I need to know what to charge per hour
Find the hourly rate your business actually needs, after taxes, expenses, unpaid time, and profit buffer.
Start here
Business calculators for freelancers who would rather be profitable than busy.
OwnerMath helps freelancers, consultants, solo founders, creators, technical SEOs, and small agencies figure out the numbers behind a real business: what to charge, how many hours you can actually sell, whether a project quote is sane, and where profit is leaking.
Start with the problem in front of you. The calculator will do the math. The warnings will do the judging.
Start with your situation
Pick the problem that sounds most like your Tuesday.
I do not know how many hours I can realistically bill
Pressure-test your billable capacity before your pricing model does parkour over reality.
I need to price a fixed-fee project
Turn hours, risk, admin time, and margin into a project quote that does not quietly eat your calendar.
I am checking a quote before I send it
Catch missing scope, revision, payment, and margin details before the quote becomes a future argument.
I need to price a retainer
Build a monthly retainer from capacity, access, deliverables, support expectations, and margin.
I want to hit a revenue goal
Reverse-engineer the clients, projects, retainers, or billable hours needed to hit a target revenue number.
I need to see if a finished project was actually profitable
Audit what you actually earned after delivery, revisions, admin, and surprise nonsense.
I need self-employment tax or take-home planning
Estimate tax drag and take-home reality before gross revenue starts lying to your face.
Recommended path if you are new
Do not start by asking what other freelancers charge. That is how you inherit someone else's broken math. Start with your capacity, costs, unpaid time, and income target. Then quote work from that baseline.
Want this as a step-by-step path instead of a map? Use the Guided First Steps path.
Step 1
Start with billable capacity
Before you set a rate, know how many hours you can actually invoice after admin, sales, meetings, and time off.
Step 2
Calculate your baseline hourly rate
Your hourly floor is the number every quote, retainer, and revenue target depends on. Include expenses, tax reserve, savings, and slow-month buffer.
Step 3
Use that rate to price projects or retainers
Turn your baseline into a fixed-fee project quote or a monthly retainer that includes scope, risk, and margin.
Step 4
Check quotes before sending
Catch missing scope, revision, payment, and margin details before the quote becomes a future argument.
Step 5
Audit effective hourly rate after delivery
After the project ends, check whether the quote held up or quietly turned into discounted labor.
Step 6
Adjust pricing based on reality
Use what you learned to rebuild your baseline, tighten scope boundaries, and price the next project better.
Calculator clusters
Browse by category. Each calculator links to the next logical step.
Pricing and rates
Freelance Hourly Rate
The hourly rate your business needs after expenses, reserves, unpaid work, and slow-month buffer.
Freelance Pricing
A pricing starting point for hourly, fixed, retainer, or unclear scope.
Consulting Rate
A consulting hourly rate using the same baseline-rate math.
Contractor Hourly Rate Formula
Setting a contractor or consulting rate from salary goals? Use the formula to avoid salary math with a business costume.
How to Price Freelance Work
The full pricing process from floor rate to client-facing quote, including billable capacity, expenses, and pricing model choice.
Hourly vs Fixed Price vs Retainer
Compare pricing models and choose the right fit for your work and risk profile.
Utilization Rate
Billable utilization, annual billable hours, and revenue capacity.
Quotes, scope, and retainers
Project Quote
A fixed-fee quote from your hourly baseline, delivery/admin hours, revision-risk buffer, and margin.
Retainer Pricing
A monthly retainer price from scoped hours, meetings, overhead, risk buffer, and margin.
Freelance Quote Checklist
Catch missing scope, revision, payment, and margin details before sending.
Scope Creep Cost
The cost of unpaid extra hours, rate collapse, and missed change orders.
Hourly vs Fixed Price Decision
Choose hourly, fixed-fee, retainer, or hybrid pricing based on scope clarity, change risk, and client control.
Revenue and capacity
Billable Hours
Realistic billable hours after admin, sales, meetings, time off, and solo-operator drag.
Revenue Goal
Gross business revenue required to hit a personal take-home goal after expenses and reserves.
Freelance Capacity Planning
Need the bigger model behind billable hours and revenue goals? Read the freelance capacity planning guide.
Profitability and audits
Taxes and self-employment planning
Assumptions matter
Every calculator is only as useful as its assumptions. OwnerMath shows the assumptions, flags unrealistic inputs, and gives you a next action instead of pretending a single number explains your whole business.
Your business model should survive contact with a calendar. A calculator without assumptions is confidence theater.
Frequently asked questions
What is OwnerMath?
OwnerMath is a set of practical business calculators for freelancers, consultants, solo founders, creators, technical SEOs, and small agencies. Each calculator focuses on one number — hourly rate, billable capacity, project quote, retainer price, revenue target, effective hourly rate, scope creep cost, or self-employment tax — and shows the assumptions behind it so you can make better pricing and planning decisions.
Which calculator should I start with?
If you are not sure, start with the Calculator Finder — it asks one question and points you to the right tool. Otherwise, the Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator is the most common starting point because every quote, retainer, and revenue target depends on knowing your baseline rate.
Are these calculators for freelancers or small businesses?
Both. The calculators are built for solo operators and small teams who sell their own time and expertise. If you are a freelancer, consultant, creator, technical SEO, or small agency owner pricing project work, retainers, or planning revenue, these tools apply to your business model.
Is this financial, tax, legal, or accounting advice?
No. OwnerMath provides educational business math and planning tools, not financial, tax, legal, accounting, or contract advice. Use these calculators to understand your numbers, then verify important decisions with a qualified professional when needed.
Why do these calculators ask about unpaid time?
Because unpaid time — admin, sales, meetings, revisions, slow months — is real work that does not show up on an invoice. If your pricing ignores it, your effective hourly rate is lower than you think. OwnerMath makes that visible so you can price for the full job, not just the fun parts.
Should I use hourly, project, or retainer pricing?
It depends on the work. Hourly pricing works for ongoing or unpredictable scope. Fixed-fee project pricing works for defined deliverables with clear boundaries. Retainer pricing works for recurring access, support, or ongoing service. The Freelance Pricing Calculator can help you choose the right model for your situation.
OwnerMath provides educational business math and planning tools, not financial, tax, legal, accounting, or contract advice. Use these calculators to understand your numbers, then verify important decisions with a qualified professional when needed.