Freelance rate calculator spreadsheet: find your floor rate

Work out a freelance hourly rate from target pay, costs, taxes and billable hours, then turn it into a package price.

"What should I charge?" has a math answer before it has a market answer: the rate that covers your costs, your taxes, your unpaid hours and the income you want. This guide builds that rate in a spreadsheet, then turns it into a package price. Every number below is an example: swap in your own.

1. Start with the yearly income you want

Write down the take-home pay you want for the year, then add your yearly business costs (software, equipment, insurance, a share of home office or co-working) and a set-aside for taxes. Your accountant can tell you a sensible tax percentage for your situation.

revenue needed = (target pay + business costs) ÷ (1 − tax set-aside %)

2. Count your billable hours honestly

Not every working hour is billable. Admin, sales calls, invoicing and learning take time too. Count working weeks (minus holidays and sick days), multiply by hours per week, then by the share you expect to bill.

billable hours = working weeks × hours per week × billable %

3. Your floor hourly rate

floor rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours

Worked example (made-up numbers): target pay $60,000; business costs $6,000; tax set-aside 25%. Revenue needed = $66,000 ÷ 0.75 = $88,000. 46 weeks × 40 hours × 60% billable = 1,104 hours. Floor rate = $88,000 ÷ 1,104 ≈ $79.71 per hour.

4. Turn hours into a package price

Clients often prefer a fixed price. Estimate the hours for the package, multiply by your rate, add direct costs (stock assets, contractor help) with a markup, and add a buffer for revisions and scope drift.

package price = (hours × rate + direct costs × (1 + markup %)) × (1 + buffer %)
effective hourly rate = package price ÷ actual hours spent

After each project, compare the effective hourly rate with your floor rate. If it keeps landing below, raise the package price or tighten the scope.

5. Check it against the market

Look at what freelancers with similar experience publish. The floor rate tells you where you stop making a living; the market tells you how far above it you can go.

Do it in a spreadsheet

The Spreadoodle Freelance Rate & Package Pricing Calculator runs both steps for you. To track clients and hours once the work comes in, see the guide on a freelance client tracker spreadsheet.

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.