Calculate your
hourly rate
Establish your minimum hourly rate
and learn pricing tips with our free
calculator. Your personal information
will not be stored.
Working days
Burn
Taxes & fees
Results
1. Working days & vacations
Being independent means deciding the way work fits into your life, not the other way around.

Decide how many days you want to work, enjoy holidays, and plan for the unexpected.
Resources in Pollen:
Set up a vacation policy
Create a financial plan
Learn what the market rates are
Time working
Working days / week
Billable hours / working day
(we suggest estimating between 3-5)
Holidays / year
(there are 12 federal holidays in the US)
Vacation days / year
(Most companies offer >14 days, for comparison)
Average sick days / year
(Most companies offer about 7 days, for comparison)
Working days
0
2. Burn
Estimate how much money is going out of the door per month. Because you are your business, you should incorporate business and personal expenses.

Add in estimates and we’ll help you translate that into a plan.
Resources in Pollen:
Find the best business credit card
Create a savings plan
Automate your taxes and savings
Expenses
Monthly
(or)
Yearly
Business expenses
Rent & home expenses
Food
Travel & Entertainment
Savings
Other
Estimated yearly expenses
$0
3. Fees & Taxes
When you charge clients, you may face transaction and sales fees. If your clients pay with credit card, you’ll pay about 3% in fees. If you’re on a gig platform, you may pay some platform fees.
Resources in Pollen:
Maximize business tax deductions
Set up an efficient invoicing system
How to get an EIN
Expenses
Credit card
i
How much of your business is paid through credit cards and the associated estimated fee
Platform
i
How much of your business is through gig platforms and the estimated platform fee.
% of your total sales
Transaction fee %
Taxes
Yearly
Average Federal
Average State
Your minimum hourly rate
Pollen pricing calculator
Your hourly rate
Your minimum hourly rate
$0
Day rate
$0
Weekly rate
$0
How to use
this result
If your time is fully utilized based on the schedule you proposed, this rate will get you to breakeven and cover your personal expenses, business expenses, savings goals, and transaction fees. This is the minimum you should charge. We recommend adding buffer to cover slow periods and exploring retainers, project rates, and value based pricing.
‍
Market rates, your level of expertise, the value you provide to clients, and the competitive landscape should influence the hourly rate you should charge. It's important to research your industry, understand your worth, and set a rate that not only covers your expenses but also allows you to earn a reasonable income.
Your summary
Total annual expenses
$0
All sales fees
$0
Total taxes
$0
Break even yearly income
$0
More pricing tactics, tips, and strategies are discussed in the Pollen community of independent consultants. Apply to join the community and unlock access to more resources, tools, and discussions on pricing.
Apply now
Calculate your breakeven number
The breakeven hourly rate for independent consultants refers to the rate at which your total expenses or costs are covered by your earnings, resulting in no net profit or loss. Calculating the breakeven hourly rate is important for consultants to ensure that you’re covering business expenses and personal financial needs.
Hourly rates and other pricing strategies
Use your hourly rate to calculate other pricing strategies like flat project rates, retainers, packaged pricing, value based pricing and more.
Pricing is not static. It's essential to continuously evaluate your pricing based on client feedback, market changes, and your own business goals.
How to learn more about pricing
It’s important to find peers that you can be transparent with to get a sense of the market price, get feedback on proposals, and to show you their approaches. The Pollen community has pricing and finance discussions, and is a great place to perfect this skillset. Apply to join today.
Join the community of independents and
Get tactical pricing advice
Apply now
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