Stop guessing your rate.
Reverse-engineer it from your income goal.

Because no freelancer actually bills 40 hours a week, every week. You spend time on sales calls, proposals, admin, learning, debugging your own systems, replying to emails, fixing issues nobody pays for. 25-35% of your time is non-billable in a healthy business. Pricing as if you bill 100% of hours is the single biggest reason freelancers undercharge.

Wide range. Junior generalists: ₹500-1,500. Mid-level designers/developers: ₹1,500-3,500. Specialised consultants (data, AI, senior strategy): ₹3,500-10,000+. Top international rates can hit ₹15,000-30,000+/hr. The number this calculator gives you is what YOU need to charge, not the market rate — if it is far above market, lower your buffer or work more hours; if it is far below, you are leaving money on the table.

Always quote separately. Show your client "₹2,000/hr + GST" or "₹2,000/hr (₹2,360 inclusive of 18% GST)". Pricing inclusive of GST hides the real value of your work and makes it harder to raise rates later. The "Show rate with 18% GST added" toggle gives you both numbers.

When your client deducts 10% TDS at source, you only receive 90% of what you invoiced. If you wanted ₹2,000/hr in your bank, you should quote ₹2,222/hr (= 2000 / 0.9), so after the 10% deduction, ₹2,000 lands. You will reclaim the deducted amount when filing your ITR, but it sits with the government for 3-15 months. The "grossed up" mode adjusts for this cash-flow gap.

Annually at minimum. Twice a year is better. As your skills improve, your portfolio expands, and your reputation grows, your rate should follow. The biggest pricing mistake freelancers make is sticking with the rate they set in their first year. Re-run this calculator every 6 months with your real income data.

For client-facing quotes, almost always project-priced. Clients hate hourly because it caps your speed/efficiency at exactly what hurts them. But internally, you must know your effective hourly rate per project — that is the single number that tells you if a project was profitable. Quote project, track hours, evaluate by hour. ClearWork does this automatically.

A little, sometimes. But not for long, and not by much. Charging too low signals low quality and attracts clients who fight on price. Better strategy: charge fairly from day one but offer something extra to win the first 5-10 clients (faster turnaround, extra revisions, a smaller pilot scope). Then portfolio those wins and raise rates immediately.