AllSquare

Free Freelance Rate Calculator

Find out what to charge as a freelancer or self-employed professional. Calculate your hourly rate, day rate, or annual income — instantly.

£
£/year
%
%

You should charge

£35.74

per hour

Daily rate

£285.90

Hourly rate

£35.74

Monthly income

£3,333

Billable hours/year

1,504

Total revenue needed

£53,750

Love this tool? The app does even more.

Create and send invoices using your calculated rate. Save your details so you never type them again.

  • Create invoices at your calculated rate
  • Track billable hours
  • Send invoices directly
  • Save clients & price lists
  • Works offline
  • Cloud sync across devices
Download Free

About the freelance rate calculator

Most freelancers undercharge — not because their work isn’t worth it, but because rate-setting is genuinely hard. Setting a rate properly means working backwards from your real annual income target, then accounting for expenses, tax, holidays, sick days, admin time and the gap between “hours worked” and “hours billable.” That maths is awkward in your head; it’s simple in a calculator. AllSquare’s free freelance rate calculator does it for you. Enter the income you want to take home, your business expenses, the hours you can realistically bill, and the calculator returns your hourly rate, day rate and annual gross. Use it as a sanity check on what you’re charging now, or as a starting point when pricing a new contract or retainer.

How to use the freelance rate calculator

  1. 1

    Set your target take-home

    How much do you want to earn after tax and expenses? This is the number that needs to come out at the end.

  2. 2

    Add your business expenses

    Software, hardware, accountant, insurance, phone, co-working — anything you spend to run the business.

  3. 3

    Set your working hours

    How many billable hours can you realistically work in a week? Most freelancers manage 25-30, not 40 — admin, sales and unpaid time eat the rest.

  4. 4

    See your rates

    The calculator shows your hourly rate, day rate and annual gross. Adjust the inputs to model different scenarios.

Why use the freelance rate calculator

🆓

Free, no sign-up

No email capture, no card details. The calculation is yours to use however you want.

⏱️

Hourly and day rates

See both at once. Pricing some clients hourly and some day-rate? Both numbers come from the same target income.

💷

Tax-aware maths

The calculator works in gross, then nets down for tax — so your take-home target is the number you actually keep.

📊

Honest billable hours

Most freelancers can only bill 60-70% of their working time. The calculator accounts for this so you don’t under-price.

Freelance Rate Calculator FAQs

Is this calculator really free?

Yes. No sign-up, no email, no card details. Use it as often as you want, on as many scenarios as you want.

How do I decide what take-home income to aim for?

Start with your real living costs (rent, food, transport, savings, fun) and add a margin for the year you want to have. Most established UK freelancers target £40k-£80k take-home; specialists go higher. The calculator works backwards from whatever number you set.

How many hours can I realistically bill?

Almost no full-time freelancer bills 40 hours a week. 25-30 billable hours is more typical for an established practice — the rest goes to sales, admin, learning and rest. The calculator defaults to a sensible figure but you can adjust it.

Should I match agency rates?

Agency day rates often look high but cover overheads (offices, account managers, sales teams) you don’t have. As a freelancer you can usually charge 60-80% of an equivalent agency day rate and net more income — because you keep more of it.

What about VAT?

If you’re UK-based and earn over the VAT threshold (£90,000 from April 2024), you need to register for and charge VAT on your invoices. VAT is added on top of your rate, not taken from it — so it doesn’t affect this calculator’s output for your earnings.

How often should I revisit my rates?

Most freelancers review at least once a year. If you’re busy enough that you turn work down, your rate is probably too low and worth raising; if work is hard to find, look at positioning and demand before cutting price.

Need to do this on the go?

The full AllSquare iOS app turns voice descriptions into invoices, manages your client list and price list, tracks payments, and works offline. Free to download with a free tier.

Download for Free

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