Stop guessing your rate. Start with the honest math.
RateCraft is a free freelance rate calculator and a library of pricing-method guides for freelancers and consultants. Every number we produce shows its work: target income, real billable hours, named sources — no "market rates" invented in the dark.
The tool
Three modes, one honest hourly floor underneath all of them. Everything runs in your browser.
Hourly & day rate from target income
Target net income + expenses + tax allowance − holidays, sick days and admin hours = the rate you can defend.
Mode 2Fixed-price project quotes with a buffer
Hours estimate × rate × risk buffer, plus a separate contingency line — the math that keeps a fixed price fixed.
Mode 3Retainer fees with a policy that prevents disputes
Monthly hours × rate, optional commitment discount, and the unused-hours policy you must agree in writing.
Start with the pillars
The two guides everything else links back to. Last verified: 2026-11-16.
Hourly vs day rate vs project vs retainer
The four pricing methods compared: what the client buys, who carries the risk, and where each one leaks money.
PillarBillable reality: 2,000 paid hours ≠ 2,000 billable
Holidays, sick days, admin, sales and gaps quietly eat a quarter of your year. Build the honest hour model.
All guides
600–1,000 words each, sources named, internal links throughout.
The salary×2 → ÷ billable formula, explained
Where the classic freelance advice comes from, and how to build the honest version piece by piece.
Pricing psychologyThe underpricing spiral — and how to raise rates
Cheap rates attract demanding clients and steal your sales time. The exit sequence, with scripts.
Project pricingQuoting fixed-price projects safely
Layered estimates, risk buffers, contingency lines, and scope creep priced as line items.
Pricing theoryValue-based pricing, without the hype
What Weiss and Enns actually argue, when the model applies, and where it honestly fails.
Recurring pricingRetainers explained: types, pros and cons
Hours, deliverables, or availability — and the unused-hours policy that prevents the classic dispute.
Pricing psychologyDay rate vs hourly: the psychology of the unit
Same math, different packaging — why the unit you sell changes how clients negotiate and schedule you.
Getting paidLate-payment terms that work
Deposits, milestones, written consequences — and what gov.uk and SBA guidance actually says.
Money managementFreelance taxes: setting money aside
The money that arrives is not the money you earn. The set-aside habit, framed generally — check your jurisdiction.
BenchmarksHow to read freelance rate surveys honestly
The surveys exist — Upwork, AIGA, Fast Company — and they disagree. Five questions that separate signal from noise.
Client selectionSaying no: a qualification checklist
Budget, scope, client, timing — qualify inquiries on four axes and decline the rest with doors left open.
Browse by topic
Rate math, pricing structures, getting paid, and the client side of pricing.