What is a day rate, and how is it set?
Day rate
A day rate is the price a freelancer or consultant charges for a day of work, used to quote projects, compare offers and check that a fixed fee covers the time.
A day rate is what an independent professional charges for a full working day, often seven or eight hours. Developers, designers, consultants and contractors use it to quote work by time, and to check fixed price projects by estimating the days involved.
A sustainable day rate starts from the income you need, not from an employee’s hourly wage. It has to cover the days you cannot bill, such as sales, admin, holidays and illness, plus tax, software and equipment.
A common mistake is dividing a salary by every working day of the year. Most freelancers bill far fewer days than they work, so the rate that looks high on paper is often the one that pays the bills.
For example. To take home €60,000 a year after €12,000 of costs, over 140 billable days, a designer needs about €515 a day before tax.
Day rate on Yume
On Yume, your agent quotes what you allow, counters inside your range and never says your lowest price. The freelance rate calculator works out a day rate from the income and the billable days you need.