Spain Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator
Spain · Self-employedMany freelancers set their hourly rate by dividing what they earned as an employee by the hours in a full working year — and that always comes up short. This calculator spreads your income target over the hours you'll actually be able to bill, not every hour in the year.
How is it calculated?
Required net annual income before tax = target net annual income ÷ (1 − tax rate/100). Required annual billing = that income + annual business expenses + annual self-employed contribution. Billable hours per year = working days per year × billable hours per day (not total hours worked: only the ones you actually bill a client, after admin, finding clients, training…). Hourly rate = required annual billing ÷ billable hours per year.
Examples
Target 30,000/year net, 220 working days, 5 billable h/day, taxed at 15%
Hourly rate: 37.72 (188.61/day, over 1,100 billable hours a year).
Target 45,000/year net, 200 working days, 6 billable h/day, taxed at 18%
Hourly rate: 52.82 (316.89/day, over 1,200 billable hours a year).
How the rate is calculated
Your hourly rate is the annual billing you need divided by the hours you can actually bill, not every hour in the year.
It's your minimum internal cost, not the price you quote a client: to budget a project with VAT and withholding use the freelance project price calculator. If you'd rather start from what you want to earn per month, check how much you need to bill.
| Step | Formula |
|---|---|
| 1. Required net annual income before tax | Target net income ÷ (1 − tax rate) |
| 2. Required annual billing | Income + business expenses + self-employed contribution |
| 3. Billable hours per year | Working days × billable hours per day |
| 4. Hourly rate | Annual billing ÷ billable hours |
Sources
- Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) — electronic office (personal income tax, VAT, and self-employed advance payments) — in effect since January 2024 · reviewed on September 27, 2026
- Spanish Social Security — self-employed (RETA) contribution brackets by net income — in effect since January 2023 · reviewed on September 27, 2026