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Freelance Annual Recurring Revenue Calculator

Estimate your freelance annual recurring revenue from retainer clients, average monthly fees, churn, and expected new recurring clients.

Your Details

Overview

This freelance annual recurring revenue calculator helps you estimate how much recurring income your retainer work could generate over a year. Enter your current retainer clients, average monthly retainer fee, expected churn, and average new recurring clients to see your projected recurring revenue and overall total including setup fees.

How it works

The calculator starts with your current retainer clients and average monthly fee to estimate starting monthly recurring revenue. It then projects how your recurring client base changes over time using an average monthly churn rate and a steady number of new retainer clients added each month. From that, it estimates average recurring clients during the period, multiplies by your monthly retainer value and projection length, and then adds any one-time setup fee revenue from new clients.

How to use this calculator

  1. 1Enter your current number of retainer clients.
  2. 2Add your average monthly retainer amount per client.
  3. 3Estimate your typical monthly client churn rate.
  4. 4Enter how many new retainer clients you expect to add each month.
  5. 5Optional: add your average one-time setup fee for each new client.
  6. 6Review your projected recurring revenue and total revenue for the selected period.

Example Calculation

Current retainer clients

5

Average monthly retainer per client

$1,500

Monthly client churn rate

3%

New retainer clients per month

1

Average one-time setup fee per new retainer

$500

Projection period

12

Projected recurring revenue

$168,070

With 5 current retainer clients paying an average of 1500 per month, 3% monthly churn, and 1 new retainer client added each month, projected recurring revenue is about 114480 over 12 months, plus 6000 in setup fees, for roughly 120480 total revenue.

Frequently asked questions

What does this calculator estimate?

It estimates your recurring freelance revenue over a chosen period based on current retainer clients, average monthly fees, churn, and expected new retainer clients.

What is ARR for a freelancer?

ARR usually means annual recurring revenue. For freelancers, it refers to the recurring income expected from retainer or subscription-style client work over a year.

Does this calculator include one-off project income?

No. It focuses on recurring retainer revenue, with an optional field for one-time setup fees on new recurring clients.

What is client churn?

Client churn is the percentage of recurring clients you expect to lose in a typical month. Higher churn generally reduces projected recurring revenue.

Can I use this for a period other than 12 months?

Yes. You can change the projection period to estimate recurring revenue over a shorter or longer timeframe.

Why is the result only an estimate?

Freelance income can change because of pricing updates, paused retainers, delayed payments, upsells, downsells, and differences between expected and actual client retention.

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Assumptions and warnings

Assumptions

  • Recurring clients pay the average monthly retainer consistently throughout each month.
  • Client churn and new client additions are treated as average monthly rates over the projection period.
  • Setup fees are assumed to apply to each new retainer client and are not recurring.
  • This calculator provides an estimate and does not include taxes, payment processing fees, refunds, or unpaid invoices.

Warnings

  • This calculator provides an estimate only and is not financial advice.
  • Actual freelance revenue can vary due to pricing changes, seasonality, client pauses, and contract terms.