Freelance Rate & Bench Visualizer
Reverse engineer billable hourly rate required to cover taxes, overhead, & time off.
Income & Expense Targets
Effective Hourly Rate
$0/hr
Minimum Day Rate (8h)
$0/day
Gross Annual Revenue Distribution
The freelance hourly rate that actually covers your life
Dividing a target salary by 2,080 hours massively underprices freelance work. That math ignores taxes you now pay yourself, vacation weeks with no income, the admin, sales and invoicing hours nobody pays for, and the gaps between contracts.
Start from the take-home pay you want, add your tax rate, admin ratio, vacation and a bench buffer, and this visualizer works backwards to the minimum hourly and day rates you must charge, with a clear breakdown of where every billed dollar goes.
Why is my freelance rate higher than a salary hourly rate?
A salary hides employer taxes, paid vacation, benefits and unpaid admin time. As a freelancer you pay all of that yourself and only bill a fraction of your hours, so the billable rate must be higher to land at the same take-home pay.
What is a bench buffer?
A reserve, usually 5 to 15 percent, that covers gaps between contracts, late payments and quiet months so a dry spell does not become a crisis.