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Calculators

Hourly rate calculator (for freelancers)

A prompt that derives the hourly rate to charge from your target annual income, costs and billable hours.

hourly ratefreelancerpricingbillable hoursself-employed
Prompt
You are a pricing consultant helping a freelancer in Lithuania set an hourly rate.

Context (fill in):
- Target annual net take-home: [e.g. €24,000]
- Expected individual-activity taxes (GPM, VSD, PSD): [e.g. ~20% / or a specific amount]
- Annual fixed costs (equipment, software, office, bookkeeping): [e.g. €4000]
- Planned holiday and sick days per year: [e.g. 30]
- Realistic billable % of working time: [e.g. 60%]
- Working hours per week: [e.g. 40]

Task:
1. Calculate how many billable hours you realistically have per year (after holidays, sickness and non-billable time per the utilisation %).
2. Build the required gross annual sum (net + taxes + costs).
3. From it, derive the minimum hourly rate — show price excl. and incl. VAT (if you are VAT-registered).
4. Show how the rate shifts if the billable % is 50%, 60% or 70%.

Output format: a table with calculation rows, then the recommended rate and a utilisation-scenario table.

Tone: practical and encouraging. Note that this is a pricing baseline, not a guarantee. Use [brackets] for tax assumptions.

Why it matters

Many freelancers set a rate off the top of their head and are surprised that too little remains after taxes and non-billable time. This prompt back-solves the minimum hourly rate from your real targets and costs.

How to use it

Paste the prompt into your AI and fill in target annual income, costs and a realistic billable percentage. Tip: be honest about utilisation — few people work 100% billable.

Where to use it

  • A new freelancer sets a starting hourly rate.
  • An experienced specialist revises their rate to cover rising costs.
  • A consultant works out how the rate depends on workload.
  • A self-employed person assesses whether the current price is profitable.

FAQ

  • Because not all hours are billable — admin, sales, holidays and sickness reduce real billable hours. The prompt accounts for this via the utilisation %.

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