Calculate your day rate in 4 steps with our freelance salary calculator. Simply input your desired income, monthly expenses, working hours, and anticipated time off to estimate how much you need to charge by the hour or the day. Get started now.
To calculate your freelance day rate, you need to start by thinking about how much you’d like to take home after tax.
Example: you’d like to take home — per year (or — per month) after taxes and other business-related expenses are deducted.
Then, you need to calculate your expected monthly business expenses to work out exactly how much you’d need to earn each month.
Example: your total expenses are — per month (including — of tax), meaning you need to earn — every month.
Next, factor in the number of hours you expect to work in a week, and any time off you’re planning to take.
Example: You intend to work — billable hours each week over — days (around — billable hours per day). Factor in — for holidays and potential sickness, and you’re looking to be paid — days in the year for an average of — hours a day.
The final step is to calculate your day rate, which can be divided by the number of hours you plan to work in a day to get your hourly rate.
Example: to get your desired salary of — plus — for tax & expenses, you’ll need to charge a day rate of —, or an hourly rate of —.
The benefits of using a freelance pricing calculator include:
Freelancers get £30 off at Virtual HQ! Use code FREELANCE30.
Our freelance rate calculator is designed for anyone who wants to make sure they’re charging a fair day rate, such as:
Freelance day rates vary depending on the industry you’re working in and the type of service you’re providing. On average, freelancers will charge anywhere from £250 to £500 for a day’s work, but this of course varies depending on experience, sector, and the nature of each project. For example, freelance consultants are likely to charge higher, with some day rates coming in at £700+.
When using a freelance day rate calculator, take into account the following factors:
If you’re considering changing your freelancer rate, it’s important to do your research to make sure you’ll be asking for a competitive fee, before revisiting the freelance calculator to work out your new daily and hourly rate.
Communicate your new fees clearly on your website and social media, and give notice to existing clients that your rate will be increasing. Let them know that your rate will be changing, but that you’re excited to continue working with them. Some clients may ask to negotiate, so factor this possibility in to your initial calculations.
Charging an hourly rate or day rate is the most common way for freelancers to receive payment, but some freelancers will work on projects for a fixed price, or work on a monthly retainer agreement for long-term clients.
There are numerous challenges to being a freelancer – but often the benefits outweigh the
Whether it’s copyrighting and marketing, graphic design or website creation, your freelance skills are endlessly
It is often assumed that to start a business, you need bucket loads of cash,
Scaling and growing your business as a freelancer can be, well, tricky. With multiple hats
As a freelancer, your business is your brand – and first impressions matter. A Virtual HQ address gives you a credible, professional presence you can use on your website, invoices, and marketing, helping you win trust with clients from day one, while keeping your home address private. Take the first step towards building a more professional, secure, and scalable freelance business. Get started today – freelancers get £30 off their first Virtual HQ invoice!
15 offices in London
11 offices in Yorkshire
10 offices in Somerset
8 offices in Greater Manchester
8 offices in Scotland
7 offices in East Sussex
7 offices in West Midlands
6 offices in Wales
6 offices in Brighton and Hove
6 offices in Hampshire
Can’t find what you’re looking for?
View all locations
