Consulting Rate Calculator: Hourly, Day Rate and Retainer

What this tells you

A consultant's rate has to cover the weeks spent selling, writing proposals and running the business, not just the hours billed. Start from the income you want plus expenses, gross it up for tax, and divide by your realistic billable hours, which for most independent consultants is 50-60% of time worked. The calculator also turns that into a day rate and a monthly retainer for a fixed number of hours.

Pricing · free tool

Consulting rate calculator

$150,000

What you would earn as salary

$15,000

Insurance, travel, software, accountant

30%

Income plus self-employment tax

46

After holidays and sick days

40 h

Everything, billable or not

55%

Most independents: 50-60%

10 h

For the retainer price

At those numbers

Billable hours per year
1012 h
Hourly rate
$233
Day rate (8 hours)
$1,863
Monthly retainer
$2,329

This is arithmetic on the numbers you entered, nothing here is a forecast or a promise about results.

The formula

billable hours = working weeks × hours per week × utilisation · revenue needed = (income + expenses) ÷ (1 − tax) · hourly = revenue ÷ billable hours · day rate = hourly × 8 · retainer = hourly × retainer hours

How to read the result

  • Utilisation is the number that decides everything. If you have never measured it, assume 50%: half your working time goes on sales, admin and delivery work you cannot bill.
  • Quote day rates or retainers rather than hours where you can. Clients compare hourly rates with salaries; they compare day rates with outcomes.
  • If the rate looks high for your market, raise utilisation by finding clients faster rather than cutting the rate.
  • For pure hourly freelancing with fewer unbillable weeks, the freelance rate calculator fits better.

Frequently asked questions

Add your target income to your business expenses, divide by one minus your tax rate, then divide by your billable hours: working weeks × hours per week × the share of time clients actually pay for.

50-60% for most independent consultants. The rest goes on finding clients, proposals, admin and learning.

A retainer or day rate where possible. It ties price to access and outcomes instead of minutes, and gives you predictable income.

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