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Hourly rate calculator for freelancers

Calculate your billing rate — with billable hours, operating costs, and a transparent formula. Not an employee hourly wage.

Calculate your freelancer billing rate — with billable hours, vacation, and operating costs. Not an employee hourly wage.

Your revenue goal — not net after tax. Equals 5.000,00 € per month.

Typically 35–40 h for full-time self-employment.

Admin, sales, bookkeeping — usually 70–80%, default 80%.

Insurance, software, tax advisor, hardware — typically 15–25%. Use 0% if already included in revenue.

General information only — not legal or tax advice. Tax and e-invoice rules can change; the applicable laws control (e.g. § 19 UStG, § 14 UStG). Confirm with a tax advisor or lawyer if unsure.

Freelancer hourly rate — not an employee hourly wage

This calculator is for self-employed freelancers who want to set a billing rate — not for employers deriving an employee wage from a monthly salary (that uses different formulas, e.g. the 173.33 rule).

How the hourly rate calculator works

  1. Target revenue per year or month (gross before income tax — your revenue goal, not net after tax).
  2. Effective work days = work days in the year − vacation − sick/downtime.
  3. Work hours = effective days × (hours per week ÷ 5).
  4. Billable hours = work hours × billable share (default 80%).
  5. Optional: add operating costs as a % of target revenue.
  6. Hourly rate = required annual revenue ÷ billable hours.

Hourly rate = (target revenue + operating costs) ÷ (work hours × billable share)

Example: €60,000 annual revenue

  • 255 work days − 25 vacation − 7 downtime = 223 days
  • 223 × 8 h = 1.784 work hours
  • 80% billable = 1.427 hours
  • €60,000 ÷ 1.427 ≈ 42,05 €/hr

At 100% billable it would be only about €33.63/hr — unrealistically low for most freelancers.

FAQ

What is the difference between hourly rate and hourly wage?
Hourly wage is for employees (salary ÷ hours). Your freelancer hourly rate is the price you put on invoices — including buffer for non-billable time and operating costs.
Why only 80% billable hours?
Not every work hour is invoiced: sales, bookkeeping, email, and admin take time without a client paying for them. Many freelancers plan with 70–80% billable hours — not 100%.
What are operating costs in this calculator?
Insurance, software, tax advisor, hardware, and similar fixed business costs. They are applied as a percentage of your target revenue and raise the rate you need to charge.
Is the hourly rate gross or net?
The calculator uses your target revenue before income tax. Social security, health insurance, and income tax are not deducted automatically — confirm with a tax advisor for your case.
Can I plan monthly instead of yearly?
Yes — choose “Month” and enter your target revenue per month. The calculator multiplies by 12 for the annual figure.

Related

Rate calculated — ready to invoice?

The tool above is free and does not save data. Effitrio keeps clients, invoices, and receipts in one place.

Without an account (this tool)

  • Calculate, check, or download once
  • No saved clients or invoices
  • Results are lost when you leave the page

With a free Effitrio account

  • Clients, projects, invoices & expenses in one workspace
  • Number invoices, save PDF/ZUGFeRD, send by email
  • AI receipt OCR — scan receipts instead of typing everything
  • AI watcher & follow-ups: overdue invoices, drafts & missing receipts — you approve before send
  • 10 invoices, 10 emails & 50 AI credits/month free

Move from one-off downloads to ongoing billing: save clients, send invoices, and track finances.

Learn more about Effitrio →

No credit card required. 10 invoices, 10 emails & 50 AI credits/month on the free tier.