Freelance Rate Calculator for Designers
Built around how design work actually gets billed: revision rounds and client feedback eat more unbillable time than a generic rate calculator assumes.
Why designers usually need a lower billable-hours estimate than they think
Design work carries more unbillable time than most freelance disciplines: discovery calls, mood boards nobody approves, and feedback rounds that don’t move the project forward. Plan around 30 billable hours a week the way a consultant might, and you’ll come up short — many freelance designers bill closer to 20 to 25 hours out of a 40-hour week once revisions and client communication are accounted for. Set your billable-hours estimate accordingly below, and the rate you get back will actually protect your income.
How to use this
- Enter the yearly take-home pay you want after tax.
- Add your yearly business expenses.
- Set your tax rate and weeks off — your minimum hourly rate updates instantly.
- Day rate (8 billable hours)
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- Revenue needed per month
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- Revenue needed per year
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- Billable hours per year
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- Estimated tax per year
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A worked example
A mid-career freelance designer wants $65,000 take-home a year, has $5,000 in yearly expenses (software licences, a portfolio site, insurance), plans for 4 weeks off, pays an effective 27% tax rate, and — accounting for revisions and client calls — can realistically bill 22 hours a week.
- Billable hours per year
- (52 − 4) × 22 = 1,056 hrs
- Grossed-up take-home
- $65,000 ÷ (1 − 27%) = $89,041.10
- Revenue needed per year
- $89,041.10 + $5,000 = $94,041.10
- Minimum hourly rate
- $94,041.10 ÷ 1,056 = about $89/hr
- Day rate (8 billable hours)
- about $712
These are the exact numbers already entered above — adjust any of them and the result updates live.
How this rate is worked out
Your take-home pay is grossed up for tax, business expenses are added, and the total is divided by the hours you can bill: (take-home ÷ (1 − tax rate) + expenses) ÷ billable hours.
Should I charge extra for revision rounds?
Only if they’re unlimited. Most freelance designers build two or three rounds of revisions into the price this rate already covers, then charge separately — by the hour, or as a flat fee — for anything beyond that. Put the number of included rounds in writing before the project starts, so it’s clear when the meter restarts.
What if client work is off and on, not steady?
That’s normal for design work, and it’s exactly what the billable-hours field is for. If bookings vary a lot month to month, use a conservative estimate — closer to what a slow month looks like — rather than your best month. It’s easier to earn more in a busy month than to make up for a rate that was too low to begin with.
Does this rate cover ongoing work like a retainer or maintenance?
Not directly — this calculator gives you an hourly floor for project-based work. For predictable ongoing work, such as a monthly design retainer, use the retainer tool to compare a flat monthly fee against billing hourly, with the rate from this page as your baseline.