How to Price Your Services: Finding Your Hourly Rate
Updated: October 2026. Rules and rates change; confirm with a professional or official source.
Many freelancers underprice because they compare their rate to a wage. A wage does not include taxes, expenses, unpaid hours or time off.
Start with your income goal
Decide your take-home. Add business expenses, then what you will set aside for taxes.
Count only billable hours
If only 25 of 40 weekly hours are billable, divide by 25. Subtract weeks off.
Example
Goal $70,000 take-home, $10,000 expenses, 25% tax set-aside: revenue needed is about $103,333. With 1,200 billable hours, your rate is about $86 an hour.
Beyond hourly
Project or value-based pricing can earn more when your work saves or makes the client money.
Use the hourly rate calculator.
Try our free business calculators →Important: these tools and guides are educational estimates, not financial, tax or legal advice. Results depend on your inputs and current rules. Talk to a licensed CPA, attorney or lender before making decisions.