Calculate a sustainable hourly rate from owner pay, overhead, reserves, working time, and realistic billable utilization with this free tool.
By Solopreneurship WikiReviewed September 2026
Wiki note: Your rate must recover non-billable time, operating costs, and business reserves as well as the hours spent delivering client work.
A sustainable hourly floor starts with the annual amount the business must generate and divides it by realistic billable hours. It makes hidden unpaid work visible before you quote a rate.
Hourly Rate Calculator for SolopreneursFree interactive tool
Calculate your result
Change the example assumptions to match your situation. Use consistent units and the same currency throughout.
Calculations run in your browser. Nothing is submitted.
Your result will appear here.
Enter your assumptions and select “Calculate result.”
Formula and assumptions
Hourly floor = (owner pay + benefits + overhead + business reserves) ÷ annual billable hours. Billable hours = working weeks × hours per week × (1 − non-billable percentage).
Use source data where possible, record the date of your assumptions, and keep all monetary inputs in the selected currency. A precise-looking answer is only as reliable as the inputs behind it.
How to interpret the result
The result is a floor, not automatically the market price. Quote above it when demand, urgency, risk, or value supports a premium. If the market will not accept the floor, change scope, utilization, cost structure, or offer design rather than quietly underpaying yourself.
Stress-test the decision
Run a conservative case, an expected case, and an optimistic case. Change one important assumption at a time so you can see what actually drives the answer. Define the action you will take if the conservative case occurs.
Worked example
An independent specialist targets 60,000 in owner pay, 8,000 in benefits, 18,000 in overhead, and 9,000 in reserves. At 46 weeks, 35 hours per week, and 45% non-billable time, only 885.5 hours are available for billing.
Replace every example value with evidence from your own accounts, time records, quotes, contracts, or customer data. Save the result alongside those sources so it can be reviewed later.
Limitations
The calculation assumes entered costs and available time are accurate. It does not price client value, demand, taxes, bad debt, or project-specific risk unless you include them in your assumptions.
Calculator outputs are educational planning estimates. They are not financial, tax, legal, employment, investment, or medical advice and they do not guarantee a business outcome.
