Enter your income target and hours, and get your hourly rate, day rate, and project minimum — adjusted for how you're positioned.
Most freelancers set their rate by looking at what others charge and picking a number that feels safe. The problem is “safe” usually means “below what the market would pay” — because underpricing feels less risky than losing a deal. But the math doesn't care about feelings. If your rate doesn't cover your income target at the hours you can realistically bill, you're already losing.
The floor is non-negotiable. Divide your monthly target by your billable hours and that's the minimum you need to charge per hour before positioning. Every discount below that floor means you work more hours, not fewer. Every client who pushes you below it is costing you money even when they pay.
Positioning is where most freelancers leave money on the table. Commodity work competes on price. Mid-market work competes on reliability and delivery. Premium work competes on expertise and outcome — the client is buying the result, not the hours. The higher up you position, the smaller your client pool gets, but the better your margins. Niche down until it feels uncomfortable, then niche down again.
Start from your income target and work backwards: divide your monthly goal by the number of hours you can realistically bill (accounting for admin, sales, and downtime). That gives you your floor — the rate below which you can't hit your number. Then apply a positioning multiplier based on whether you're competing on price, quality, or specialisation. Most freelancers underestimate their floor and skip the positioning step entirely.
Project pricing is almost always better once you have enough experience to estimate accurately. It removes the incentive for clients to micromanage your hours, and it rewards efficiency — the faster you work, the higher your effective rate. Hourly makes sense early on when scope is genuinely unpredictable, or for ongoing retainer work where hours vary week to week. Use your hourly rate as an internal check on project quotes, not as the thing you sell.
It adjusts your base rate to reflect how you're positioned in the market. A commodity provider competes largely on price and applies a 0.85× discount to stay competitive. A solid mid-market provider charges at the base rate — the rate that hits your income target without adjustment. A premium or specialist provider can charge a 1.4× premium because they're selling expertise, not just delivery. Most freelancers should aim for mid-market or above; commodity positioning is a race to the bottom.
A project minimum is the lowest fee you'll accept for any engagement, regardless of scope. Short projects have disproportionate overhead: onboarding, contracts, calls, invoicing. Without a floor, a two-hour job can consume a full day when you factor in everything around it. Setting a project minimum — typically two day rates — means every engagement has to justify the relationship cost before you agree to it.
Knowing your number is step one. Defending it in a sales conversation is step two — bring that to a teardown.
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