Freelance designer rate calculator
Set a design rate that covers your software, your unbillable hours, and the income you actually want to take home.
Your numbers
Annual figures. Be honest about billable hours.
"Billable hours" should exclude admin, sales, and downtime — most full-timers bill far fewer hours than they work.
Track billable hours and turn them into invoices automatically with FreshBooks.
What designers should factor in
Designers carry costs other freelancers forget — Adobe or Figma subscriptions, fonts, stock assets, and a steady stream of revisions. Fold those into your annual expenses below, and be honest about revision rounds: scope creep is where design projects quietly lose money.
Many designers shift from hourly to project or value-based pricing as they gain experience, but you still need an hourly floor to know whether a flat project fee is actually worth your time.
Frequently asked
Hourly protects you on open-ended work and revisions; flat project pricing rewards speed and is easier for clients to approve. Either way, calculate your hourly floor first so you can check a project fee divides into enough per hour.
Most full-time freelancers bill 20–30 hours a week once admin, sales, and downtime are removed — not 40. Be conservative here or you'll underprice.
Commonly cited figures put the U.S. average around $48 an hour, but it varies hugely by field, experience, and location. Treat it as a sanity check, not a target.