Freelance rate calculator
Stop guessing your freelance rate. Know the floor you can defend.
Folio Rate turns your income goal, expenses, taxes, and billable hours into a practical hourly range, day rate, half-day rate, and weekly minimum — so you can quote with confidence instead of guessing.
Built for web, design, creative, and independent service freelancers. No signup required to calculate.
Folio Rate gives you a planning floor based on your own numbers — not market benchmark data.
Most freelancers underprice without realizing it
Rates often get set from gut feel — not from what the business actually needs to stay alive. Taxes, software, insurance, non-billable admin, and downtime quietly eat into the number you quoted.
The hidden costs add up
Self-employment tax, tools, and expenses come out of every invoice before you keep a dollar.
Billable is not working time
Sales, revisions, learning, and admin are real hours you can't bill — so they have to be priced in.
A floor protects your margins
Knowing your minimum makes discounts, retainers, and negotiations deliberate instead of guesswork.
Who it's for: web designers and developers, UI/UX and brand designers, motion and creative pros, copywriters, and independent service freelancers who quote project or hourly work.
How it works
Four inputs, one defendable floor. No account, no spreadsheet.
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Set your take-home goal
The after-tax income you actually want to earn for the year.
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Add expenses and taxes
Monthly business costs and an estimated tax rate get layered back on top.
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Enter your billable time
Realistic weeks worked and billable hours per week — not total hours at the desk.
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Get your rate floor
An hourly range plus day, half-day, and weekly minimums you can quote from.
Calculate your rate floor
Fill in your numbers and Folio Rate returns an hourly range plus day, half-day, and weekly minimums — all calculated in your browser, with nothing sent anywhere.
Enter your real operating numbers. The calculator shows the minimum you need to charge before discounts, scope creep, or market positioning.
Your defendable rate floor
This is the minimum planning rate your numbers support. It is not a ceiling, a market benchmark, or a guarantee — it is the line you should understand before you quote less.
This rate card is a planning guide built from the numbers you entered — not market benchmark data. It marks the floor below which the work isn't sustainable long-term.
Tip: in the print dialog, turn off Headers and footers and keep Margins: Default for the cleanest one-page PDF.
Get the quote checklist
A practical checklist to turn this rate floor into a scoped, client-ready quote. It's in the works — add your email to be first in line when it launches.
Signup flow verified locally. No email was sent.
Early preview: this form isn't connected to email yet, so nothing is sent or stored. Real delivery will require a separate, approved step.
From rate floor to client-ready quote
Your floor is the starting point. Here's the path from a defendable number to a quote you can send with confidence.
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1. Know your floor
Run your numbers in the calculator above to get an hourly range plus day, half-day, and weekly minimums.
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2. Save your rate card
Use Print / Save as PDF to keep a clean one-page rate card for your records and clients.
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3. Get the quote checklist
A practical checklist for turning your floor into a scoped, client-ready quote. It's in the works — after you calculate, add your email to be first in line.
In progress
Questions, answered
Is this market rate data?
No. Folio Rate doesn't pull benchmark or survey data. It calculates a planning floor from the numbers you enter — the minimum your own goals, costs, and available hours support.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's a planning tool, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Use it to inform your pricing, and check tax specifics with a professional for your situation.
Why is billable time different from working time?
You can't bill every hour you work. Sales calls, proposals, revisions, admin, learning, and downtime are real but unbillable, so your rate has to cover them within the hours you can actually charge for.
Should I charge above the floor?
Usually, yes. The floor is the minimum, not the target. Strategy, rush work, high-stakes delivery, and strong positioning are all reasons to price above it.
Can I save the result?
Yes. After you calculate, use Print / Save as PDF to keep a clean one-page rate card. Your inputs stay in your browser.