Consultant Hourly Rate Calculator

For consultants and freelancers. Reverse-engineer the hourly rate you need from the income you want, with realistic billable hours.

Quick answerTo find your hourly rate, take your target annual income plus business expenses, multiply by (1 + margin), then divide by billable hours per year (typically 25 hours/week × 48 weeks = 1,200 hours).

Your numbers

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$
$
hrs
weeks
%
Your hourly rate
$97.75/hr
Based on 1200 billable hours per year and $117,300.00 needed.
Daily (8 hrs)
$782.00
Weekly (40 hrs)
$3,910.00
Monthly retainer
$13,294.00
Where this comes from

($90,000.00 income + $12,000.00 expenses) × 1.15 = $117,300.00 ÷ 1200 billable hours = $97.75/hr

How this calculator works

Hourly = (income + expenses) × (1 + margin) ÷ (billable hours/week × weeks/year). Daily = hourly × 8. Weekly = hourly × 40. Monthly retainer = weekly × 4 × 0.85 (a 15% discount that's standard for committed monthly engagements).

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Last updated: 2026-06-17