Consulting Fee Calculator

Determine the hourly and daily rate to charge as an independent consultant, based on your target net income, annual overheads, and desired margin. The calculation runs entirely in your browser.

Example:
What you want to take home after all expenses are paid
Social contributions, insurance, software, accounting, office space...
Excluding prospecting, admin, holidays, and training
Cash flow, unexpected events, growth

How it works

The tool starts from the net income you want to earn, adds your annual overheads (social contributions, insurance, tools, accounting...), then applies the desired profit margin to get the annual revenue you need to generate. That amount is divided by the number of hours you can actually bill in a year to get your hourly rate, then multiplied by your billable hours per day to get your daily rate.

Why does the number of billable hours matter so much?

Independent consultants never bill 100% of their working time: prospecting, admin, training, holidays, and slow periods cut down the number of sellable hours. An overly optimistic figure (for example, 1,800 hours out of 2,000 worked) mechanically undervalues your real rate. In general, plan for 1,000 to 1,400 billable hours per year for a full-time load.

Do you really need to include a profit margin?

Yes — without a margin, your rate only covers your overheads and salary, leaving no cash buffer for a month without a contract, investing in your business, or dealing with the unexpected. A 10–20% margin is a common starting point; adjust it to your sector and positioning.

This calculation provides a simplified estimate to help you set a starting point; it is no substitute for the advice of an accountant or financial advisor who knows your situation in detail (tax status, actual contributions, local market).

The calculation is done entirely in your browser: none of the data you enter is sent to a server.