Hey writer,
The question I get more than any other — from brand-new freelancers and people ten years in — is some version of:
“...but what should I actually charge?”
And I’ve watched so many talented writers answer it the same way: pick a number that “sounds professional,” quote it while lightly sweating, and then wonder for the next three months why they’re fully booked and broke.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: your rate is not a vibe. It’s math.
Your real life (rent, health insurance, groceries, the savings you keep meaning to start) ÷ the hours you can actually bill (not the hours you work — the admin, the proposals, the discovery calls don’t pay) + a cushion for taxes and slow months. That’s it. That’s the rate.
If you’ve been in my world for a while, you know I teach this as a worksheet — the Target Hourly Rate method. Well… we just turned that exact worksheet into a free interactive calculator on CozyJobs, and honestly it came out so cute I’m a little emotional about it.
It takes about two minutes. You tap a starting template, make the numbers yours — every line is editable, down to “dog walker” if you need it — slide how many hours you want to work and how many weeks off you’re taking (you’re the benefits department now), and out comes:
Your target hourly rate — plus a floor you never quote below, and a rush rate for scope-creepy weekends
Your day rate, week, month, and year — so a retainer conversation never catches you off guard
The staff-salary equivalent — proof that your $100/hr is not greedy, it’s a $72k salary in a trench coat
A raise ladder — the step-by-step path from what you charge today to your target (~20% per new client, current clients catch up at renewal)
A project-pricing cheat sheet — what that rate means you should quote for a blog post, a case study, a white paper, even per-word
A “could I live abroad?” mode — see the cities where your rate stretches the furthest (dangerous knowledge, sorry in advance)
And my favorite part: the calculator is plugged straight into the CozyJobs board, so once you have your number, it shows you live freelance and contract listings badged “✓ meets your target” — measured against your floor, not some generic benchmark. Your rate stops being a wish and becomes a filter.
Fair warning: for almost everyone, the number comes out higher than what you currently charge. That’s not the calculator being delusional — that’s the math showing you how long your old rate has been quietly subsidizing your business. Sit with it. Then raise.
Go find your number. Screenshot your rate card. Reply and tell me what it said — I genuinely want to know.
xo,
-Amy
P.S. It’s completely free and you don’t need an account to use it. But if you make a free CozyJobs account, your numbers save to your profile, sync across devices, and the job board keeps measuring new listings against your floor forever. Future you, opening a job post that says “✓ meets your target”? They’re thriving.