Set a daily rate that covers your target income, overheads and profit.
Your daily rate must first cover your income target, then absorb overhead and profit margins, because not every working day is billable or profitable. Setting rates without accounting for non-billable time and overhead is why many freelancers work full-time yet under-earn.
Freelance Daily Rate
Daily rate = target income / billable days / (1 - overhead) / (1 - profit)
Daily rate = target income / billable days / (1 - overhead) / (1 - profit) Your daily rate must first cover your income target, then absorb overhead and profit margins, because not every working day is billable or profitable.
Setting rates without accounting for non-billable time and overhead is why many freelancers work full-time yet under-earn.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Target annual income, Billable days per year, Overhead, Profit target. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.