Finance · Business

Know your real rate.

A receipt-clean calculator that turns your target income into an hourly rate — after taxes, platform fees and time off. See exactly where every invoiced dollar goes.

Rate after tax & feesMulti-country tax presetsScenario compareWorks offline
SoloRate
RATE RECEIPT · EST.
Target take-home$80,000/yr
Billable hours1,000/yr
Tax set-aside25%
Expenses13%
Platform fees8%
Where each $1 lands
Your real rate
not $80/hr
$0
★ ESTIMATE — NOT TAX ADVICE ★
4
tax countries
16+
US states
0
data uploaded
7
languages
1The problem

Most freelancers pick a rate by vibes — then lose the difference.

You divide your salary goal by your hours and call it a rate. But tax, platform fees, expenses and unpaid time off all come out of that number first. Guess low and you work a year for free.

The naive rate
$80/hr

$80,000 ÷ 1,000 billable hours. Feels reasonable. It isn't.

What it really costs
−46¢

Of every dollar you invoice, 46 cents leaves before you: tax, expenses, fees.

The rate you actually need
$148/hr

To keep $80,000 after all of it. Nearly double the guess.

2Back-solve

Start from the income you want. Work backwards to the rate.

Enter your target take-home, your realistic billable hours, an expenses buffer and a tax preset. SoloRate divides by the fraction you actually keep and prints the rate you need — no algebra, no spreadsheet.

  • Target take-home$80,000 / year
  • Billable hours1,000 / year (after time off & admin)
  • You keep54¢ of every invoiced dollar
Back-solve
Goal (take-home)$80,000
÷ what you keep0.54
= must invoice$148,148
÷ billable hours1,000
Rate$0/hr
3Where every dollar goes

A segmented breakdown of every invoiced dollar.

Watch the bar fill and see the till roll add up. This is one dollar you invoice, split into where it truly lands — the take-home slice is the only part that reaches you.

One invoiced dollar$1.00
25¢50¢75¢100¢
Take-home0¢
Tax set-aside0¢
Expenses0¢
Platform fees0¢
You keep0¢
4Tax presets

Country and US-state presets keep the estimate honest.

Pick where you file. SoloRate loads a simplified set-aside so your rate reflects self-employment tax where you actually live — clearly labeled as an estimate, never a filing.

25–32%
United States
Federal + state

SE tax 15.3% + income; state varies

20–29%
United Kingdom
Income tax + NI

Class 4 NICs + income bands

20–33%
Canada
Federal + provincial

CPP self-contributions included

19–32%
Australia
Income tax

Marginal brackets + Medicare levy

16+ US state presets
CaliforniaNew YorkTexas — no state taxFlorida — no state taxWashington — no state taxIllinoisMassachusettsColoradoGeorgiaOregonArizonaVirginiaNorth CarolinaOhioPennsylvaniaMichigan
5Benchmarks

Is my rate normal?

Your $148/hr, placed against the market for your discipline and experience. See where you land between the 25th percentile, the median and the 75th — so you can defend the number.

Product design$60–$165 · med $105
Web development$65–$185 · med $115
Copywriting$45–$140 · med $85
Marketing$55–$160 · med $100
Consulting$90–$265 · med $150
p25 → p75 rangemedianyour rate
6Scenario compare

Upwork vs. direct — same rate, different take-home.

Put two scenarios side by side on the same $1,000 invoiced. The only line that changes is the platform fee — but the take-home delta compounds across a year.

Via Upwork
per $1,000 invoiced
Invoiced$1,000
Platform fee · 10%−$100
Tax set-aside · 25%−$250
Expenses · 13%−$130
Take-home$0
keeps more
Direct (Stripe)
per $1,000 invoiced
Invoiced$1,000
Platform fee · 3%−$30
Tax set-aside · 25%−$250
Expenses · 13%−$130
Take-home$0
Going direct keeps +$70 on every $1,000 invoiced.≈ +$0/yr
7Set-aside tracker

Reserve tax from every quote, so the bill is never a surprise.

Each invoice accrues its share into a running reserve at your preset rate. Watch it climb toward your quarterly estimate — the money is already accounted for before it arrives.

Reserve toward Q3 estimate25% preset
$0/ $4,000 target
Invoice ledgerset-aside 25%
ClientAmountReserve
Northwind Studio$4,200+$1,050
Bail & Co.$2,800+$700
Harbor Labs$6,500+$1,625
Reserved$13,500+$0
8Privacy

Your income never leaves your phone.

Every calculation runs on-device. No account, no cloud, nothing uploaded — your numbers are some of the most sensitive you own, and they stay yours. SoloRate even works with airplane mode on.

No accountNo cloud syncWorks offline0 bytes uploaded
0 B
data uploaded, ever
9Pricing

The core calculator is free. Own the rest for the price of one invoice.

The rate calculator is free forever. Pro unlocks quotes, benchmarks, scenario compare and the tax tracker.

Best value
Lifetime
$19.99one-time
  • Full breakdown & quotes
  • Benchmarks & scenario compare
  • Tax set-aside tracker
  • All country & state presets
Get SoloRate
Monthly
$2.99/mo
  • Full breakdown & quotes
  • Benchmarks & scenario compare
  • Tax set-aside tracker
  • All country & state presets
Get SoloRate

Free tier: the core rate calculator, no time limit.

Estimates, not tax advice

SoloRate produces simplified estimates to help you set a rate and plan cash flow. Tax rules are complex and personal — brackets, deductions, credits and thresholds vary by situation. Every figure is labeled as an estimate. For anything you file, consult a qualified tax professional. SoloRate is not an accountant and does not give tax, legal or financial advice.

10FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is this tax advice?+

No. SoloRate gives simplified estimates to help you set a rate and plan. Figures are labeled as estimates — consult a tax professional for filing.

Does my financial data leave my phone?+

No. Every calculation runs on your device. Nothing is uploaded.

What's free?+

The core rate calculator is free. Pro unlocks quotes, benchmarks, scenario compare and the tax tracker.

Know your real rate.

Charge what the math says.

Stop guessing your rate. See where every dollar goes and quote with confidence — all on your device.

Coming soon to App Store & Google Play