2026 · Canada · Updated May 19, 2026

Freelance Rate Calculator — Canada

Most Canadians undercharge as freelancers because they compute the rate wrong. “Salary divided by hours” ignores CPP/QPP, extended benefits an employer used to cover, and the fact that you can only invoice about 60% of your working time. Enter your numbers below and see the actual rate in CAD.

Your numbers

$
The salary equivalent you want from this work. Use your current T4 salary to find the matching freelance rate.

Your schedule

Default 48 weeks leaves 4 weeks for vacation, sick, and statutory holidays.
What share of your work time you actually invoice. Industry benchmark is 60–70% for solo freelancers — the rest goes to admin, marketing, sales, learning.

Benefits to replace

$
For dental, vision, prescriptions, paramedical. Primary care is covered by your province. Default $150/month is mid-range coverage from Sun Life / Manulife for a 35–45-year-old single freelancer.
The 2026 RRSP limit is 18% of prior-year earned income, up to $33,810. 10% is a reasonable starting target that mirrors a decent employer match.
Cushion for slow months, business expenses, tax under-estimates, and growth. 20% is a sensible floor for solo freelancers.
What this doesn’t include: Federal and provincial income tax (a salaried employee at your target salary owes the same income tax you would, so it cancels in the comparison), and GST/HST (a flow-through tax — you collect it on top of your rate above the $30k threshold, doesn’t affect your take-home). Business expenses you deduct on T2125 lower taxable income; they don’t need to be added to the rate.

Your 2026 rate

Naive rate (what most people compute)Salary ÷ total work hours. Ignores CPP/QPP, benefits, non-billable time.
$31.25/hr
Minimum survival rateCovers income + benefits + CPP. No profit, no buffer.
$66.32/hr
Target rate (with 20% margin)The rate to actually charge.
$79.59/hr

Where the numbers come from

Total work hours / year40 hrs/week × 48 weeks
1,920
Billable hours / year60% of total — what you can actually invoice
1,152
Desired take-home income
$60,000
Annual extended health insurance$150/month × 12
$1,800
Annual RRSP contribution10% of desired income
$6,000
CPP burden11.9% on $3,500–$74,600, 8% on $74,600–$85,000
$8,605
Net SE income neededWhat lands on your T2125 before income tax
$76,405
Target annual revenueWith buffer margin applied — the actual gross you should aim for
$91,686

Free download

Canadian freelance pricing playbook

2026 rate formula, CPP/QPP quick reference, extended health insurance options, RRSP/TFSA limits, GST/HST registration rules, T2125 deductions, and CRA instalment due dates — all on one page.

  • Rate formula on one page (with CPP/QPP-aware example)
  • 2026 RRSP, TFSA, CPP/QPP quick reference
  • T2125 deductions and GST/HST registration rules

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The three reasons salary ÷ hours is wrong in Canada

  1. CPP or QPP — as an employee, your employer paid half of your CPP/QPP contribution (5.95% / 6.4%). You never saw it. As a self-employed person you pay both halves yourself: 11.9% (CPP) or 12.6% (QPP) on contributory earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, plus 8% on enhanced CPP2/QPP2 between $74,600 and $85,000.
  2. Benefits replacement— your provincial plan covers primary care, but everything else you have to fund yourself. Extended health (dental, vision, prescriptions, paramedical) runs $100–300/month for individual coverage with Sun Life or Manulife. And if your employer matched RRSP contributions, that’s gone too.
  3. Billable utilization (~60%) — solo freelancers typically can only invoice 50–70% of their working time. The rest goes to prospecting, proposals, contracts, admin, bookkeeping, and learning. If you bill 40 hours, you probably worked 60–70.

Worked example: matching a $60,000 T4 salary

Say you want freelancing to feel like a $60,000-a-year T4 job. Working 40 hours a week for 48 weeks, billing 60% of the time, outside Quebec:

  • Total work hours: 1,920
  • Billable hours: 1,152
  • Need after CPP: $60,000 + $1,800 extended health + $6,000 RRSP = $67,800
  • Net SE income required: ~$76,400 (lands just above YMPE, so a touch of CPP2 applies)
  • CPP burden: ~$8,600 ($8,461 base capped at YMPE + $144 CPP2)
  • Minimum hourly rate: ~$66/hr
  • Target rate with 20% buffer: ~$80/hr
  • What naive math suggests: $31/hr (salary ÷ total hours — which would bankrupt you within a year)

What this calculator deliberately leaves out

  • Federal and provincial income tax — an employee at your target salary owes the same income tax you would. It cancels in the comparison.
  • GST/HST— a flow-through tax. Once you cross the $30,000 small-supplier threshold you charge it on top of your rate and remit it. Doesn’t reduce take-home.
  • Business expenses — deductible on T2125, they lower taxable income rather than raise your rate.

Pair this with the CPP and GST/HST math

Once you know your rate, use our CPP & GST/HST Calculator to estimate what you’ll owe at year end.

These are estimates, not tax or business advice. Quebec residents also pay QPIP (parental insurance) which isn’t modelled here. High earners hit the YMPE/YAMPE caps and CPP contributions plateau, which the calculator handles automatically. People with significant business expenses on T2125 should think in terms of net SE income, not gross revenue.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the recommended rate so much higher than salary ÷ hours?
Three things employees never see in Canada: (1) Your employer paid the other half of CPP (5.95%) — as a self-employed person you pay both halves (11.9% on contributory earnings between $3,500 and $74,600, plus 8% on enhanced CPP2 to $85,000). (2) Your employer paid extended health benefits, RRSP match if you had one, and gave you paid vacation. (3) You can only actually invoice about 60% of your working hours — the rest is sales, admin, marketing, learning. Multiply those three together and a $60k salary really needs ~$66-80/hr freelancing.
Do I need to buy health insurance in Canada as a freelancer?
Primary care (doctor visits, hospital, most diagnostics) is covered by your provincial plan whether you're employed or self-employed. What you lose when you leave a job is 'extended' coverage — dental, vision, prescriptions, paramedical (physio, massage, chiropractic), short-term disability. A typical individual extended plan from Sun Life or Manulife runs $100-300/month depending on age and coverage. The calculator defaults to $150/month for a mid-range plan.
How does QPP work differently in Quebec?
Quebec runs its own pension plan. QPP self-employed rate is 12.6% (10.6% base + 2% first additional) — a touch higher than CPP's 11.9% — on the same $3,500-$74,600 range, plus 8% on the QPP2 portion between $74,600 and $85,000. Quebec residents also pay QPIP (parental insurance) at a different rate. Check the 'I'm a Quebec resident' box to use QPP rates.
Should I include income tax in the rate I charge?
No. An employee at your target salary pays the same federal and provincial income tax you would on freelance income, so it cancels in the comparison. What an employee doesn't pay — and what makes freelancing 'cost more' — is the extra half of CPP/QPP plus the benefits the employer covered. Those are what this calculator captures.
What about GST/HST — does that affect my rate?
Not really, no. GST/HST is a flow-through tax: once you cross the $30,000 small-supplier threshold, you charge it on top of your rate and remit it to the CRA. It doesn't reduce your take-home; you're collecting on the government's behalf. The rate you charge clients goes up by the GST/HST percentage, but your earnings stay the same.
What about business expenses — software, home office, equipment?
Don't add them to the rate. Those are deductible on Form T2125 and reduce your taxable income. They come out of revenue before income tax. The rate this calculator gives is the rate per billable hour — your business expenses are funded from your gross revenue separately, and they lower your tax bill rather than raising your rate.
Why default to 48 weeks instead of 52?
Because you're going to take vacation, get sick, attend conferences, and lose at least one week to statutory holidays. Most Canadian provinces have 9-10 stat holidays per year, plus the typical employer-provided 2-3 weeks paid vacation. Together that's about 4 weeks, which 48 working weeks accounts for. If you take more vacation, lower this number — your rate goes up accordingly.

Other free calculators

Need more than a calculator?

NorthOS is our Canadian-first bookkeeping app for self-employed folks — CPP, GST/HST, T2125 deductions, and quarterly instalments handled end-to-end. Or pair this calculator with these focused tools and guides: