Freelance hourly rate: how much to charge per hour
The calculator runs the other way round: not “how much should I ask for” but “how much does an hour have to cost so the income adds up”. In go the money you want to keep, your schedule, days off, tax and yearly expenses; out come the minimum hour, the recommended one with a buffer, and the same rate converted to 1,000 words. The key field here is the share of billable hours. That is what beginners forget: in an eight-hour freelance day five hours are paid at best, and the rest goes on finding clients, email, invoices and portfolio. Until that share is counted in, any rate turns out to be about half of what it should be.
How much you need
How many hours you have
Your rate
Fill in income, days and hours, and the rate will appear here.
Where the hours of the month go
If you raise the income target
| Monthly income | Minimum hour | Recommended | Per 1,000 words |
|---|---|---|---|
| The table appears once you enter your data. | |||
Your income data goes nowhere: everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is stored.
How the minimum hour is calculated
First the tool counts the pool of time. Working days per year are the days per month times twelve, minus days off and sick days; the result is divided back by twelve and multiplied by the hours in a day. That way time off is spread evenly instead of eating one whole month. Then only the billable part of the pool is left. Sixty percent of a hundred and fifty-five hours is ninety-three hours you actually get paid for. Everything you earn has to fit into them. Next comes the sum you have to invoice: the income you want plus the monthly share of yearly expenses, and then the whole sum is grossed up for tax. Divide it by the billable hours and you have the minimum hour. The recommended hour is the minimum plus twenty percent. That buffer is not greed: it is the month when a client disappeared, the broken laptop and the week you spent in bed with a fever.
Realistic numbers for 2026
The share of billable hours for a freelancer with steady work is 50–70 percent. Eighty and above happens on a payroll job, or for someone with two or three regular clients who spends no time looking for work. If you have just started, the first months are honestly 30–40 percent, and the rate at that share comes out high — a normal signal that the unpaid part has to be cut first. Writing speed for text with fact checks and proofreading is roughly 250–500 words per hour. Figures like 1,500 words per hour describe typing, not finished material. Yearly work expenses of a beginner writer are rarely zero: software subscriptions, a laptop every few years, courses, ads for your services, payment and transfer fees, an accountant at tax time. Something like $5,000–8,000 a year is a modest benchmark for a US or UK freelancer, not a maximum. The rate the tool gives you is a floor, not a market price. Broad ranges seen for English-language writing run to roughly $25 an hour starting out, $60 in the middle and $125 for a specialist — about £20, £45 and £95 in pounds — so if your minimum lands far above that, the fix is usually the share of billable hours rather than the price tag. The table with three income levels shows the main thing: to earn twice as much you have to double the rate as well. Taking more orders within the same hours will not work — there are no hours left.
What the calculator does not do
It does not promise that the market will pay your rate. This is the lower bound, below which you work at a loss; whether a client agrees is a matter of niche, portfolio and negotiation, not arithmetic. It does not count orders and does not forecast your workload. Empty months happen to everyone, and the twenty percent buffer is there for them. It does not know your taxes. The “tax” field is simply a percentage you type in yourself; the number differs for a sole trader and a limited company, for self-employment tax on top of income tax, and for income earned from clients abroad. And it does not convert currencies. The select only puts a symbol next to the number: exchange rates would mean an outside request, and this tool loads nothing.