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Hourly to salary calculator for freelancers

Convert an hourly or contract rate into an annual figure and back again — and, crucially, see the contract rate you would need to actually match an employee salary once you add the freelancer uplift for tax, benefits and unpaid time. Runs in your browser, nothing uploaded.

Both directions Contract-rate uplift EN + 繁體中文

"Is this contract worth more than my old salary?"

It is one of the most common questions when you go freelance, or weigh a contract against a job offer — and the naive answer is misleading. Dividing a salary by 2,080 hours, or multiplying an hourly rate by 2,080, ignores the things an employer quietly pays for: your tax contributions, benefits, paid holiday and sick days, equipment, and all the hours you work that are not billable. A contract rate has to cover those itself.

This calculator converts cleanly in both directions, then adds the part that matters to freelancers: enter an uplift percentage and it estimates the contract hourly rate that genuinely matches a given employee salary — so you can compare like with like.

What it works out

Hourly → annual

Rate times your hours per week times weeks worked per year, with monthly and weekly figures.

Salary → hourly

Turn an annual salary into the equivalent hourly rate for the hours you actually work.

Contract-rate uplift

Add an uplift for the costs an employer covers, to find the matching contract rate.

Realistic inputs

Use your true billable hours and working weeks, not a flat 40 × 52.

Multiple currencies

Compare in the currency you actually bill or earn in.

Private & offline

Runs in your browser with zero network requests. Nothing is uploaded.

How to compare a contract rate to a salary

  1. Enter the salary (or the hourly rate) you want to compare.
  2. Set realistic hours per week and weeks per year for how you actually work.
  3. Add an uplift % for tax, benefits and unpaid time to see the matching contract rate.

From a number to a real rate

This converter is the quick "are these comparable?" check. When you are ready to set your actual price from an income goal — accounting for expenses and a tax set-aside — use the freelance rate calculator. Then track the billable hours you work and invoice them. All free and offline.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert an hourly rate to a yearly salary?
Multiply your hourly rate by your hours per week and weeks per year — e.g. 50 × 35 × 46 = 80,500. The calculator also shows monthly and weekly figures.
How do I convert a salary to an hourly rate?
Divide the annual salary by hours per week times weeks per year. Employees often use 52 weeks; a freelancer should use realistic billable hours and working weeks.
Why should a contract rate be higher than an employee hourly rate?
Because you cover your own tax, benefits, paid leave, equipment and unpaid non-billable time. A common rule of thumb adds roughly 25–50% uplift — though the right figure varies.
Is my data private?
Completely. Zero network requests — your numbers stay on your computer.
Is this financial advice?
No, it is a planning estimate. Costs vary by country — confirm your numbers with a professional.

More free tools for freelancers

Part of a set of offline, no-subscription tools for the whole freelance workflow:

Compare like with like

See what a contract rate is really worth next to a salary. Free, no account, nothing uploaded.

Open the calculator → See all the tools →