Freelance business / FREE CALCULATOR
Freelance project hourly rate calculator
Compare planned and actual earnings before income tax per project hour after direct costs, and see the price needed to meet your target.
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Replace the sample figures with your own assumptions.
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Planning estimate only. It is not a guaranteed quote, tax calculation or professional recommendation.
Calculation notes
What this number means
Planned rate equals original fee less planned direct costs, divided by planned hours. Actual rate equals original fee plus extra fees paid less actual direct costs, divided by actual hours. The target price is actual direct costs plus actual hours multiplied by your target rate; the gap compares that price with total fees. These are before income tax, fixed overhead or other costs unless included in direct costs, and they do not value your own labor separately.
Example: a fixed-fee project that took longer
Suppose you quoted $3,000, expected $400 in direct costs and planned 30 hours. Your planned rate after those costs was about $86.67 per hour. If the client paid $300 more, actual costs were $600 and you spent 45 hours, your actual rate would be $60 per hour before income tax and excluded overhead.
At a target of $80 per hour, the required fee under those same actual cost and time assumptions is $4,200. That is a planning comparison, not a claim that a client owes the difference. Include admin, revisions and travel in your hours; list subcontractor payments as costs, but do not also count subcontractor hours as your own.
For video work, use the revision cost calculator to model an additional round before agreeing to it.
Useful context
Before you use this estimate
Is this my profit after tax?
No. The hourly result subtracts entered project costs from fees, then divides by your hours. It is before income tax and any overhead or expenses you did not enter.
Should I count my own hours as a project cost?
Enter your own work as hours, not also as a direct cash cost. Subcontractor payments and project expenses belong in direct costs.
Are my inputs saved or uploaded?
The calculation runs in this browser tab. Inputs are not sent to a calculation server.