Freelance Holiday Rate Calculator
Estimate the day rate or hourly rate you may need to charge to cover unpaid holiday time as a freelancer.
Overview
A freelance holiday rate calculator helps you work out how much to charge if you want your annual income target to include unpaid holiday time. Enter your target income, weekly working pattern, holiday allowance, utilization and billable hours to estimate a sustainable day rate and hourly rate.
How it works
The calculator starts with your working days across a 52-week year, subtracts the holiday and public holiday days you want to take, and then applies your billable utilization rate to estimate how many days are actually available for paid client work. It then divides your target annual income by those billable days to estimate the day rate you need. The hourly rate is calculated by dividing the day rate by your billable hours per day. The holiday uplift shows how much higher your rate needs to be compared with a rate that does not account for unpaid holiday time.
How to use this calculator
- 1Enter your target annual income.
- 2Add how many days per week you normally work.
- 3Enter your planned holiday days and public holiday days.
- 4Estimate the percentage of your time that is realistically billable.
- 5Add your usual billable hours per day.
- 6Review the suggested day rate, hourly rate and holiday uplift.
Example Calculation
Target annual income
$60,000
Working days per week
5
Holiday days per year
25
Public holiday days
8
Billable utilization
75%
Billable hours per day
7.5
Required day rate
$352
With a target annual income of $60,000, a 5-day week, 33 total days off and 75% utilization, you would have about 170.3 billable days. That suggests a required day rate of about $352 and an hourly rate of about $46.99.
Frequently asked questions
What does this calculator estimate?
It estimates the day rate and hourly rate you may need to charge so unpaid holiday time is built into your annual income target.
Why does billable utilization matter?
Not every working day is spent on paid client work. Utilization accounts for admin, marketing, proposals, training and other non-billable time.
Should I include public holidays?
If you do not plan to work on public or bank holidays, include them so your rate reflects that unpaid time off as well.
Does this include business expenses?
No. This calculator focuses on income target and available billable time. You may need a higher rate to cover software, insurance, equipment and other costs.
Is the hourly rate just the day rate divided by hours?
Yes. The calculator converts the required day rate into an hourly figure using the billable hours per day you enter.
Can I use this for part-time freelance work?
Yes. Adjust the working days per week, holiday days and utilization to match your actual schedule.
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Assumptions and warnings
Assumptions
- The calculator assumes 52 working weeks in a year before subtracting planned holiday and public holiday days.
- Billable utilization represents the share of remaining working time that can actually be invoiced to clients.
- The result is an estimate of gross freelance income and does not include personal taxes, pension contributions or business expenses.
- Hourly rate is based on the billable hours per day you enter and assumes your pricing is consistent throughout the year.
Warnings
- This calculator provides an estimate only and is not financial advice.
- Freelance pricing should also consider business costs, tax, sick leave, admin time and market demand.