What is an hourly rate?
An hourly rate is what you charge per hour of work. The right rate covers your target income, business expenses, taxes, and the hours you can't bill — then adds profit. Most freelancers underprice because they divide salary by 2,080 hours instead of their real billable hours.
In practice
Target $80,000 income + $20,000 expenses = $100,000 needed, over 1,000 billable hours = $100/hour minimum. At $75/hour the same freelancer quietly loses $25,000 a year.
Price your hour correctly
Billia's free hourly rate calculator builds your rate from income goals and real billable hours.
Open the hourly rate calculatorFrequently asked questions
How do I set my hourly rate?
Add target income + business expenses + tax buffer, divide by realistic annual billable hours. Then sanity-check against your market — and round up, not down.
Hourly vs. project pricing?
Hourly is fair and simple; project pricing rewards efficiency. Many freelancers quote projects using an internal hourly rate the client never sees.
Should I show my hourly rate on invoices?
Yes for hourly work — '14.5 hours x $100' is transparent and hard to dispute. For project work, line items by deliverable read better.