Stop guessing your rate. Work it out.
Enter the take-home you want, the overheads you carry and the hours you can realistically bill. The calculator returns the hourly, day and annual rate that gets you there — accounting for tax, expenses and dead time.
30–40%
Average undercharge
The gap between what most freelancers bill and what they should.
25–30 hrs
Real billable hours
Per week — not the 40 most pricing guides assume.
60 secs
Time to model your rate
From opening the page to seeing the numbers.
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
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
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.
What your gross rate is actually made of
When a client agrees to pay you £500 a day, you’re not taking home £500. Roughly half of that goes to costs you don’t see at the point of invoicing. The calculator does the maths — but it helps to know the shape of it.
Take-home target
50–60%The money that actually lands in your bank account after tax and expenses. This is the number you set; the calculator works backwards.
Tax and NI
20–35%Income tax, National Insurance and (for ltd companies) Corporation Tax. Always set up a separate tax savings pot — don’t spend gross.
Business expenses
5–15%Software, hardware, accountant, insurance, phone, co-working. They look small individually and add up to thousands a year.
Buffer for slow months
5–10%Nobody bills 50 weeks a year. Holidays, sickness, dry weeks and chasing new work all eat into hours — price for it deliberately.
Four inputs, three answers
- 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
Add your business expenses
Software, hardware, accountant, insurance, phone, co-working — anything you spend to run the business.
- 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
See your rates
The calculator shows your hourly rate, day rate and annual gross. Adjust the inputs to model different scenarios.
Why use the AllSquare rate calculator
Run the numbers in 60 seconds
No account, no spreadsheet, no “book a call with our pricing coach.” Type your target income and the calculator does the rest — you can model three scenarios before the kettle’s boiled.
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.
Pricing questions, answered
- Is there a usage limit or paid tier I’ll bump into?
- No. The calculator runs in your browser — there’s no server-side limit, no “save your scenario for £9/month” gate, no email required to see the result. Model as many rates as you like; nothing leaves your device.
- 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.
Once you know your rate, send the quote.
The AllSquare iOS app takes your hourly and day rates and produces branded estimates and invoices in seconds — so the work of pricing becomes the work of billing.
Other free AllSquare tools
Invoice Generator
Create a professional PDF invoice in your browser. Add line items, tax and discounts. No sign-up.
Open the invoice generator →Estimate Generator
Create a professional PDF estimate in your browser. Add line items, tax and discounts. No sign-up.
Open the estimate generator →Receipt Generator
Create a professional PDF payment receipt in your browser. No sign-up, no watermark.
Open the receipt generator →Timesheet Generator
Create a professional PDF timesheet in your browser. Track hours, projects, overtime and rates.
Open the timesheet generator →