Tool

Freelance rate calculator: your salary as an hourly rate in dollars

To match your salary as a freelancer, add the costs your employer paid for you to your CTC, then divide by the hours clients will actually pay you for in a year, not the hours you work. The calculator does this and converts the result to US dollars at the rate you set.

Your yearly salary (CTC)₹18 L

In lakhs of rupees

Hours clients pay you for each week25 hrs

Not hours worked. Finding clients, admin and learning are unpaid.

Weeks you work in a year44 wks

Leave room for holidays, illness and months with less work

Costs your employer paid for you30 %

Laptop, software, internet, insurance, tax savings, platform fees

Rupees per US dollar₹96

Change this to today's rate

To match your salary, charge at least

$23 an hour

That is about ₹2,127 for every hour a client pays for.

Salary plus costs your employer paid: ₹23,40,000
Hours clients pay for in a year: 1,100

This is your minimum, not what the market pays. Below this rate, freelancing pays you less than your job does.

How the number is worked out

Your salary is increased by the costs a job used to cover for you, like equipment, software, insurance and a tax buffer.
That total is divided by the hours clients will actually pay you for in a year, which is paid hours each week multiplied by the weeks you work.
The result is converted to US dollars at the rate you set.
Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

The reasoning behind it is in the guide How to charge international clients from India.

The calculator for your situation

Questions people ask

How do I calculate my freelance hourly rate from my salary? Add the costs your employer paid for you to your salary, then divide by the hours clients will pay you for in a year. The calculator above does both.

Why is the rate higher than my salary divided by working hours? Because clients pay only for project hours. Finding clients, proposals, admin and learning are unpaid, and you now pay the costs a job used to cover.

Can I enter a salary in dollars? Yes. Choose Salary in dollars and enter your yearly salary in thousands of US dollars. The result also shows a day rate.

Is this the rate I should charge? It is your minimum. What clients abroad pay for your skill can be higher; the rates guide explains how to set a rate from the market.

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