Pricing Calculator for Freelancers, Hourly Rate Quick Calculator, Excel Google Sheets

Pricing calculator for freelancers: type six numbers and see the hourly rate you must charge. In the example, $40 an hour really keeps $15.66 per hour worked. The same example needs $74.65 an hour ($75 on the rate card) to take home $60,000 a year. One tab, two minutes, Excel and Google Sheets.

WHAT IT DOES
Type the take-home pay you want, a tax set-aside rate, your yearly business costs, the weeks and hours you work, and the share of your hours a client pays for. The Calculator tab turns them into the minimum hourly rate you must charge, rounded up for your rate card. It then shows what any rate you are considering really pays you per hour worked, with a plain-words verdict against your goal, and turns your rate into a quick job quote with materials and markup. A row of bars shows the rate you need at 50%, 60%, 70% and 80% of your hours billed, because billable share moves your rate more than any other number.

Every result shows its work. In the example, a $60,000 take-home goal with 25% set aside for tax and $6,000 of yearly costs needs $86,000 of revenue, spread over 1,152 billable hours: $74.65 an hour. Each of those hours splits into $52.08 take-home, $17.36 tax set-aside and $5.21 of expenses.

WHAT YOU GET (one zip, four files)
- Hourly-Rate-Quick-Calculator.xlsx: Start Here, Calculator and Terms tabs
- Start-Here-Letter.pdf: the two-page guide, US Letter
- Start-Here-A4.pdf: the same guide, A4
- LICENSE-AND-DISCLAIMER.txt

Works in Excel for Windows and Mac, Google Sheets (upload, then File, Save as Google Sheets), LibreOffice and Numbers. Plain formulas only: no macros, no add-ons, no sign-up. The example is already filled in, and every input cell shows a hint when you select it. The yellow cells are yours to change; every other cell is a locked formula a stray keystroke can't break. Any currency: the maths is the same, change the symbol under Format, Number.

WHO IT IS FOR
Freelancers, consultants, coaches, designers, developers, virtual assistants, tradespeople and anyone else who bills by the hour and wants to know what to charge before quoting. If you need overhead by category, presets for seven trades and full job quotes, that is the Service Business Pricing Calculator in this shop; the Terms tab links to it.

TRY IT FREE FIRST
Try the free browser version first: search ProofNotFluff hourly rate calculator, or open https://proofnotfluff-a11y.github.io/Proofnotfluff-pins/hourly-rate-calculator/. It runs the same minimum-rate and rate-check maths on a web page. This download adds the file you keep, the rate card rounding, the billable-share bars, the quick job quote, the Start Here guide and the hints in every input cell.

HOW YOU GET IT
Instant download. Download from a web browser on your computer or phone (Etsy, You, Purchases); the Etsy app can't download digital files.

HOW TO USE IT
1. Open the Calculator tab. The example is already filled in, so you can see how every number is made.
2. Type over the yellow cells with your own numbers. Each one shows a hint when you select it.
3. Read your minimum rate in the dark tile at the top, test any rate in Check a rate, and price a job in Quick quote.

THE SOURCE INSIDE THE FILE
The example's 25% tax set-aside is a starting point you change to fit your own situation. The Notes section cites the US self-employment tax rate of 15.3% from IRS Topic 554 (page updated Sep 24, 2026, checked Oct 6, 2026).

QUESTIONS
Does it work in Google Sheets? Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive, open it, then File, Save as Google Sheets. Every formula is a plain formula.
Can I use it outside the US? Yes. Type your own tax set-aside rate and your own currency; nothing is tied to US rules.
Is there a survey or a link page before the file? No. The zip is the download, and the workbook is inside it.

Made with AI assistance and reviewed and tested by the shop owner.
Information and planning tool only, not legal, tax, financial or other professional advice. Results are estimates based on your inputs.
Calculations are estimates for planning and depend on your inputs. They aren't accounting, tax or financial advice. Check fees, rates and interest against your own statements and the provider's current terms.
Digital download. No physical item ships.
File problems fixed on request through Etsy messages.