KitebillFreelance hourly rate calculator
Start from the money you want to take home, not from what other freelancers charge. This works out the revenue you need after fees, expenses and a tax set-aside, then the minimum hourly rate, day rate and project quote that gets you there. It can also convert the result into your client's currency.
How the numbers work
- Profit you need = take-home ÷ (1 − set-aside %). With a 20% set-aside, 30,000 take-home needs 37,500 profit.
- Revenue before fees = profit + expenses = 40,500 in the example.
- Revenue you invoice = that ÷ (1 − fees %), because platforms and transfer services usually take their cut from what you invoice: 40,500 ÷ 0.95 = 42,631.58.
- Billable hours = weeks × hours per week × billable share: 46 × 40 × 60% = 1,104.
- Minimum hourly rate = revenue ÷ billable hours: 38.62. The day rate is that × your billable-day hours, and a project quote is hourly rate × estimated hours × (1 + buffer).
Everything is simple arithmetic, rounded to 2 decimals at the end. The proposal line rounds the hourly rate up to a whole number. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
Getting the inputs right
- Working weeks: take out holidays, public holidays and a few sick days. Nobody bills 52 weeks a year.
- Billable share: the hours a client actually pays for. Sales, proposals, invoicing, admin and learning count as work but aren't billable. Track your own weeks rather than trusting any rule of thumb, including our example.
- Fees: what your marketplace, payment platform and currency conversion take, as a share of what you invoice. Check each provider's current pricing page. Fees change, and the amount that lands in your account is often less than the invoice.
- Expenses: software, internet, equipment, a share of electricity or a desk, courses, and accounting help.
- Set-aside: enough for income tax where you live plus some savings for slow months. This isn't tax advice; local rules vary a lot.
Hourly, day rate or project price?
Hourly rates are easy to explain but cap what you earn, and clients start watching the clock. A day rate suits on-site or full-day work. A project price rewards you for working fast, but only if you estimate well, so add a buffer for revisions and back-and-forth. Whatever you quote, the minimum hourly rate here is your floor: if a project price works out below it, either the scope or the price needs to change.
Clients abroad
If you think in rupees or dirhams but bill in dollars, fill in the client currency and today's exchange rate. Quote in one clear currency, say who pays transfer fees, and keep the local-currency value in your own records rather than on the invoice. Our USD to PKR invoice page and multi-currency invoice guide cover the invoice side.
Once you're billing at your rate, the next job is getting paid. The free Kitebill app keeps invoices in any currency with the exchange rate you actually got, records the amount that really arrived after fees, and flags overdue invoices. It's free for 3 clients and 10 invoices, with no account, and Pro is US$29 once.