What should you actually charge?
Most freelancers pick a number that sounds about right, then undercharge for years without noticing. Put your real numbers in and see what you have to charge.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser. Tax is a rough set-aside, not advice from an accountant.
You need to charge
$670
a day
$85 an hour
- Weekdays in a year
- 260
- Days you can work
- 235
- Days you can bill
- 141
- You need to earn
- $93,714
Divide by every weekday instead and you'd have charged $270. That's the gap most freelancers never notice.
Why the number comes out higher than you expected.
Three things that quietly keep freelance rates too low.
Dividing by every weekday
There are 260 weekdays in a year and you won't bill 260 of them. Take off holiday, illness, admin, pitching and the quiet weeks between projects and you're closer to 130. Half the days means twice the rate.
Forgetting the business pays for things
Software, hardware, insurance, an accountant, a co-working desk. That money comes out before yours does, so it belongs in the rate rather than in a quiet panic every January.
Quoting the number without the deposit
Half up front is normal in every other industry and it's normal here. The freelancers who ask for a deposit spend a lot less time chasing invoices later.
Worked out your rate? The hard part is asking for it. Folio hands a client your payment details privately, so the deposit conversation happens by design instead of in an awkward DM.
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