How to set an hourly rate (2024)

Many professionals, regardless of their years of experience, find it difficult to set their own fees for their work. For beginners, it's difficult because of self-doubt and a lack of understanding of their value as a specialist. For professionals who used to work for companies, the transition to freelancing becomes a kind of test of adaptation, flexibility, and qualifications. Establishing an hourly rate that is adequate to market conditions is the first step to financial independence and a successful start or transition to freelancing.

How to calculate the hourly rate for freelancing?

Regardless of the field you work in, the easiest way to calculate your desired rate is to base it on the amount of your desired annual income.

Example 1:

For example, let's imagine that you are an aspiring designer and would like to earn $20,000 in annual income. Assuming that you work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week, we'll get the following calculation:

20000:52:40=9.6$

However, this calculation does not take into account any vacation or sick leave days, taxes, or life and health insurance costs. It is important to understand that when setting the price for your labor, you must take all these aspects into account yourself. Therefore, let's consider the same example by adding the minimum social package to your desired annual income:

Example 2

Desired income of $20,000

Taxes (assuming that you are a sole proprietor at the rate of 5%) 1000 $

UNIFIED SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION 500$.

Health insurance 500$.

3 weeks of vacation

1 week of sick leave

Then the calculation will be as follows:

(20000+1000+500+500): (52-4)=11,46$

What should you do if you go to a website where freelance jobs are posted, as well as offers of cooperation, and you see that your rate per hour is much higher or much lower than the average rate on the exchange?

Hourly rate on freelance marketplaces

What if I'm new to my field?

If you are a beginner and don't have a history of completed orders, it can be difficult to find customers in the beginning. In this case, a good strategy would be:

  1. Set your hourly rate lower than the average on the exchange (by 10-15%)
  2. Wait for the first client and do the job perfectly.
  3. After a few successful orders, you will have a rating, and you will be able to raise the price per hour of your work to the desired one.

What if I am an experienced specialist but have no freelance experience?

  1. Describe your experience and participation in projects in detail in your portfolio.
  2. Set the price per hour 25-30% higher than the average price on the exchange for the services of specialists in your field.
  3. Take an interest in projects that you would be interested in working on, be bold and proactive, because you have the necessary skills and experience.

Negotiating with clients about remuneration

It often happens that a client finds you either on their own or on someone else's recommendation and immediately asks for the price per hour. In this case, it can be especially difficult to give a price because you don't have time to think about it. In this case, it's best to:

  1. Find out the approximate duration of the project (the shorter and more urgent the project, the higher your rate should be)
  2. Find out the country where the client lives and look at the average price per hour there
  3. Find out as much as possible about the complexity of the project and the number of people involved.
  4. Ask for a sample contract and terms of cooperation.

How to set an hourly rate (2024)

FAQs

How to set an hourly rate? ›

To calculate your own ideal hourly rate, divide your adjusted annual salary (your desired annual salary + your costs and expenses) with your number of billable hours, and then round up this figure, to the nearest dollar.

How do I decide my hourly rate? ›

You can get a general idea of your hourly rate by averaging the number of weekly hours you work over a certain period of time, like a month or two. Divide weekly pay by hours worked. Divide your weekly salary by the number of hours you work per week—or the average hours worked per week.

How do I determine my hourly rate? ›

First, determine the total number of hours worked by multiplying the hours per week by the number of weeks in a year (52). Next, divide this number from the annual salary. For example, if an employee has a salary of $50,000 and works 40 hours per week, the hourly rate is $50,000/2,080 (40 x 52) = $24.04.

How to propose an hourly rate? ›

8 useful tips on how to get the hourly rate you want
  1. 1 - Find out about your potential client/employer. ...
  2. 2 - Prepare yourself for possible tasks. ...
  3. 3 - Do not try to justify your price, but positively present the service that the customer gets for your hourly rate. ...
  4. 4 - Always adapt your hourly rate to the project in question.

What should I charge per hour? ›

Desired profit amount + desired salary + operating costs / number of income producing hours = your hourly rate. For example: Desired profit of $16,500 + desired personal pre-tax salary of $83,500 + operating costs of $30,000/1040 income generating hours = $125 per hour.

What should I put as my desired hourly rate? ›

Since most online applications these days force you to fill in the answer, you're going to have to give them something. But instead of providing a number, try writing “negotiable,” or “market rate.” If you're forced to put in a number, try giving a salary range.

What should I set my hourly rate to? ›

To calculate your own ideal hourly rate, divide your adjusted annual salary (your desired annual salary + your costs and expenses) with your number of billable hours, and then round up this figure, to the nearest dollar.

What should my freelance hourly rate be? ›

18-24 years – $16/hour. 25-34 years – $19/hour. 35-44 years – $24/hour. 45-54 years – $27/hour.

How to calculate hourly pricing? ›

Cost-per-hour is determined by taking fully-loaded-cost in a time period and dividing it by the total number of hours available in that same time period. For example, $100k annual cost / 2080 annual hours = $48 cost per hour.

How do I calculate my hourly time? ›

So here's a step-by-step run-through of how to count hours, along with an example.
  1. Step 1: Determine start and end time. ...
  2. Step 2: Convert time to military time. ...
  3. Step 3: Subtract start time from end time. ...
  4. Step 4: Subtract unpaid breaks. ...
  5. Step 5: Convert to decimal format. ...
  6. Step 6: Add up total hours for pay period.
Sep 23, 2021

How do you suggest hourly rate? ›

Negotiate a higher hourly wage
  1. Know what your time is worth and use that to start the conversation. ...
  2. Do your research on compensation. ...
  3. Point to your research and work experience rather than details of your financial situation. ...
  4. Gather wage information from the hiring manager first– then start high. ...
  5. Don't be afraid of “no”

How do you set an hourly contract rate? ›

A general guide to calculating your hourly rate as an independent contractor is to multiply your hourly wage as a permanent employee by 50 to 75 percent. Then, add it to your hourly. When you work with a range, you can be flexible depending on the length of the contract, industry, and location.

How do you answer what is your hourly rate? ›

Next time a client asks you for your hourly rate, respond with this script: “Thanks for asking. We don't bill by the hour. We have found that it is better, for both our clients and us, to create a detailed project scope and a fixed price.

How do I work out my hourly rate? ›

To calculate your hourly pay from your salary:
  1. Find the number of hours you worked.
  2. Divide your salary by the number of hours you worked.
  3. The result is your hourly pay.

What is the formula for hourly rate? ›

To calculate the hourly rate, divide the annual salary by the number of hours worked per year. For example, an employee who earns $50,000 per year and works 2,080 hours per year would have an hourly rate of $24.04 ($50,000 / 2,080 hours).

How do I decide how much to charge? ›

If you want to know how to determine pricing for a service, add together your total costs and multiply it by your desired profit margin percentage. Then, add that amount to your costs. Pro tip: Consider your costs, the market, your perceived value, and time invested to come up with a fair profit margin.

How do you answer what's your hourly rate? ›

Next time a client asks you for your hourly rate, respond with this script: “Thanks for asking. We don't bill by the hour. We have found that it is better, for both our clients and us, to create a detailed project scope and a fixed price.

What is my effective hourly rate? ›

To calculate your effective hourly rate, take your yearly income and divide it by the hours you work each year. If you don't have enough data for a full year, you could also take your latest monthly income and divide it by the hours you worked that month. You can even do this on a weekly basis.

Is it better to be on salary or hourly wage? ›

But salaried employees enjoy more benefits for the most part, such as paid vacation and sick days, retirement accounts, and other employer-sponsored benefits. Hourly workers don't usually receive compensation in the form of paid leave by the companies who hire them and they may be responsible for their own healthcare.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Virgilio Hermann JD

Last Updated:

Views: 5831

Rating: 4 / 5 (61 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Virgilio Hermann JD

Birthday: 1997-12-21

Address: 6946 Schoen Cove, Sipesshire, MO 55944

Phone: +3763365785260

Job: Accounting Engineer

Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.