The Forever Freelancer book cover

From The Forever Freelancer

Internal Hourly Rate Calculator

Use this to calculate what you actually need to earn based on your life and freelance business — not a standard 40-hour workweek.

Instructions
  1. Factoring in your annual expenses (including potential/actual business expenses), determine your annual income goal.
  2. Decide how many weeks you'll work (typically around 48 weeks a year, factoring in vacations, sick days, etc.).
  3. Estimate your billable hours, or how many hours you can realistically spend each week on client work (usually in the range of 20–30 hours a week. Time on admin, marketing, and other business tasks is on top of this).
  4. Calculate your internal hourly rate + add a buffer (for business taxes and to pad your margins).
  5. Use this number to set your project, retainer, or flat-fee rates.
Your numbers
Enter annual figures in US dollars.
$