Consulting Rate Calculator
A defensible rate is built from your own economics, not from what a forum says someone else charges. Enter your numbers; the calculator does the arithmetic and shows its work. Nothing here is a benchmark, because invented benchmarks are how people underprice with confidence.
Your floor day rate
$1,955
About $244 per hour, assuming an 8-hour billable day.
The arithmetic: ($180,000 income + $24,000 overhead) / 120 billable days, plus 15% buffer.
Sensitivity: at 96 billable days the floor rises to $2,444; at 144 days it falls to $1,629.
How to read the result
The rate shown is the floor that meets your income target at your stated utilization, not a suggestion of what the market will bear. Value-based pricing can carry you well above it; going below it means knowingly funding the gap from somewhere else. The sensitivity line matters most: billable days move rates more than most people expect, which is why utilization discipline is a pricing strategy.
This is the floor. Pricing above it is a decision, not a guess.
The Business Case and Financial Model Kit includes the cost-plus versus value-based pricing model this calculator is a preview of. The full Proposal and Pricing System (go/no-go scorecard, fee build, negotiation scripts) ships within a month of launch.
Get the pricing playbook when it ships. The full system this calculator previews, plus how to price above your floor without losing the deal.
Launching late July 2026. The email list opens with checkout; until then, nothing here collects anything. Come back at launch or watch for the announcement on LinkedIn.