Freelance Day Rate Calculator

Day rate to charge: £270.27
Hourly rate: £36.04
Days you can bill a year: 177.6 days
Total you need to bill: £48,000.00

What it does

Work out what to charge per day or per hour as a freelancer, contractor or sole trader. Start from the income you want, add your business costs, and spread it over the days you can actually bill once holidays, sickness and unpaid admin are taken out.

How to use it

Income you want a year: What you want to earn before tax, like a salary. If you're comparing with a job, add 10 to 20% for the pension, sick pay and holiday pay an employer would cover.
Business costs a year: Everything the business pays for: equipment, software, insurance, an accountant, travel, training and so on.
Days you work a week: How many days a week you plan to work.
Holiday days a year: Days off you'll take, not counting bank holidays. Employees in the UK get at least 20 plus bank holidays.
Bank holidays: 8 in England and Wales, 9 in Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland.
Sick and training days: Days you won't be able to work or will spend learning. Nobody pays you for these.
Time spent on unpaid work: The share of working days spent on admin, finding clients, quotes and gaps between jobs. 20 to 30% is common; long contracts can be lower.
Hours in a working day: Used to turn the day rate into an hourly rate.

Common uses

Setting your rates when you start freelancing.
Turning a salary into a contract rate to compare offers.
Working out the tax you'll pay as a sole trader. Try the Sole Trader Tax Calculator (UK)
Pricing a product or job with a margin. Try the Profit Margin and Markup Calculator

The formula

Working days = 52 × days a week − holidays − bank holidays − sick daysBillable days = working days × (1 − unpaid time ÷ 100)Day rate = (income + costs) ÷ billable daysHourly rate = day rate ÷ hours a day

Where:

Unpaid time: admin, sales and gaps between work that no client pays for

The rate is before tax and, if you're registered, before VAT. Income tax and National Insurance come out of the income you set.

Worked example

To earn £45,000 with £3,000 of costs, working 5 days a week:

Working days: 260 − 25 − 8 − 5 = 222
Billable after 20% unpaid time: 177.6 days
Day rate: £48,000.00 ÷ 177.6 = £270.27
Hourly rate over 7.5 hours: £36.04

Questions people ask

How do I convert a salary to a day rate?

A quick rule is salary ÷ 200 for a contractor day rate, but this calculator is more precise. £45,000 with 25 days' holiday, 8 bank holidays, 5 sick days and 20% unpaid time works out at about £253 a day before business costs, far more than £45,000 ÷ 260 days (£173).

Why is my day rate so much higher than my old salary per day?

Because as a freelancer nobody pays you for holidays, bank holidays, sick days, training or admin, and you cover your own equipment, insurance and pension. Your billable days have to pay for all of it.

Does this include tax?

The income you set is before tax, like a salary. You pay income tax and National Insurance on your profit, so check what you'll take home with the sole trader tax calculator.

Last checked 26 October 2026