Freelancer Day Rate Calculator

There are over 2.5 million self-employed Canadians working currently and the number keeps growing. The freedom to be your own boss and set your own hours has never been more appealing and more and more people are opting to take control of their working lives and arrange their jobs to suit themselves.

One thing which puts many people off being self-employed is how complicated finances can become when you have to think about day rates versus annual salary. You don't take the same holidays as everyone else and, of course, taxes are more tricky! Our handy tool will make your life easier, making a conversion between your day rate and annual salary a piece of cake no matter if you work seven days a week or only on weekends.

What is a day rate?

A day rate is the amount you charge for a day's work. Often freelancers work on specific projects rather than just being paid to be available. They can either be paid by project or by day rate.

Being paid by the project is typically for people on the creative or management side, a designer overseeing a job in its entirety. A day rate is more common for the people employed to work within that project, a graphic designer for example.

Why calculate your day rate?

When you are offered a salary at a day rate it can be complicated to work out how much that will come to over a year. Knowing your annual salary is important when it comes to budgeting and knowing how much you are likely to owe in taxes.

Freelancers paid at a day rate do not get paid holidays. If they work four days a week they are only paid for four days. Therefore our calculator is very useful in allowing you to see exactly how much you will earn and how much you would need to charge per day to get the annual salary you want.

How to calculate your day rate?

To use the tool at the top of this page to calculate your date first input your desired annual salary. Next, adjust the settings to reflect the days of the week in which you work. Lastly, you can adjust the rate at which you pay tax.

It is that simple. Now, the day rate that you should charge is displayed in the green box. If you know how much you would like to earn annually now you know how much you should be charging at a day rate.

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Nishadh Mohammed

Nishadh Mohammed is a seasoned news editor and financial writer, working with HelloSafe since May 2023. Nishadh has developed expertise in financial markets, insurance, and investment products, with a deep understanding of the Canadian financial landscape. He has honed his SEO skills and content marketing strategies while writing for Canadian publishing houses. Armed with a master's in Business Analytics and extensive journalistic experience, Nishadh uniquely combines data proficiency and thorough research to deliver comprehensive and accessible information.