Required hourly rate
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1 · Income target
What you want to end up with, per year
USD
Money in your own pocket after business costs, tax, contributions and pension set-aside.
%
Optional buffer retained in the business for slow months, reinvestment and growth. Enter 0 to skip.
2 · Time available
How many hours you can actually sell
wk
Deducted from 52. Unpaid when you are self-employed.
d/wk
Part-time is fine — enter 3, 3.5, 4…
h/d
d/yr
Varies by country — enter your own.
d/yr
Nobody pays you when you are ill.
%
The share of your working hours a client actually pays for. Admin, quoting, marketing, invoicing, bookkeeping and learning are not billable. 50–70% is realistic for most solo freelancers; be honest here or every other number in this tool is wrong.
3 · Business costs
Annual amounts, or a percentage of revenueTotal business costs—
4 · Taxes & contributions
Your rates — they differ by country
%
%
%
All three are applied to your pre-tax business profit (revenue minus business costs and retained margin). Enter your own effective rates — the average share you actually pay, not the top marginal band. Rates, thresholds, allowances and whether sales tax applies differ in every country: confirm locally with a qualified accountant.
Report header
Appears on the printed report — optionalShown in the “Notes & assumptions” section of the printed report.
Required rate
Billable hours per year
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Day rate
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Week rate
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Monthly retainer
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equivalent — covers the whole year
Where the money goes
Gross revenue → costs → tax → take-homeRequired rate vs utilisation
The single assumption that moves your rate mostCost breakdown
Every item, converted to an annual figure| Cost item | Basis | Per year | % of revenue |
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Project rate helper
Turn the hourly rate into a fixed project price
h
%
USD
Blank = required rate.
Quote this project at
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Buffered hours
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estimate plus risk buffer
Break-even hours
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hours before the price stops paying
Reality checks
The three questions that change rate decisions
%
USD
Per billable hour.
Rate comparison
Two to four candidate rates, side by side| Candidate rate | Hourly | Annual revenue | Take-home | vs target | Hours to hit target | Utilisation needed |
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