Freelancer Pricing Calculator
Price a freelance project around the work required to win and deliver it. Enter billable hours, non-billable time, client-acquisition commission, processor and payout costs, delivery expenses, subcontractors, overhead, proposal effort, and tax reserve. The calculator solves a project quote for your target and shows the effective hourly result, without applying any named marketplace's terms.
Best for
Make the next pricing or planning decision with context
Set a price for your freelance service that covers the costs in this model and supports the target contribution you need. It covers Solve a freelancer project quote and hourly equivalent for a target take-home or margin after editable acquisition, payment, delivery, overhead, and....
Instant calculations · Editable fee assumptions · Export-ready results
Inputs
Values update results instantly. Adjust fee assumptions to match your seller dashboard.
Your figures are saved in this browser on this device.
Project context
Use a route label and enter the cost that applies to this project.
Targets
Amount you want left after project costs and tax reserve.
After-reserve take-home divided by the project quote.
Compare your current quote with the solved targets.
Time and delivery
Hands-on client work included in the quote.
Proposals, calls, admin, revisions, and project management not billed separately.
Revenue deductions
Editable marketplace, referral, or lead-channel commission. Set zero when none applies.
External processor rate, separate from acquisition commission.
Fixed processor cost for this project payment.
Bank, payout, or currency-conversion percentage.
Fixed bank, payout, or currency-conversion cost.
Project costs
Materials, travel, software usage, or direct project costs.
Outside specialists or delivery help for this project.
Share of recurring business overhead assigned to this project.
Allocated cost of winning this project.
Reserve
Cash reserve applied only to positive pre-reserve take-home.
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Quote for target take-home
$1,236.15
Quote for target margin
$425.27
Quoted hourly equivalent for take-home target
$47.54
Target quote divided by billable and non-billable project hours.
Quoted hourly equivalent for margin target
$16.36
Total project hours
26
Billable plus non-billable time.
Acquisition commission at test
$0.00
Processing at test
$29.30
Payout and FX at test
$0.00
Delivery, subcontractors, overhead, and lead
$200.00
Pre-reserve take-home at test
$770.70
Tax reserve at test
$154.14
After-reserve take-home
$616.56
Effective after-reserve hourly rate
$23.71
Target review
Targets are mathematically reachable with the entered assumptions.
Client source context
direct-client project
What this means
The test direct-client project leaves 616.56 after reserve, below the 800.00 target. A quote near 1236.15 reaches the target if the assumptions hold.
Freelancer test-quote economics
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Processing$29.302.9%
- Project costs$200.0020.0%
- Tax reserve$154.1415.4%
- After-reserve take-home$616.5661.7%
Total $1,000.00 · 4 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Quote for target take-home
- $1,236.15
- Quote for target margin
- $425.27
- Quoted hourly equivalent for take-home target
- $47.54
- Total project hours
- 26
- Acquisition commission at test
- $0.00
- Processing at test
- $29.30
- Payout and FX at test
- $0.00
- Project costs at test
- $200.00
- Pre-reserve take-home
- $770.70
- Tax reserve at test
- $154.14
- After-reserve take-home
- $616.56
- Effective after-reserve hourly rate
- $23.71
Assumptions used
- • direct-client project; acquisition commission 0.0%
- • Variable rate 2.9%; fixed project costs 200.30
- • Total project hours 26.0; reserve 20.0%
- • No named marketplace terms are applied
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Generated 9/11/2026, 3:20:58 AM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Client source: direct
- Target after-reserve take-home: 800
- Target after-reserve margin: 40
- Current or test project price: 1000
- Billable delivery hours: 20
- Non-billable project hours: 6
- Client-acquisition commission: 0
- Payment processing rate: 2.9
- Payment processing fixed fee: 0.3
- Payout or FX rate: 0
- Payout or FX fixed fee: 0
- Project delivery expenses: 75
- Subcontractor costs: 50
- Overhead allocation: 50
- Proposal and lead cost: 25
- Tax reserve rate: 20
Results
- Quote for target take-home: $1,236.15
- Quote for target margin: $425.27
- Quoted hourly equivalent for take-home target: $47.54
- Total project hours: 26
- Acquisition commission at test: $0.00
- Processing at test: $29.30
- Payout and FX at test: $0.00
- Project costs at test: $200.00
- Pre-reserve take-home: $770.70
- Tax reserve at test: $154.14
- After-reserve take-home: $616.56
- Effective after-reserve hourly rate: $23.71
Interpretation
The test direct-client project leaves 616.56 after reserve, below the 800.00 target. A quote near 1236.15 reaches the target if the assumptions hold.
How it works
Methodology & formulas
This calculator is transparent by design. Review the steps and formulas so you can trust the estimate and adjust assumptions when your dashboard differs.
Calculation steps
- 1Combine acquisition, processing, and payout percentages into a variable deduction rate.
- 2Add fixed processor, payout, delivery, subcontractor, overhead, and lead costs.
- 3Solve a quote for the target after-reserve take-home and margin.
- 4Convert both solved quotes into hourly equivalents using total project time.
- 5Test the current project price and show each deduction separately.
- 6Keep the client source generic and avoid applying named platform terms.
Formulas
- Variable rate = acquisition commission% + processor% + payout or FX%
- Fixed project costs = processor fixed + payout fixed + delivery + subcontractors + overhead + proposal and lead
- After-reserve take-home = [quote × (1 − variable rate) − fixed costs] × (1 − reserve rate)
- Quote for take-home = [target + fixed costs × (1 − reserve)] ÷ [(1 − variable rate) × (1 − reserve)]
- Quote for margin = fixed costs × (1 − reserve) ÷ [(1 − variable rate) × (1 − reserve) − target margin]
- Effective hourly rate = after-reserve take-home ÷ (billable hours + non-billable hours)
Important assumptions
- This calculator is platform-agnostic. Acquisition commission starts at zero and should be changed for the marketplace, referral, or lead channel actually used.
- Processing and payout or FX rates are external assumptions kept separate from client acquisition. The illustrative processor default is editable.
- Billable and non-billable hours both affect the effective hourly result. Proposal, calls, revisions, and admin time need room in a sustainable quote.
- Delivery, subcontractor, overhead, and proposal costs are fixed project allocations. Tax reserve is applied only to positive pre-reserve take-home.
- The solver returns zero with a review message when percentage deductions or the requested margin leave no finite quote.
Sources & review
Know what this estimate is built on
This calculator is intentionally platform-agnostic, so it does not attach a platform fee URL.
Official references
No single official fee page is attached here. The model keeps these inputs editable so you can use the terms that apply to your situation.
Use the current terms
This model uses editable planning assumptions. Confirm tax, payment, financing, or operating terms with the relevant provider, official authority, or adviser for your situation.
Defaults are editable estimates. Match them to your current account, provider statement, official authority, lender, or adviser before making a pricing or investment decision.
Calculator model reviewed: August 9, 2026. This date covers the page and calculator guidance, not a guarantee that every live platform rate or term was re-audited on that date.
Worked example
Quoting a $800 take-home project
The target after-reserve take-home is $800, target margin is 40%, and the test price is $1,000. The project has 20 billable and 6 non-billable hours, illustrative 2.9% plus $0.30 processing, $75 delivery, $50 subcontractors, $50 overhead, $25 proposal and lead cost, no acquisition commission or payout cost, and a 20% reserve.
FAQ
Common questions
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