14 / FREELANCE RATE
Freelance & Contractor Rate Calculator
Work backwards from your desired take-home salary. Enter your expenses, tax rate, and working pattern — get the minimum hourly and day rate you must charge.
Income, Tax, and Borrowing Cluster
These pages work best as a connected cluster: calculate take-home pay, convert salary to freelance pricing, then pressure-test borrowing and repayment assumptions.
What You Need to Earn
Software, equipment, insurance, etc.
Income tax + national insurance/self-employment tax
How You Work
8 weeks off/sick/admin
Hours you actually charge clients
Admin, sales, networking, etc.
Your Required Rate
Minimum Hourly Rate
£352
to hit your take-home target
Minimum Day Rate
£2,110
based on 6 billable hours/day
Monthly Gross Required
£7,738
The Maths
Reality Check
Effective hourly (all hours incl. unpaid)
£163
Billable hours per year
1,320 hrs
Total hours worked per year (est.)
1,760 hrs
Weeks holiday / non-billable
8 weeks
Cluster Hubs
Use these organising pages when you want the main calculators and supporting guides for this topic grouped in one place.
Browse all calculatorsReturn to the main calculator directory for adjacent salary, borrowing, and savings pages.Open the income, tax, and borrowing hubKeep salary, freelance, loan, and affordability pages grouped within one commercial cluster.Open the property, tax, and estate hubUse the adjacent planning hub when income questions turn into tax-aware property or wealth decisions.
Related Calculators
Move sideways to closely related calculators without leaving the same topic cluster.
Related Guides
Use these supporting explainers when you need the formula, assumptions, or decision framing behind the numbers.
How Salary Take-Home Is CalculatedBreak down gross-to-net pay across tax and social contribution systems.Salary Sacrifice: Tax and National Insurance Savings ExplainedSee when pension and benefit salary sacrifice changes take-home outcomes.Freelance Rate: Working Backwards from Desired SalaryConvert target income into billable day-rate requirements.Loan Repayment: True APR ExplainedUnderstand repayment schedules, APR, and total borrowing cost.