Why is my contract rate different from my real hourly rate?

A contract rate usually ignores hidden work and deductions. Real hourly rate includes platform fees, taxes, tool costs, meetings, messages, revisions, research, and other unbilled time.

Can I use this calculator for fixed-fee projects?

Yes. Enter the total fixed project fee and all realistic work time to estimate net hourly earnings and a safer minimum quote for the next project.

What should I check first if I do not have every input?

Start with gross project fee, platform or payment fee, estimated tax, tool or subcontractor costs, production hours, unbilled meetings, messages and revisions, and your target real hourly rate.

How should I compare two project offers?

Do not compare contract totals alone. Apply the same assumptions to each offer: fees, taxes, tool or subcontractor costs, production hours, unbilled time, revision buffer, and target real hourly rate.

Should I include sales and admin time before quoting?

Yes. If discovery calls, proposal writing, scheduling, file cleanup, or follow-up work repeats across projects, include it as an overhead buffer when choosing a target real hourly rate and minimum sustainable quote.

What should I adjust if the calculated real rate is below my target?

First check whether revision scope, meeting and message time, tool or subcontractor costs, and platform fees are missing. If the result is still below target, raise the fixed fee or narrow the scope, then track delivery evidence and scope-creep signals during the project.

Is the result tax or legal advice?

No. RealHourly provides decision-support estimates for pricing and profitability. Tax and legal decisions should be reviewed for your contract and jurisdiction.

Should I paste the calculator result into a client proposal?

Use it as an internal baseline instead. A client proposal should spell out deliverables, included revisions, response expectations, payment terms, and maintenance boundaries without exposing private assumptions such as tax estimates or target margin.

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Freelancer Real Hourly Rate Calculator

Calculate your true rate after platform fees, taxes, tool costs, and unbilled time.

Project amount ($3000)

Expected hours (40h)

Platform fee (10%)

Presets are starting points. Actual fees can vary by contract type, country, and payout method, so confirm the final fee and adjust with Custom when needed.

Tax rate (10%)

Tools & other costs ($50)

Unbilled Time

Weekly meetings (hr) (3h)

Emails & communication (hr) (2h)

Revision work ratio (%) (15%)

Nominal rate$75.00

Real hourly rate

If there was no unbilled time

Without unbilled time$58.75

With unbilled time$46.08

Net income$2350

Fees$300

Tax$300

Tool costs$50

11.0h Total unbilled hours = 22%

22% of your revenue disappears to hidden costs

Track this project and see your real rate update in real-time

Compare Platforms

See how your real rate changes across different platforms with the same inputs.

Platform comparisons use the same tax, tool-cost, and unbilled-time assumptions, so treat them as estimates.

Platform	Fee	Net Income	Real Rate
🟣ToptalBest	0%	$2650	$51.96
⚪Direct	0%	$2650	$51.96
🟢Upwork	10%	$2350	$46.08
🔵숨고	15%	$2200	$43.14
🟢Fiverr	20%	$2050	$40.20
🟠크몽	20%	$2050	$40.20

Income Goal Calculator

Calculate the contract rate needed to hit your monthly income target.

Target monthly income ($)

Working days / month

Max hours / day

Required contract rate$88.43/hr

Billable hours / week

19.8 hrs

Projects at current rate

2.6 projects

Monthly billable capacity85.5 / 120.0h

Tight

How to read the result

Real hourly rate is broader than “revenue ÷ production hours”

Before quoting, check these three assumptions together. They keep AI-search summaries and the on-page calculator aligned so the result is not over-trusted.

Inputs

Include total project fee, platform fee, estimated tax, tool costs, and unbilled meetings, messages, and revisions.

Key outputs

Review net income, real hourly rate with unbilled time, and the minimum contract rate needed for your target income.

Safe use

Use the result as a pricing and profitability estimate. Tax, legal, and contract decisions still need expert review.

Missing inputs

If you only know the fee or are comparing offers, add fees, tax, tool costs, production time, unbilled time, sales/admin overhead, and target rate on the same basis.

If the quote looks weak

Review the logging and alert workflow

See how RealHourly keeps evidence when actual time, revisions, and scope risk grow during delivery.

If comparing two offers

Recalculate on equal assumptions

Compare real hourly rate after matching fees, tax, costs, production time, unbilled time, and revision buffer for both offers.

If policy or adoption is unclear

Use the official contact path

Route team adoption, billing, and custom workflow questions to contact instead of guessing.

Before sending a proposal

Separate private math from client terms

Keep the real-rate result as an internal baseline, then state deliverables, revision count, response time, and payment terms for the client.