Most day rate calculators are broken.
They ask for your target salary and divide by working days. That's it. Clean, simple, completely wrong.
Here's what they miss:
- Tax. You don't keep your day rate. About 28-35% goes to HMRC depending on your income.
- Sick days and holidays. You probably won't bill 230 days a year. More like 200, if you're lucky.
- Gaps between contracts. Most freelancers have 4-8 unpaid weeks a year between gigs.
- Business expenses. Subscriptions, equipment, insurance, accountant — these come out of your rate.
- Pension. If you're not contributing, you're taking a pay cut every year you don't.
- Profit buffer. You need money to invest in the business, handle surprises, and grow.
I got tired of quoting too low because I'd used a dumb calculator, so I built a better one.
What the calculator does
This free day rate calculator lets you input:
- Target net income (what you actually want to take home)
- Realistic billable days (not theoretical maximum)
- Business expenses
- Pension contribution target
- Profit margin
It then shows you:
- The day rate you need to charge
- Your effective hourly rate
- Your annual tax estimate
- What happens if you change any variable
No sign-up. Works in your browser. Your data stays local.
The number that always surprises people
If you want to take home £60,000 and you're billing 200 days a year, you need to charge roughly £450/day. Not £300. Not £350.
Most people underprice by 25-35% because they forget about tax, gaps, and expenses.
The rate conversation
Once you know your real number, the conversation with clients gets easier. You're not guessing. You're not hoping. You have a floor.
Anything above the floor is profit. Anything below is subsidising someone else's business.
What do you find hardest about setting your rate?
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