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Your rate
About graphic designer rates
Graphic designers sell creative time, but a lot of the week goes on briefs, feedback rounds and file handover that clients never see on an invoice. This calculator turns your income goal into an hourly rate that covers all of it.
Put the number of revision rounds in your contract and bill extra rounds at your hourly rate.
Expenses to include
- Design software subscriptions
- Fonts, stock images and licences
- A reliable computer and a colour-accurate monitor
- Cloud storage and backups for large files
- Portfolio website and domain
Add these up for a full year and enter the total in "Yearly expenses".
How the rate is calculated
- Revenue needed = take-home ÷ (1 − tax rate) + expenses
- Billable hours per year = hours per week × (52 − weeks off)
- Hourly rate = revenue needed ÷ billable hours per year
This is a planning estimate, not tax advice. Tax rules differ by country, so check with a local accountant for exact figures.
Frequently asked questions
How should a graphic designer set an hourly rate?
Start from the income you want to keep, add software, licences and equipment costs, then divide by the hours you can actually bill. Design work includes unbilled time on briefs, feedback and file preparation, so your billable hours will be well below a full week.
Should a graphic designer charge hourly or per project?
Hourly pricing suits ongoing or unclear work such as brand refreshes with lots of feedback. Fixed prices suit well-defined jobs like a logo or a flyer, as long as you estimate your hours with this calculator first and include a revision limit.
How many hours per week can a graphic designer realistically bill?
Around 20 to 28 hours a week is a reasonable planning range because briefing, client calls, feedback rounds and exporting files take the rest. Start with 25 and adjust it using your own time tracking.