What should you actually be charging per hour?
Picking a rate off a gut feeling usually leaves money on the table. This calculator works backward from your income goal.
What it means
This is the minimum hourly rate needed to cover your desired annual income plus business overhead, divided across the hours you can realistically bill in a year — not your total working hours.
Why it matters
Rates based on competitor pricing or guesswork often don't account for overhead or non-billable time, which quietly erodes income even when the calendar looks full.
Try it with your own numbers
You need to charge at least $88/hour to hit your goal
$88
Minimum hourly rate
1,200
Annual billable hours
$105,000
Total annual target
Recommendations
- Treat this as a bare minimum — build in a buffer of 10-20% for slow months and rate negotiation.
- Remember this only accounts for billable hours; admin, sales, and marketing time isn't in this number.
- Revisit this rate whenever overhead costs or your income goal changes, not just once a year.
Suggested next steps
- Use a project profitability calculator to check whether current projects actually clear this rate.
- Compare this rate against a retainer pricing calculator if you package work into retainers.
Relevant Sarion features
Keep work moving forward
Deadlines stay visible instead of living in someone's memory.
- Status tracking
- Due dates
- Task checklists
Never lose track of a payment
Overdue invoices get chased before they turn into bad debt.
- Paid
- Unpaid
- Overdue
What's typical
Typical billable ratio (solo operators)
50-65% of a 40-hour week
Typical annual overhead (solo/small team)
10-20% of revenue
Recommended buffer above bare minimum rate
10-20%
What actually moves this number
- Add a buffer above the bare minimum rate to absorb slow months and negotiation.
- Track your actual billable hours for a month before assuming your current estimate is accurate.
- Revisit this rate whenever overhead costs rise or your income goal changes.
Where this usually goes wrong
- Billing as if 100% of working hours are billable, which is almost never true.
- Forgetting overhead entirely and pricing only against desired take-home income.
- Undercharging to "stay competitive" without checking whether the rate actually covers costs.
Common questions
What counts as billable hours per week?
Only the hours spent on client-chargeable work. Sales calls, admin, and internal projects don't count, even though they take real time.
Should I include savings or taxes in desired annual income?
Yes — treat desired annual income as everything you want this work to fund, including taxes and savings, not just spending money.
Is this rate what I should quote clients?
Treat it as a floor. Add a buffer for slow periods and negotiation room before quoting a final rate.
Put these numbers to work
Sarion is where the client records, invoicing, and portal behind these numbers actually live.