Hourly rate calculator

Add the income you want to take home to your annual business running costs to get the total you need to earn. Divide that by the hours you can actually charge for in a year (billable hours per week times weeks worked). The result is the hourly rate that covers everything and still pays you.

Another trade's rate reflects their costs, their van, their insurance and the income they want, not yours. Copy their number and you are guessing. Work from your own take-home target and your own overheads and you get a rate that actually fits your business.

A billable hour is time you can put on a customer's invoice. Quoting jobs, driving between sites, ordering materials, chasing payments and doing your books are all real work, but customers do not pay for them directly. Leave those hours out of the divisor or your rate will fall short.

There are 52 weeks in a year, but nobody bills all of them. After holiday, public holidays, sick days and quiet spells, most trades land near 46 to 48 working weeks. Use a number you can honestly stand behind rather than the full 52.

Everything it costs to run the business before you pay yourself: tools and equipment, the vehicle and fuel, insurance, phone, software, accountancy, advertising and any workspace or storage. If the cost exists because the business exists, it belongs in the overheads figure.

Yes, completely free with no signup and no card. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. Use it as often as you like while you work out the rate for your trade.