The question freelancers ask most often: "how much should I charge?"
The question they should ask: "what do I need to earn to make this sustainable?"
Those are different questions with different answers.
The sustainability number
Start with what you need to take home. Not what you want — what you need to cover rent, food, bills, savings, and a small buffer. Be honest.
Now gross it up:
- Add pension (you are funding this yourself — 5-10% of income)
- Add business costs (software, accountant, insurance, equipment, training)
- Add tax and NI (self-employed NI is Class 2 + Class 4 — roughly 10% on profits above £12,570)
- Divide by realistic billable days (not working days — billable days. For most freelancers: 160-180)
That number is your floor. You cannot price below it without subsidising your clients.
Why most freelancers undercharge
The floor calculation reveals something uncomfortable: most people need to charge 30-50% more than they thought.
The usual response is to assume the market will not pay that. It usually will, because most of your competition is also undercharging and burning out.
The clients who push back hardest on price are rarely the clients worth having.
The market rate check
Once you have your floor, benchmark against the market. Not job boards (they are biased low). Look at:
- What similar freelancers quote in community discussions
- Platforms like Contra or Toptal for your specialism
- What agencies charge for the same work (then price somewhere in between)
If the market rate is above your floor: great. That is your starting price, not your floor.
If market rate is below your floor: you have a positioning problem, not a pricing problem.
The confidence problem
Most people know their rate is too low. They charge it anyway because raising it feels risky.
It is less risky than you think. The worst outcome is a client says no. The second worst outcome is they say yes and you spend the next year undercharging them.
Check your numbers
The day rate calculator walks through every variable: landolio.com/tools/day-rate-calculator
Includes tax, NI, pension, business costs, and realistic billable days.
When did you last review your rates? What stopped you from raising them?
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