Freelance Day Rate Calculator
Enter the income you want, your business costs and how much time you will actually be able to bill.
Add VAT on top if you are registered. This does not work out your tax.
Worked examples
A £50,000 target
£50,000 target, £5,000 costs, £3,000 pension, 5 days a week, 25 holiday days, 8 bank holidays, 5 sick days, 20% not billable
£327 a day, £40.82 an hour
About 178 billable days a year must bring in £58,000.
About Freelance Day Rate Calculator
An employee gets pay for holidays, sick days and the hours spent on admin. A freelancer earns only on the days they bill. If you want to earn £50,000, dividing by 260 working days gives a rate that will leave you short, because holidays, bank holidays, sickness, training, finding new clients and doing the accounts all come out of the year.
This calculator starts from the income you want and adds your business costs and pension savings to find the money you need to bring in. It then removes the time you will not be working or billing, and divides. You get the day rate, the hourly rate and the number of billable days you really have. It is a way to price your work on purpose rather than by guesswork.
How to use Freelance Day Rate Calculator
- Enter the income you want before tax, your yearly business costs and your pension savings.
- Enter the days a week and the hours a day you work.
- Enter your holiday, bank holidays, sick days and training days, and the share of time that is not billable.
- Read the day rate and the hourly rate, then check that the market will pay it.
Common uses
- Setting a first day rate when going freelance
- Checking whether your current rate covers your costs
- Seeing what a week less billable time does to the rate
- Comparing a contract rate with a permanent salary
Sources
Last reviewed 18 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can a freelancer bill?
Fewer than most people think. After holidays, bank holidays and sick days, you may have about 220 working days, and after finding work and admin, 150 to 180 may be billable. Be honest about your own figure.
Should I add VAT to the rate?
If you are VAT registered, add VAT on top of the rate you quote. The rate here is the amount you need for your own income and costs.
Does this include tax?
No. The target is your income before tax. Tax depends on how you trade, so ask an accountant, and set the target high enough to leave what you need after tax.
How does it compare with a salary?
To match a £40,000 salary with benefits and holiday pay, a freelancer typically needs to charge noticeably more than the salary divided by working days.
What counts as not billable?
Marketing, chasing invoices, admin, learning, gaps between projects and unpaid proposals. Many freelancers spend 20 to 40 percent of their working time on these.