Independent consultants often set fees by halving a former salary, badly underpricing once unbillable business development, self-employment tax, and the gaps between engagements are counted. This calculator works backward from your target take-home to a defensible day and hourly rate.
| Billable hours per year | — |
| Gross revenue you must bill | — |
| Estimated tax at your rate | — |
| Business expenses recovered | — |
| Resulting take-home (check) | — |
This tool does math on the numbers you enter. It is not tax or financial advice and contains no built-in tax tables — enter your own effective rate (a tax professional can help you estimate it). Figures are estimates for planning only.
| Typical low | $75/hr |
| Common average | $150/hr |
| Specialized / certified high | $350/hr |
Benchmarks are gathered from public salary and marketplace data and refreshed periodically. Treat them as orientation — your required rate from the calculator above is the number that matters for your situation.
The most common pricing mistake is dividing a target salary by 2,080 hours. That ignores three things every freelancer carries: self-employment tax, business expenses (professional liability insurance, CRM and proposal tools, travel, research subscriptions, continuing education and certifications), and the large share of the week that is never billable. This calculator builds all three in, then solves for the rate that leaves you with the take-home you entered.
US independent consultants commonly bill $75–$350+/hour depending on domain and seniority, with day rates a more common unit at senior levels. Averages mean little here — enter your income goal and realistic billable hours, which for consultants are often well below half the week.
Compute your required hourly rate, multiply by billable hours in a day (often 6, not 8, after admin), and present that as a day rate. For ongoing advisory work, convert realistic monthly hours into a retainer and add a buffer.
Selling, proposals, admin, and downtime between clients are all unpaid. Many solo consultants bill 40–55% of their working hours. Lowering the billable percentage above shows how that non-billable load pushes your required rate up.