Fill in your income goal, expenses and hours — get your minimum, target and premium rates.
As a freelancer you pay costs that employers used to cover — CPP/EI contributions (both sides), health benefits, vacation pay, professional development, equipment, software and the time you spend on unpaid admin. A general rule: your freelance rate should be at least 1.5–2× the equivalent hourly employee rate to break even.
Billable hours are hours you can actually invoice clients for. Most freelancers bill 50–65% of their total working time — the rest goes to finding clients, proposals, invoicing, admin, learning and unplanned downtime. Entering 25 billable hours per week if you work 40 is realistic for most freelancers starting out.
Project-based pricing is generally more profitable once you are experienced. It rewards efficiency — if you can do in 3 hours what takes others 8, hourly pricing penalises you. However, use hourly for exploratory or open-ended work where the scope is unclear.
Self-employed Canadians pay both employee and employer CPP contributions (up to about 11.9% combined in 2025), income tax at marginal rates, and must remit HST/GST once revenue exceeds $30,000. Budget 25–35% of gross revenue for tax obligations and set it aside immediately after each payment.
Annually is the minimum. If demand is high and you are fully booked, raise rates immediately — the market is telling you that you are undercharging. A 10–15% annual increase is normal and clients rarely leave over it if your work is good.
The premium rate (25% above target in this calculator) is for rush work, difficult clients, very specialised projects, or times when you are nearly fully booked. Scarcity pricing is legitimate — if accepting a job means turning away another, the new client should pay for that opportunity cost.