Pricing is the thing every freelancer gets wrong at the start. I did. I charged too little because I was scared of losing clients.
So I built a day rate calculator that works backwards from what you actually need to earn.
How it works
You enter:
- Target annual income (after tax)
- Working days per year (deduct holidays, sick days, admin days)
- Tax rate (it estimates UK tax automatically)
- Business expenses (software, insurance, travel, etc.)
- Profit margin (the buffer that keeps you alive between contracts)
It gives you:
- Minimum day rate to hit your target
- Hourly rate (based on working hours per day)
- Tax breakdown
- Monthly take-home
The maths most freelancers get wrong
"I want to earn £50k, there are 260 working days, so I'll charge £192/day."
Wrong. You won't work 260 days. After holidays (25), sick days (5), admin/business development (30), and gaps between contracts (20), you're looking at 180 billable days.
£50k ÷ 180 = £278/day minimum. Before tax and expenses.
Once you add employer NI equivalent, professional insurance, software, and a 10% margin for quiet months, the real number is closer to £375/day.
That's why freelancers underprice. They divide by 260 instead of 180.
Try it
Free Day Rate Calculator — enter your numbers, see what you should actually charge.
No sign-up, runs in your browser, nothing tracked.
I also built calculators for self-employed tax, project quoting, and profit margins.
What's the biggest pricing mistake you've made as a freelancer?
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