Free tool
Builder rate calculator
Most builders price off what feels comfortable, then wonder why the money never adds up. Enter your real numbers and get the hourly rate the math actually requires - then use it to quote fixed-price projects.
What you want to actually keep after tax.
Software, subscriptions, tools, contractors.
Rough share of income reserved for tax.
Total working hours, not just billable.
The rest goes to sales, admin, learning.
Holidays, sick time, buffer.
This is the floor - the rate that clears your income, costs, and tax across 792 billable hours a year. Charge above it, never below.
- Day rate (8 hrs)
- $1,428
- Revenue you need / year
- $141,333
- That is / month
- $11,778
- A ~20 hour build
- $3,569
How the builder rate calculator works
The calculator works backward from the income you want to keep. It grosses that number up for the tax you set aside, adds your business costs, and divides the total by the hours you can genuinely bill in a year. The billable share matters most: you do not bill all the hours you work, because sales, admin, and learning eat a real slice. A builder who works 30 hours a week but only bills 55 percent of them has far fewer billable hours than the 1,500 they might assume, so the required rate climbs.
Questions builders ask about rates
How much should I charge as a Claude Code builder?
Work backward from the income you want. Take your target yearly income, add your costs and the tax you need to set aside, then divide by the hours you can actually bill in a year (not the hours you work - a realistic billable ratio is 50 to 60 percent). That gives the hourly rate you need. Most builders undercharge because they price off what feels comfortable instead of what the math requires.
Why is my billable rate higher than a salary hourly rate?
Because you carry costs an employer normally absorbs: self-employment tax, software, health coverage, unpaid admin and sales time, and gaps between projects. A rate that only matches a salaried hourly wage leaves you earning far less once those are paid.
Should I charge hourly or per project?
Use this hourly number to price the project, then quote the project as a fixed price. Clients buy outcomes, not hours, and fixed pricing rewards you for building fast with Claude Code instead of penalizing your speed.
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