Your service, region and currency
Your numbers
Utilisation is the share of your working hours you can actually charge a client for. The currency symbol is for display only; no conversion is done.
Your results
- How your rate compares with typical rates
- Every opportunity ranked, with what each is worth
- Conservative, target and stretch scenarios
- A 90-day action plan for your biggest opportunity
- Printable, and you can save it as a PDF
What if you changed something?
Together that adds about a month, or a year.
Need the full picture? Pro (Business licence)
Your minimum rate is only the floor. Pro (Business licence) is for freelancers and consultants: it compares pricing models, shows profit by client and builds retainers, with an optional discount.
| Feature | Free | Pro (Business licence) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum hourly, day, project and retainer price | ✓ | ✓ |
| Currency and region selector | ✓ | ✓ |
| Service-type comparison (indicative) and biggest opportunity | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full report and 90-day plan | With email | No gate |
| Package price comparison (hourly vs fixed vs retainer) | – | ✓ |
| Profit per client or project (price vs true cost) | – | ✓ |
| Retainer calculator with optional discount | – | ✓ |
| Saved scenarios, CSV export, print report | – | ✓ |
| Branding panel (name, tagline, colours, logo) | – | ✓ |
Running an agency with a team? See Agency (Agency licence) on the RateFlow page.
How to use this calculator
- Service type, region and currency: pick the closest service and your region so your rate is compared with a sensible range. The currency symbol is for display only. You can also type your own typical range.
- Target monthly income: what you want to take home each month, after business costs.
- Monthly business costs: software, insurance, co-working, equipment and anything else the business pays for.
- Working weeks per year: after holidays, leave and sick days. Public holidays and leave differ by country, so check yours.
- Working hours per week and utilisation: utilisation is the share of those hours you can actually charge for. Most people overestimate it.
- Profit margin: the share of your revenue you want to keep in the business for slow months, growth and tax set-asides.
- Scope-change buffer: extra hours added to a project price to cover changes and revisions.
- Hours per day, project hours and retainer hours: used for your day rate, project price and monthly retainer price.
- Current rate and retainer share (optional): used to find your biggest opportunity.
- Type a number or drag the slider. Results update instantly. Copy share link reopens these exact numbers.
How it is calculated
Billable hours per week = working hours × utilisation. Annual billable hours = working weeks × billable hours per week. Required annual revenue = (monthly income × 12 + monthly costs × 12) ÷ (1 − profit margin). Minimum hourly rate = required revenue ÷ annual billable hours. Day rate = hourly rate × hours per day. Project price = hourly rate × project hours × (1 + buffer). Retainer price = hourly rate × retainer hours per month. Rates are calculated unrounded and rounded only for display.
Your biggest opportunity compares up to three changes: raising your rate when it is more than 5% below your minimum, billing more of your time when utilisation is under 65%, and adding a retainer when retainers are under 25% of your income. The first two are ranked by what they add per year. A retainer is shown as predictable monthly income and ranks first only when the other two do not apply.
Good to know: these are rates, not guaranteed earnings. They assume you can sell every billable hour at the rate shown. Income is take-home, and tax and social contributions are not modelled. Typical ranges are broad indicative figures, not audited statistics.
Terms of use, privacy and licence
Free to use. You may use this calculator free of charge for your own personal or business planning, and use your results in your own reports.
Licence. This is a limited, non-transferable licence to use the tool as provided. You may not copy, resell, redistribute or republish the tool or its code, remove its branding, or present it as your own, without written permission from . All rights in the tool remain with . The Pro edition has its own licence.
Estimates only. Results depend entirely on the numbers you enter. They are estimates, not a forecast, guarantee or financial, legal, tax or professional advice. Typical ranges are broad indicative figures, not audited statistics. The tool is provided "as is" without warranty, and to the extent the law allows, is not liable for decisions made using it. Nothing here limits any rights you have under consumer protection law.
Privacy. The calculator runs in your browser and the numbers you enter are not sent anywhere unless you ask for the full report. If you do, we collect your email address, first name (if given), your answers and the numbers in the calculator. We use them to provide your report and, as you agreed, to send occasional tips about pricing your work. We do not sell your data. This page saves a small flag in your browser so your report stays unlocked. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email, and ask us to access, correct or delete your data. We handle personal data in line with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA). Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which shares your IP address with Google. If analytics is enabled on this page, anonymous usage events (such as "calculator used") are recorded.
Changes. We may update or withdraw the tool at any time. These terms are governed by the laws of Singapore.
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