Most aspiring consultants fixate on their hourly rate and never run the annual math. Then they're surprised when a rate that "sounded high" barely matches their old salary once self-employment tax, non-billable time, and downtime are accounted for. This calculator does that math for you — so you commit with your eyes open.
Enter your rate, hours, weeks, and current salary — see your annual consulting income, take-home pay, and the rate you need to hit your goal.
~$213,000 /yr gross
Billing 25 hrs/week × 46 weeks at $185/hr — a 62.5% utilization rate.
Enter your email for the full breakdown — your self-employment tax estimate, take-home pay vs your salary, the reverse calculator (the exact rate to hit your income goal), and a personalized "what you need to charge" analysis.
The consulting rate calculator tells you what to charge per hour. This tool answers the next question — the one every aspiring consultant actually needs answered before quitting their job: if I charge that rate, how much will I really make in a year, and is it enough to replace my salary?
Plug in your hourly rate, realistic billable hours per week (not total hours — most consultants bill 20–30 of a 40-hour week), and the weeks you'll actually work in a year after vacation and downtime.
The calculator multiplies it out instantly. You'll see your projected annual consulting gross income and your utilization rate — the share of your time you're actually billing.
Self-employment tax (the full 15.3%) takes a bite the rate calculator doesn't show. You'll see your SE tax estimate, your income after that tax, and a net comparison to your current salary on an after-FICA basis.
Enter the annual income you want to earn. The calculator tells you the exact hourly rate you need to charge — accounting for the tax wedge — to hit that goal at your current hours and weeks.
A 40-hour week doesn't mean 40 billable hours. Sales calls, proposals, admin, marketing, and learning easily eat 10–15 hours. Realistic independent consultants bill 20–30 hours a week. Model that — not 40 — or your projected income is fiction.
As an employee, your employer pays half of your FICA. As a consultant you pay all 15.3% yourself. A $185/hr rate that looks like it beats a $120k salary can come out surprisingly close once SE tax is taken out — and that's before income tax.
Working backward from your income goal is how established consultants set rates. Decide what you need to earn, divide by realistic billable hours, and that's your floor. The reverse calculator does this for you — so you're never pricing by guesswork.
For defensible rate benchmarks by industry — the input to this calculator — see the consulting rate calculator and our consulting rates by industry data. Or browse every free tool on the tools hub.
Income modeling is one piece. The Consulting Launch Kit gives you everything else — a positioning statement, 3 productized offers with pricing, a rewritten bio, a cold-outreach email sequence, a proposal template, and a 30-day plan to land your first 3 clients. Just $29.
Get the launch kit — $29 →One-time · No subscription · Money-back guarantee.