About the Freelance Rate Calculator
Knowing your hourly rate is only the start. Clients often want a price in a different form: a day rate for on-site work, a weekly or monthly figure for a retainer, or a single fixed price for a whole project. Converting between them sounds simple, but a fixed price in particular needs care — projects almost always take longer than planned, and the extra time is either built into the price or given away for free.
This freelance rate calculator turns an hourly rate into a day rate, a week rate and a month rate, using the hours you actually bill in a day and the days you work in a week. Enter an estimated number of hours for a project and a contingency, and it also gives a fixed project price with that allowance for the unexpected already included.
How to Use the Freelance Rate Calculator
Enter your hourly rate. If you do not know it, the hourly rate calculator works it out from your income target, tax, expenses and billable hours.
Enter the billable hours per day — often 6 to 8, not every hour at your desk.
Enter the days per week you work.
To price a project, enter the estimated hours and a contingency percentage.
How Freelance Rates Are Calculated
day rate = hourly rate × billable hours per day
week rate = day rate × days per week
month rate = week rate × 52 ÷ 12
project price = estimated hours × (1 + contingency) × hourly rateStep-by-Step Example
An hourly rate of 75, 7.5 billable hours a day, 5 days a week, and a project estimated at 40 hours with a 15% contingency.
Day rate: 75 × 7.5 = 562.50
Week rate: 562.50 × 5 = 2,812.50
Month rate: 2,812.50 × 52 ÷ 12 = 12,187.50
Project hours: 40 × 1.15 = 46
Project price: 46 × 75 = 3,450.00Hourly, Daily or Fixed Price?
Hourly billing is the safest when the scope is unclear, because every hour is paid for. But it caps what you can earn, penalises you for working quickly, and makes clients watch the clock.
Day rates suit on-site work, workshops and ongoing engagements. They are easy for clients to budget and remove arguments about individual hours.
Fixed prices reward efficiency and expertise: if you finish faster, you keep the benefit. They also let you price on the value of the result rather than the time. The risk is that the work takes longer than planned, which is what the contingency is for.
Many freelancers use a mix: fixed prices for well-defined projects, day rates for consulting, and hourly billing for small ad-hoc requests.
Choosing a Contingency
Most estimates are too low, even for experienced people. Revisions, unclear feedback, technical surprises and extra meetings all add time. A contingency of 10–25% is common, with more for unfamiliar work or clients whose requirements tend to change.
A clear scope protects the contingency. State what is included, how many rounds of revisions the price covers, and how extra work will be charged. Then the contingency covers genuine surprises rather than growing requirements.
Retainers and Month Rates
The month rate here assumes every working day is billed. That makes it a ceiling for a full-time engagement rather than a realistic monthly income. For a part-time retainer — say two days a week — multiply the day rate by the days agreed. Retainers are valuable because they reduce the time spent finding new work, and some freelancers offer a small discount in return for the commitment.
Presenting a Project Price
How a price is presented affects how clients react to it. A single total with a clear description of what it includes is easier to approve than a list of hours. Breaking the project into stages, each with its own deliverable and price, makes larger projects easier to accept and lets you invoice as each stage is completed, which helps cash flow.
Offering two or three options — a basic version, a recommended one and a premium one — lets the client choose the level of service, and often leads them to the middle option. Each option can be priced with this calculator by changing the estimated hours.
Deposits and Payment Terms
For fixed-price work, asking for a deposit before starting is common and reasonable: 25–50% is typical, with the rest on completion or at agreed milestones. A deposit confirms the client's commitment, covers some of your time if the project is cancelled, and reduces the risk of working for weeks without being paid.
Set clear payment terms on every invoice, such as payment within 14 or 30 days, and state what happens if payment is late. Many countries give businesses a legal right to charge interest on late payments, and knowing that can help with slow payers.
Understanding Your Result
Day rate is the hourly rate times the billable hours in a day.
Week rate multiplies the day rate by the days per week.
Month rate is the week rate averaged over a month.
Project price is the fixed price including contingency.
Worth knowing explains the advantage of day and project pricing.
When Should You Use This Calculator?
Quoting a day rate to a new client.
Pricing a fixed-fee project.
Setting a retainer.
Comparing an hourly quote with a fixed price.
Checking whether a client's budget covers the work.
Common Mistakes
Assuming 8 billable hours in every day.
Quoting a fixed price with no contingency.
Leaving the scope vague.
Treating the month rate as guaranteed income.
Pricing on time alone when the result is worth much more.