How Much Should You Charge for Freelance Work?

Take it from me: One of the biggest challenges freelance workers face is figuring out what to charge. Challenge solved: The free FreelanceSwitch calculator helps you determine your optimal hourly rate. And not just optimal, but also what you need to break even.

All you do is answer various questions about your business costs, personal costs, and billable hours. The only part that threw me was Step 4: "How Much Profit/Savings Do You Want?" Guess I never stopped to think about how much I want to make over and above everyday living and retirement-savings costs. (Financially speaking, I'm a doofus.)

The entire process takes just a few minutes, though be sure to read the questions carefully -- in one spot I inadvertently entered the number of hours per day I can bill rather than the percentage, and ended up with an Ideal Hourly Rate of about $430. Yeah, where can I get that job?!

This is a seriously handy tool for anyone thinking about ditching the cubicle in favor of the freelance lifestyle, or any current freelancers wondering if they're charging enough, too much, or what.