How to calculate your freelance hourly rate
Stop guessing. Here's the exact formula I use to price my freelance work—and why most freelancers charge way too little.
No gurus · No upsells · Just the math
For people who work for themselves
I went all-in on Upwork and Fiverr for six months and made $0. So I built the toolkit I wish I'd had on day one.
Tools, reviews, and honest advice for freelancers, solopreneurs, side hustlers, and anyone making money on their own terms.
Explore the tools 12 free tools · no signup
Rate calculator Live
$60,000
25
$0/h
the hourly rate you need
Free tools, built for the money problems
All toolsGet paid right
Price the work, send the invoice, collect what you're owed.
Itemised
Project Quote Calculator
Turn a scope of work into a defensible, itemized quote — with complexity, contingency and rush built in.
Open tool True $/hr
Hourly vs Project Rate
See your effective hourly on a fixed-price gig, the break-even hours, and a plain-English verdict.
Open tool 1.5% / mo
Invoice Late Fee Calculator
Work out exactly what an overdue client owes today, plus a copy-ready reminder line.
Open tool $94/hr
Freelance Rate Calculator
Reverse-engineer the hourly rate you actually need from your target take-home.
Open toolSurvive the slow months
Runway, taxes, and budgets so a dry spell doesn't end you.
Runway, mo
Freelance Burn Rate Calculator
How many months can you survive with no income? Get your runway and an honest status read.
Open tool 30% aside
Freelance Tax Estimator
Ballpark what to set aside for taxes so quarterly bills never blindside you.
Open tool What's safe
Freelancer Budget Planner
Plan irregular income against fixed costs and see what's safe to spend.
Open tool Compounded
Freelancer Retirement Calculator
No employer match? Model compound growth on what you set aside yourself.
Open toolFind good clients
Spot the red flags early and work across time zones sanely.
Focus & logistics
The small utilities that keep the day moving.
Guides worth your time
All guidesHow to Price Your First Freelance Project (Without Guessing)
A simple, honest framework for pricing your first freelance project — covering your real costs, choosing hourly vs fixed, and quoting with confidence.
How Much Runway Do You Actually Need to Go Freelance?
Before you quit, know your runway. A practical look at how to calculate how long you can survive without income — and how big a cushion is safe.
Honest tool reviews
All reviews Invoicing
Wave Accounting Review: Is the Free Plan Enough for Freelancers?
For solo freelancers who mostly need to send clean invoices and track income, Wave's free tier is hard to beat — just know where its limits start.
Wave Accounting
Why this site exists
I started out the way a lot of people do — burning months on bidding platforms for work that paid almost nothing. This is the toolkit and the honest advice I wish someone had handed me on day one. No gurus, no upsells, just the math and the warnings.
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