Your numbers
What a software engineer contractor should include in expenses
Typical costs include equipment, cloud and developer tools, insurance, benefits you replace yourself. Add your own and keep receipts for tax time.
Where unbilled time goes
Software Engineer Contractors commonly lose billable hours to meetings, onboarding and gaps between contracts. Count these when choosing your billable hours per week.
Pricing models
Common choices are hourly or day rates, or fixed monthly contracts.
Tip: Contractors fund their own benefits and downtime; include both in the target.
The math
Gross revenue = ($140,000 + $8,000) ÷ 0.72 = $205,556. Billable hours = (52 − 5) × 30 = 1,410. Minimum rate = $205,556 ÷ 1,410 = $146 per hour. See the methodology. Example inputs are illustrations, not market data.
General hourly rate calculator · Tax set-aside · Retainer pricing · All professions
Frequently asked questions
What should a software engineer contractor charge per hour?
It depends on your target income, costs and billable time. With $140,000 take-home, $8,000 expenses, a 28% tax set-aside, 5 weeks off and 30 billable hours a week, the minimum comes to about $146 per hour. These are example inputs, so enter your own.
How many billable hours does a software engineer contractor really have?
Many freelancers bill fewer hours than they work because of meetings, onboarding and gaps between contracts. The example uses 30 billable hours a week; track your own time to find your number.
How should a software engineer contractor price work?
Common models are hourly or day rates, or fixed monthly contracts.
Is this the rate I should quote?
No. It is the minimum that meets your targets. Add margin for demand, specialty and risk.