What should you charge per hour?
Work backwards from the income you actually want to take home — after taxes, expenses, and the hours you can't bill.
Your numbers
Annual figures. Be honest about billable hours.
"Billable hours" should exclude admin, sales, and downtime — most full-timers bill far fewer hours than they work.
Track billable hours and turn them into invoices automatically with FreshBooks.
Pricing from the income you want, not the market average
Most freelancers pick a rate by copying peers, then wonder why they're always short. The reliable method is to start from the take-home you need, gross it up for the taxes you'll owe, add your annual business costs, and divide across the hours you can realistically bill — which is far fewer than the hours you work.
Once you know that floor, you can price above it with confidence. Charging below it just means working harder to fall behind.
Frequently asked
Add the take-home income you want plus your business expenses, divide by one minus your tax rate to get the revenue you must bill, then divide by your realistic billable hours per year.
As a freelancer you cover your own taxes, expenses, unpaid admin time, time off, and benefits. Your billable hours are also far fewer than the hours you work, so each billable hour has to carry more.
Most full-time freelancers bill 20–30 hours a week once admin, sales, and downtime are removed — not 40. Be conservative here or you'll underprice.