Finances · Free forever
Rate & day-rate calculator
Work backwards from the year you need, not from what someone in a group chat charges. Every step of the maths is shown, so you can see exactly why your rate is your rate.
What you want to earn
Start from the life you're paying for, not from what other people charge.
Days you can actually bill
This is the number that decides your rate — and it's never 260.
Your suggested rates
Day rate
$425.00 USD
Hourly rate
$70.00 USD
Half day
$250.00 USD
Full week (4 days, slight discount)
$1,550.00 USD
Here's the actual maths
No black box — this is the whole calculation, so you can defend the number in a call.
1 · What the business must earn
2 · Days you can bill
3 · Divide: $75,900.00 USD ÷ 184 billable days = $425.00 USD per day, rounded to a number you'd actually put on an invoice.
Project and flat-fee ranges
Quote the top of the range when the brief is vague, the deadline is tight, or the usage is broad.
If this number feels too high, that's normal
Nearly every artist's first instinct is that their real rate is "too much". It isn't a price you shout at a client — it's the floor you need for the year to work. Quoting below it means someone else's budget is subsidised by your savings.
You're not charging for time. You're charging for the gear, the software, the years of practice, the unpaid pitching, the revisions, and the fact that the client gets to use what you made.
Happy with your rate? Put it on an invoice or write it into a contract.