How do I calculate my hourly rate as a freelancer?

Your hourly rate results from your desired income plus operating costs, divided by your billable hours per year. Vacation, sick days, acquisition time and taxes must be considered. Our calculator handles this automatically.

What are billable hours?

Billable hours are the hours you can actually charge clients for. From your total working time, you need to subtract time for acquisition, accounting, training and administration. Typically only 60-80% of working time is billable.

What operating costs should I include?

Typical operating costs include: Office/coworking (€200-800/month), software & tools (€100-300/month), insurance (€300-500/month), phone & internet (€50-100/month), training (€100-300/month), tax advisor (€150-300/month), marketing (€100-500/month).

What should my hourly rate be as a beginner?

As a beginner in IT, hourly rates are typically €50-70, for designers €40-60, for consultants €60-80. With increasing experience and specialization, hourly rates can rise to €100-150 or more.

Why is my hourly rate higher than an employee salary?

As a freelancer, you have no paid vacation or sick days, pay your own social security, bear the risk of downtime and have operating costs. You also need to plan time for acquisition and administration. An hourly rate of €80-100 often only corresponds to an employee salary of €50-60,000.

Should I quote my hourly or daily rate?

This depends on your industry and project scope. For longer projects, daily rates are common; for smaller assignments, hourly rates. Daily rates often seem more affordable and simplify calculations for both parties.

What is the difference between net and gross hourly rate?

The net hourly rate is your fee without VAT. The gross hourly rate includes the 19% VAT that you must remit to the tax office. B2B clients are usually interested in the net rate since they can deduct VAT as input tax.

How often should I adjust my hourly rate?

Review your hourly rate at least annually. Consider inflation (2-4%), increased costs, new qualifications and market demand. An annual increase of 3-5% is appropriate.

Free Online Tool

Hourly Rate Calculator

Name: Clever Invoice — E-Invoice via WhatsApp & AI
Brand: Clever Invoice
Availability: InStock

Calculate your optimal hourly rate as a freelancer - including all costs and deductions.

Quick start:

Your Inputs

Adjust values to your situation

Desired Annual Net Income

€

What you want to earn after taxes

Hours/week

Non-billable %

Vacation days

Holidays

Your recommended hourly rate

Net hourly rate

74,26 €

Gross hourly rate (incl. 19% VAT): 88,37 €

Daily rate (8h)

594,00 €

Monthly revenue (target)

8.119,00 €

Annual revenue (target)

97.429,00 €

Billable hours/year

1.312 h

Tip: Round your hourly rate to "nice" numbers like €75, €85 or €95. It looks more professional and is easier to communicate.

100% freeNo signup requiredRealistic calculationPrivacy compliant

Typical Hourly Rates by Industry

Reference values for Germany (2024/2025)

Industry / Activity	Beginner	Experienced	Senior/Expert
IT / Software Development	60-80€	80-110€	110-150€+
UX/UI Design	50-70€	70-100€	100-140€
Graphic/Web Design	40-60€	60-85€	85-120€
Marketing / Social Media	45-65€	65-90€	90-130€
Business Consulting	80-100€	100-150€	150-250€+
Copywriter / Writer	40-55€	55-80€	80-120€
Photography / Video	50-70€	70-100€	100-180€
Project Management	60-80€	80-110€	110-150€

* Net hourly rates, excluding VAT. Depends on region, specialization and customer segment.

How your hourly rate is calculated

Billable Hours

From 260 working days/year, we subtract vacation, sick days, holidays, and training. Then we calculate the billable portion (excluding sales, admin).

(260 - deductions) × hours/day × billable%

Required Revenue

Your desired income plus business costs, marked up for taxes and profit, gives you the required annual revenue.

(income + costs) ÷ (1 - tax%) × (1 + profit%)

Hourly Rate

Annual revenue divided by billable hours gives you your recommended net hourly rate.

annual revenue ÷ billable hours = €/h

Typical Business Costs for Freelancers

These costs should be included in your calculation

🏠

Office / Coworking

200 - 800€/month

or proportional rent

💻

Software & Tools

100 - 400€/month

Adobe, Figma, etc.

🛡️

Insurance

300 - 600€/month

Health, liability insurance

📊

Tax Advisor

150 - 400€/month

Depending on scope

📱

Phone & Internet

50 - 150€/month

Incl. mobile

📚

Training

100 - 400€/month

Courses, conferences

📣

Marketing

100 - 500€/month

Website, ads, network

🖥️

Hardware

100 - 300€/month

Equipment depreciation

Total typical business costs: 1,000 - 3,500€/month (12,000 - 42,000€/year)

Frequently Asked Questions about Hourly Rates

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Clever Invoice saves your hourly rate and creates professional invoices in seconds - with automatic time tracking.

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