RateCalc › Freelance Day Rate Calculator
Freelance Day Rate Calculator: how it works
Day rates are standard in film and photo production, design studios, IT contracting and consulting. They are simpler to agree than hourly rates and discourage clients from counting minutes, but they hide a risk: a "day" that quietly becomes ten hours, and a working year that has fewer billable days than you planned.
The preset targets $90,000 of take-home with $6,000 of expenses, a 25 percent tax rate and seven billable hours in a working day. RateCalc shows the hourly rate first and the daily rate next to it; most people quoting day rates only ever read the second number.
How many billable days are really in a year?
Start from 52 weeks, remove holidays, sick days and training (six weeks is a sensible minimum), then remove the days you spend finding work, doing admin and waiting between bookings. Many freelancers who think in day rates book 150 to 180 days a year, not 230. Enter the working days per week and weeks off that match your actual calendar and let the calculator do the division.
- Production crews often work ten-hour days: set billable hours per day to 10 so the day rate reflects it, and put overtime terms in writing.
- IT contractors on long engagements can set hours to 7.5 or 8 and reduce weeks off, since utilisation is high.
- Creatives with lots of short bookings should keep weeks off generous to cover the gaps.
Half days, overtime and travel
A good day-rate sheet has four lines: full day, half day (usually 60 percent of a full day, because a half day still kills the other half), overtime per hour beyond the agreed day (your hourly rate times 1.5), and travel days (typically 50 percent). Quote all four together so there is nothing to negotiate on the day.
For multi-week bookings, a modest discount in exchange for confirmed dates and a deposit is fair; for single-day bookings and short notice, the rush multiplier in the quote box earns its keep.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a day rate from an annual salary?
Add the costs an employer used to pay (taxes, insurance, equipment, holidays), divide by the days you can realistically bill, then add a buffer. This calculator does that step by step instead of the misleading salary ÷ 260 shortcut.
What is a reasonable half-day rate?
About 60 percent of your full-day rate. Anything closer to 50 percent means a half-day booking costs you money, because the remaining hours are rarely sold.
Should overtime be included in the day rate?
No. Define the day (for example 8 or 10 hours) and quote overtime per hour beyond it; the hourly figure in the results panel is your basis.
Can I share the calculation with a client or agent?
Yes. The share link encodes your inputs in the URL, so the person opening it sees the same breakdown.
Looking for the full guide, tips and the complete FAQ? Read the main RateCalc page.