Break-Even Calculator (Units)
Units sold so contribution margin covers fixed overhead for that horizon.
Open calculator →Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Hourly rate that backs into an annual income goal after realistic billable hours.
Overview
Translate take-home ambitions into hourly pricing only after you shave hours for taxes, holidays, biz dev, edits, and sales calls. Forty-hour weeks are rarely forty billable.
When to use this calculator
- When your rate feels low but you cannot point to which cost you forgot
- Before you quote a retainer that assumes a fixed number of billable hours
- When taxes, software, and unpaid admin are real and need a home in the math
- When you move markets or currency and need a fresh hourly floor
Rule of thumb
Billable hours are usually far below “40 hours a week.” If you skip admin and taxes, the rate will look artificially low.
Terms used in this calculator
- Conversion rate
- Share of a clear baseline group—visits, sessions, leads—that finished the goal you named.
- CPC
- What you paid on average for one ad click.
- ROI
- Return compared to everything you counted as investment—often wider than ads alone when people say "full ROI."
Calculator
Required hourly rate
$127.27/hr
Results are simplified estimates for educational purposes only and should not be treated as financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. See our disclaimer for details.
Formula
Annual income goal ÷ billable hours per year. Exclude hours you simply cannot invoice.
Example calculation
Using the default example values from the JSON seed for this tool:
- Annual income goal
- 140000
- Billable hours per year
- 1100
Result: $127.27/hr (Required hourly rate)
How to interpret this result
Implied hourly rate from annual income goal and billable hours capacity.
It does not add overhead for taxes, benefits, or non-billable admin unless you lower billable hours.
Raise hours or lower goal to see how sensitive the rate is.
Common mistakes
- Underestimating admin, sales, and vacation time in “billable” hours.
- Treating revenue goal as take-home pay before taxes.
- Ignoring currency or FX for global clients.
What to do next
Layer project pricing afterward if most work is scoped as fixed fee.
How to improve this result
- Add vacation, sickness, sales calls, and admin into “non-billable” before dividing goals.
- Separate business expenses and taxes from your personal draw when naming targets.
- Use project pricing when scopes vary wildly—hourly hides scope risk poorly.
Recommended tools
- Bonsai Contracts, proposals, and invoicing built for freelancers.
- ProfitWell Pricing and retention resources for subscription businesses.
- Wave Free invoicing and accounting tools for small businesses.
FAQ
- Should taxes live here?
- Lower billable hours or raise the goal—they model tax drag better than multiplying hourly by a magic factor at the end.
- Currency conversions?
- Convert once upfront; bouncing FX mid-year needs a fresh run.
- Does this replace project quotes?
- No—jump to project pricing when fixed fees absorb scope risk.
- What about subcontractors?
- Add their lift to your overhead goal or hourly floor before quoting.
- Why does the rate spike when hours drop?
- Math is ruthless—fewer invoiceable hours need higher dollars per hour to hit income.
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Open calculator →Affiliate disclosure
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