Our Mission
CalcMyRate was built with a single, clear mission: to help freelancers, independent contractors, and gig workers stop undercharging and start building sustainable, profitable businesses. We believe that financial stress is one of the biggest causes of burnout in the freelance community, and it almost always stems from one root problem — not knowing your true rate.
Why We Built This Tool
When transitioning from a traditional 9-to-5 job to freelancing, most people make the same critical mistake: they take their old annual salary, divide it by 2,080 hours (40 hours x 52 weeks), and call it their hourly rate. But freelancing is not a salary job. As an independent business owner, you are responsible for your own taxes, health insurance, software subscriptions, hardware, vacation time, sick days, and the hours you spend on unpaid admin and marketing.
If you don't factor these hidden costs into your pricing, you will effectively be working for less than minimum wage, no matter how high your hourly rate seems on paper. We built CalcMyRate to make the math simple, transparent, and accessible to everyone.
How It Works
Our calculator uses a proven, industry-standard formula used by financial advisors and successful freelance coaches. It takes your desired net income and works backward, adding your estimated tax burden, annual business expenses, and a profit buffer for slow months. It then divides that total by your realistic billable hours — accounting for vacation, holidays, and unbillable admin time.
The result is your minimum viable hourly, daily, and monthly rate. It's the absolute floor you should accept to maintain your desired lifestyle and keep your business healthy.
Who Is This For?
CalcMyRate is designed for freelancers across all industries, including but not limited to:
- Graphic Designers & UI/UX Designers
- Web Developers & Software Engineers
- Writers, Copywriters & Content Creators
- Business & Management Consultants
- Social Media Managers & Digital Marketers
- Photographers, Videographers & Editors
- Virtual Assistants & Project Managers
Our Commitment to You
CalcMyRate is and always will be 100% free to use. We do not require you to create an account, we do not ask for your email address, and we do not sell your data. Our goal is to provide a genuinely useful tool that the freelance community can rely on. We sustain the platform through ethical, non-intrusive advertising and by continuously improving the calculator based on user feedback.
Get in Touch
We read every message we receive. If you have a feature request, found a bug, or just want to share your success story after raising your rates, we would love to hear from you. Visit our Contact Page to reach out.