Freelance day rate calculator
Your salary divided by 260 is not a day rate. This works out what you actually need to charge.
How do you work?
5 days a week, 6 weeks off, 70% billable.
What do you do?
Sets typical costs for the role and shows the market band. Your income stays yours.
70% suits a busy year. First year, try 50 to 60. On long contracts, 80 to 90.
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You need to chargeHelloNoa
£326/ day
£44 an hour, for a 7.5-hour billable day
154 billable days a year with these assumptions.
Dividing £45,000 by 260 gives £173 a day. Your real number is 89% higher, because holidays, admin time, costs and pension all come out of billable days.
This is what you need before income tax, National Insurance and VAT. Enter the profit you want, not your take-home. VAT registered? Add 20% on top of this rate.
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How the maths works
The calculator takes 52 weeks, removes your holiday weeks, multiplies by days per week, removes sick and buffer days, then applies your billable share. That is the number of days that actually earn. Your target income, business costs and pension are spread across only those days.
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Figures last checked 30 October 2026: YunoJuno's 2026 rates report, ProCopywriters' 2026 survey, Harvest's billable benchmark, IPSE's 2019 holiday survey, gov.uk bank holidays.
Days that actually earn
Weeks in a year52
Holiday weeks− 6
Days per week× 5
Sick and buffer days− 10
Working days220
Billable share× 70%
Billable days154
Spread across those days
Target income£45,000
Business costs+ £3,000
Pension+ £2,250
To cover in a year£50,250
Billable days÷ 154
Day rate£326
FAQs
Honest answers.
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How do I calculate my freelance day rate?
Start from the income you want, add business costs and pension, then divide by your real billable days: 52 weeks minus holiday, times days per week, minus sick and admin buffer, times the share of your time that is billable. Salary divided by 260 ignores all of that and comes out far too low.
What is a typical utilisation rate for freelancers?
There's no official figure. Harvest's rule of thumb for freelancers is 50 to 80 percent of working time billable; 60 to 70 percent is a sensible starting point, lower in your first year and 80 to 90 on long contracts. The rest goes on finding clients, admin and learning. Replace the guess with your own tracked share after a few months.
Should my day rate include pension contributions?
Yes. Employees get employer pension contributions on top of salary; as a freelancer that money has to come out of your rate. The calculator adds your chosen percentage on top of target income.
How many billable days does a freelancer have per year?
With 6 weeks off, a 5-day week, 10 buffer days and 70 percent utilisation you get roughly 154 billable days, not the 260 working days a salary assumes. The 6 weeks cover holiday and bank holidays (8 in England and Wales, 10 in Scotland and Northern Ireland). IPSE's 2019 survey found freelancers took about 24 days off a year.
What is a typical freelance day rate in the UK?
YunoJuno's 2026 report (2025 bookings on its platform) puts graphic designers around £350 a day, copywriters around £410 (ProCopywriters' 2026 survey median is £440), digital marketing specialists around £325 and strategy consultants around £520. Contract web developers run £400 to £650 depending on stack and seniority. Photography ranges widest, from about £250 to £1,000 a day. These are averages from one marketplace and one trade survey, so use them to check you're not far out, not to set a price.
More questions? See all FAQs or email us.
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