, so the extra cost is about 7.65%.
Should I charge hourly or by project?
Hourly is easiest to start with. Once you can estimate work reliably, project or value-based pricing usually earns more, but use the hourly rate here as your floor when quoting.