How do I convert my CTC to an hourly rate?

Add the costs your employer paid for you to your CTC, then divide by the hours clients will pay you for in a year. The calculator does both and shows the result in rupees and dollars.

How many billable hours does a freelancer have in a year?

Fewer than a job's 2,000: with 25 paid hours a week for 44 weeks, it is 1,100, but use your own estimate in the calculator.

Should I charge my CTC-based rate to clients abroad?

Treat it as your floor, because clients abroad often pay more for the same skill; set your rate from the market as well as from your salary.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

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CTC to hourly rate calculator for freelancers in India

To convert your CTC to an hourly rate as a freelancer, add the costs your employer paid for you, then divide by the hours clients will pay you for in a year, not the hours in a working year. On a ₹18 lakh CTC with 30% costs, 25 paid hours a week and 44 weeks, that is about ₹2,127 an hour.

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.

Why dividing your CTC by working hours is wrong

The quick way people convert a CTC is to divide it by about 2,000 working hours. That gives your salary per hour of a job, where the company paid you for every hour, including meetings, training and the slow weeks. As a freelancer, clients pay only for the hours you work on their projects. Finding clients, writing proposals, invoicing and learning are unpaid.

That is why the calculator asks for the hours clients pay for each week, not the hours you work. Many freelancers bill 20 to 30 hours in a full working week. Using 25 hours and 44 weeks gives 1,100 paid hours in a year, about half of a job's 2,000.

What your CTC already included

Your CTC hides costs the company paid that you now pay yourself: a laptop and software, internet, insurance, paid leave and, in many cases, provident fund contributions. The calculator adds them back as a percentage, 30% by default. Change it to match what your employer actually covered. Use your yearly CTC here, not your monthly in-hand pay, because the in-hand figure is after deductions that still count as part of what the job paid you.

The result is your minimum, because charging less means freelancing pays you less than the job did. What clients abroad pay for your skill is often higher, and the rates guide explains how to set a rate from the market, not only from your salary.

Questions people ask

How do I convert my CTC to an hourly rate?: Add the costs your employer paid for you to your CTC, then divide by the hours clients will pay you for in a year. The calculator does both and shows the result in rupees and dollars.
How many billable hours does a freelancer have in a year?: Fewer than a job's 2,000: with 25 paid hours a week for 44 weeks, it is 1,100, but use your own estimate in the calculator.
Should I charge my CTC-based rate to clients abroad?: Treat it as your floor, because clients abroad often pay more for the same skill; set your rate from the market as well as from your salary.
Is my data saved?: No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Last checked on 4 October 2026.