What Should I Charge Calculator
Determine your ideal freelance rate based on desired income, expenses, taxes, and realistic working time.
Rate target details
This calculator auto-updates when values change.
Work backwards from desired income, tax, expenses, and realistic billable time.
Required day rate
£513
To keep about £60,000 after tax and expenses, you need roughly £513 per billable day.
Required annual revenue
£92,333
Hourly equivalent
£73
Billable days
180 days
Expenses included
£9,000
About This What Should I Charge Calculator
What Should I Charge Calculator is designed for practical business planning, not abstract spreadsheet modelling. It turns a common commercial decision into a clearer number so you can compare options before committing time, money, or client expectations.
Freelance pricing often fails because people start with what feels acceptable instead of working backwards from income, expenses, tax, and billable capacity.
The result is an estimate based on the inputs you provide. Real outcomes depend on taxes, contracts, payment timing, market demand, client behaviour, and operating costs.
Practical Example
If you want GBP 60,000 of take-home income, have GBP 9,000 of annual expenses, and can bill 180 days, the required day rate may be higher than a quick salary comparison suggests.
The useful part is not only the headline result. The supporting breakdown shows which assumption drives the outcome and where a small change would make the biggest difference.
How to Use This Strategically
Use the result as a floor, not a ceiling. If the required rate feels high, check whether your billable days are too optimistic or whether your positioning needs to support a stronger price.
Run a conservative scenario and an optimistic scenario. If the decision only works under perfect assumptions, it probably needs a stronger margin of safety.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Avoid using best-case inputs for billable time, conversion, churn, client stability, or costs. Business calculators are most useful when they reveal risk early rather than confirming a plan you already wanted to believe.
If the result affects pricing, hiring, contracts, product direction, or cash reserves, compare it with real accounting data and professional advice before making a major decision.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Enter realistic inputs
Use current numbers where possible, and avoid best-case assumptions unless you are deliberately testing upside.
- 2
Review the headline result
Start with the main result, then compare the supporting metrics underneath it.
- 3
Test a second scenario
Change the weakest assumption to see whether the decision still works.
- 4
Use the output for planning
Treat the result as a planning signal, not as a guaranteed business outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the What Should I Charge Calculator do?v
Determine your ideal freelance rate based on desired income, expenses, taxes, and realistic working time.
Are the results exact?v
No. They are estimates based on the numbers you enter and should be checked against real business records.
Can I use this for client or investor decisions?v
Yes as a planning aid, but important decisions should be supported by accounting, legal, tax, or commercial advice where relevant.
Why should I test multiple scenarios?v
Business plans are sensitive to assumptions. A low, expected, and high scenario gives a more useful range than one perfect-looking result.