Kiaro · Free tool for freelancers
You're probably charging for a full week you never actually bill.
Most freelancers set their rate by dividing the salary they want by 2,080 hours, as if every hour were billable. It isn't. Move the sliders and see the rate you actually need.
Your numbers
Rough figures are fine. You can feel the shape of it in a few seconds.
To take home $80,000, this is what every billable hour has to earn.
That is 2.7× the naïve rate of $38/hr you would get from “desired salary ÷ 2,080 hours.”
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A planning estimate, not tax or accounting advice. Expenses are treated as pre-tax business costs and tax is applied to profit; your local rules will differ.
Why the number surprises people
Half your week is invisible
Sales calls, proposals, admin, and chasing invoices are real hours, but no client pays for them. If you only bill 25 of a 40-hour week, every billable hour has to carry the other 15.
You don't work 52 weeks
Holiday, sick days, and quiet stretches quietly delete weeks from the year. The rate has to absorb the time you are not earning at all.
Tax and costs come first
Before a cent reaches your pocket, tax and business expenses take their cut. The headline rate is gross; take-home is what is left after both.
Questions
How do you work out your real hourly rate?+
Start from the take-home pay you want, add back tax and business expenses to get the revenue you need to invoice, then divide by the hours you can actually bill in a year (billable hours per week times the weeks you actually work). That final number is the rate you need, and it is usually far higher than dividing your target salary by a full-time year.
Why is my real rate higher than what I charge?+
Because you do not bill every hour you work. Sales, admin, invoicing, and time off are real but unbillable, so the hours you do bill have to carry them. Tax and expenses come out before you keep anything. Once all of that is counted, the rate you need is often close to double the naïve figure.
What is a good billable utilization for a consultant?+
Most independent consultants bill somewhere between 50% and 70% of their working hours. The calculator shows your utilization so you can price for the share you actually bill, rather than assuming every hour is billable.
Should I charge hourly or a fixed price?+
The calculator gives you the hourly floor you need to hit your income target. Many consultants use that number to sanity-check a fixed or value-based price, which usually earns more per hour than billing time directly. Either way, knowing your real hourly rate keeps you from underpricing the fixed quote.
Is this tax or financial advice?+
No. It is a planning estimate to help you set a rate. Expenses are treated as pre-tax business costs and tax is applied to profit; your local rules will differ. Use it to sanity-check your pricing, not to file with.
Stop guessing your utilization
Kiaro tracks billable vs non-billable time automatically.
The number above is only as good as your guess at how much you really bill. Kiaro logs every hour, shows your true utilization, and turns tracked time into an invoice with one click.