Your numbers
Your rate
About web developer rates
Web developers are often tempted to quote by feature, then lose money on debugging, deployment and client changes. Working from a real hourly rate keeps every quote profitable.
Add a buffer for testing, bug fixes and client revisions, and charge for maintenance separately.
Expenses to include
- Hosting, domains and staging environments
- Paid tools, editor licences and testing services
- A laptop, second screen and backup internet or power
- Courses, books and time to keep up with frameworks
- Accounting and invoicing software
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 web developer set an hourly rate?
Work backwards from the income you want to keep, add hosting, tools and equipment costs, then divide by the hours you can really bill. Remember that meetings, scoping and bug fixing are hours you rarely get paid for directly.
Should a web developer charge hourly or per project?
Fixed prices work for clearly scoped sites, but only if you estimate hours properly and limit changes. Hourly or retainer pricing is safer for ongoing development, maintenance and projects where the requirements keep moving.
How many hours per week can a web developer realistically bill?
Between client calls, scoping, testing and support, 20 to 28 billable hours a week is a reasonable planning range. Start with 25 and check it against a few weeks of tracked time.