Freelance Rate Calculator
Work a day rate backwards from the income you want to take home — after tax, business costs, unbillable time and a buffer for late payers and gaps between engagements.
Free · No sign-up · Nothing leaves your browser · Figures reviewed 22 September 2026
Your details
Your overall rate, not your marginal one. The presumptive taxation scheme for professionals can make this considerably lower.
Equipment, software, insurance, accounting, workspace, professional development.
After weekends, holidays and the leave you intend to take.
The rest goes on selling, admin, invoicing and learning. 60–75% is realistic for most independents.
Late payers, sick days, the client that disappears. Employees get paid through all of this; you do not.
Day rate
₹15,495
₹1,937 an hour, to take home ₹15,00,000 after tax and costs.
- Your income · 63%
- Tax · 16%
- Business costs · 8%
- Buffer · 13%
Working backwards
- Income you want, after tax
- ₹15,00,000
- Before tax at 20%
- ₹18,75,000
- Business costsEquipment, software, insurance, accounting, workspace
- ₹2,00,000
- Buffer of 15%Late payers, sick days, the client that disappears
- ₹3,11,250
- Revenue needed
- ₹23,86,250
Days you can actually bill
- Working days a year
- 220
- Billable share
- 70%
- Billable days
- 154
- Day rate
- ₹15,495
- Hourly rateOver a 8-hour day
- ₹1,937
The gap between working days and billable days is what most freelance rates get wrong. Selling, invoicing, admin and learning are all work, and none of it is billable.
Against a salary
- Equivalent take-home as an employee
- ₹15,00,000
- Premium built into your rateCovers tax, costs, unbillable time and risk
- 59.1%
A freelance rate has to cover everything an employer would have provided — provident fund, gratuity, insurance, paid leave, equipment and the cost of not being paid between engagements.
GST registration is required above the turnover threshold, and clients who can claim input credit are indifferent to it. Quote whether your rate is inclusive or exclusive of GST, in writing, before the first invoice.
Clients deduct TDS on professional fees, so your bank credit is lower than your invoice. That is tax paid on your behalf, not a discount, and you reconcile it at filing.
The mistake in most freelance pricing is dividing a target salary by working days. Working days are not billable days: selling, invoicing, admin and learning are all work, and none of them is billable.
Build the rate backwards from take-home instead — through tax, costs, unbillable time and a buffer — and the number comes out very different from the one people first name.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate my freelance rate?
- Backwards from the income you want to take home. Gross it up for tax, add your business costs and a buffer, then divide by the days you can actually bill — not by working days.
- What percentage of days can a freelancer bill?
- Sixty to seventy-five per cent is realistic once selling, admin, invoicing and learning are accounted for. Assuming ninety is the commonest reason a freelance rate turns out to be too low.
- Should a freelance rate be higher than an equivalent salary?
- Substantially. It has to cover everything an employer would have provided — provident fund, gratuity, insurance, paid leave, equipment — plus the cost of not being paid between engagements. The premium on this calculator is usually 60–100%.
- Do I need to charge GST as a freelancer in India?
- Above the turnover threshold, yes. Clients who can claim input credit are indifferent to it, so it is rarely a pricing obstacle — but state clearly in writing whether your quoted rate includes GST, before the first invoice.
About this tool
Built by the ViniOffice team. Figures and rules last reviewed 22 September 2026 against the statutory reference this team maintains. Indian statutory rates are date-effective and change by notification — confirm against the current one before running payroll or filing.
Next, you might need
- Calculator
Contractor vs Employee Cost Calculator
Compare the full cost of an employee — CTC plus employer PF, ESI, gratuity and benefits — against a contractor's fees and GST, and read the misclassification risk that the arithmetic does not settle.
Open - Generator
Freelance Contract Generator
Generate an independent contractor agreement covering scope, fees, GST and TDS, the independent-contractor clause that keeps the engagement out of employment, confidentiality, intellectual property and termination.
Open - Calculator
GST Calculator
Add GST to an amount or extract it from a GST-inclusive one, with the CGST and SGST split for an intra-state supply or IGST for an inter-state one.
Open - Calculator
Income Tax Calculator FY 2026-27
Calculate income tax for FY 2026-27 under either regime, slab by slab, including the section 156 rebate, surcharge and 4% cess. The new regime's rebate threshold is ₹12,00,000 — not the ₹7 lakh two official pages still show.
Open
Set up your digital office
Join the early-access list for ViniOffice and be among the first teams in at launch.