What's your real take-home rate?
The rate you charge is not the rate you keep. See what your hourly rate actually becomes after platform fees, taxes, non-billable hours, time off, and business costs — whether you're a developer, designer, writer, consultant, or any other freelancer.
Your Real Rate
Where your gross rate goes
- Platform commission $0.00/hr 0%
- Taxes $0.00/hr 0%
- Operating costs $0.00/hr 0%
- Net take-home $0.00/hr 0%
Tax figures are rough estimates, not tax advice.
What Affects Your Rate
- Commission−$0/hr
- Taxes−$0/hr
- Non-billable time−$0/hr
- Operating costs−$0/hr
- Profit margin+$0/hr
Your Numbers
Where you find clients changes everything
Same rate, same schedule — here's what your real take-home looks like depending on where the work comes from. Based on your current numbers.
| Client source | Fee | Real rate | Net / year | vs. direct |
|---|
How your take-home grows with your rate
Your real hourly take-home across a range of headline rates, using your current tax, fees, hours, and costs. The marker shows where you are now.
How your real rate is calculated
Billable hours
We start from the hours you can actually invoice — your schedule, minus time off, times your billable percentage.
Deductions
Platform commission, income tax, and monthly operating costs come off the top, in that order.
Your real rate
What's left, divided by your billed hours, is your true take-home rate per hour.
Want the full breakdown? Read how to set your freelance rate, billable hours explained, or how platform fees change your rate.
Freelance Rate Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate my real freelance rate?
Start with the hourly rate you charge, then subtract platform commission, income tax, and monthly operating costs, and account for the hours you actually get paid for plus your time off. TrueRate does this for you and shows the real take-home rate per billed hour.
Why is my take-home rate lower than the rate I charge?
Most freelancers only bill a portion of their working hours. The rest goes to finding clients, admin, and unpaid proposals. Add taxes, platform fees, unpaid time off, and business expenses, and your real rate is often far below your headline rate.
Does this freelance rate calculator store my data?
No. TrueRate runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or saved anywhere. See the privacy policy for details.
Do I need to pay taxes as a freelancer?
In most places, freelance income is taxable and you are responsible for reporting it yourself. The exact amount depends on your income, deductions, and local rules, and may include self-employment or social contributions on top of income tax. The tax figures in TrueRate are rough estimates for planning only, not tax advice, so confirm your real obligations with a qualified accountant.
Is TrueRate free to use?
Yes. TrueRate is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is no sign-up, and your inputs are never sent to a server or stored anywhere.
More on pricing, platform fees, and billable hours in our freelance pricing guides.