Educational only: Work and pay decision support, not tax, legal, financial or career advice.
Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral work and pay planning using your own assumptions.
What this calculator helps you decide
Best for
Checking a fixed project fee after direct costs and all project time.
Outputs
Gross and net hourly rates, total hours, target capacity and hour margin.
Start here
Enter the fee, delivery and non-delivery time, direct costs and target rate.
- Close-intent boundary
- Do not use this to compare employee and contractor packages; use Contractor Rate Equivalent Calculator.
Understand real hourly value
Project Fee to Hourly Rate: gross and net hourly rates
Gross and net hourly rates, total hours, target capacity and hour margin.
Project fee and full-time assumptions
Include delivery and non-delivery hours on the same project basis.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Gross project fee before entered direct costs.
Hours spent delivering the project work.
Sales, administration and other project hours.
Direct project costs deducted from the fee.
Direct costs and target rateOpen the assumptions you are less likely to change on every comparison.
Your target net rate for the project.
Calculated result
Gross rate, net rate and target hour margin stay separate.
Use one currency consistently across all inputs.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Entered scenario78.57Baseline
Delivery hours: 12675.34-3.23
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Net hourly rate
Net hourly rate
netHourlyRate = netFee ÷ totalHours78.57 currency unitsResult78.57 currency units
Project fee less direct costs, divided by all entered hours. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Net hourly rate formula →Gross hourly rate
Gross hourly rate
grossHourlyRate = projectFee ÷ totalHours85.71 currency unitsResult85.71 currency units
Gross project fee divided by all entered hours. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Gross hourly rate formula →Total project hours
Total hours
totalHours = deliveryHours + nonDeliveryHours140Result140
Delivery plus non-delivery hours. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Total project hours formula →Maximum hours at target
Maximum hours
maximumHoursAtTargetRate = netFee ÷ targetHourlyRate146.67Result146.67
Net fee divided by the entered target hourly rate. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Maximum hours at target formula →Hour margin to target
Rate margin
rateMargin = maximumHoursAtTargetRate − totalHours6.67Result6.67
Maximum hours at target less entered total hours. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Hour margin to target formula →Inputs used
- Project fee
- 12,000.00 currency units
- Delivery hours
- 120
- Non-delivery hours
- 20
- Direct costs
- 1,000.00 currency units
- Target hourly rate
- 75.00 currency units
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario values are visible in the URL, calculations run in the browser, and optional saved state stays only on this device. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| projectFee | Gross project fee before entered direct costs. | currency units/project | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 12000 |
| deliveryHours | Hours spent delivering the project work. | hours/project | 0 to 10000 | Required | 120 |
| nonDeliveryHours | Sales, administration and other project hours. | hours/project | 0 to 10000 | Required | 20 |
| directCosts | Direct project costs deducted from the fee. | currency units/project | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 1000 |
| targetHourlyRate | Your target net rate for the project. | currency units/hour | 0.01 to 100000000 | Required | 75 |
Project Fee to Hourly Rate: gross and net hourly rates
Use net hourly rate only after counting non-delivery time and direct costs.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- netHourlyRate = netFee ÷ totalHours
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the work-value formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Act on the result
Review scope, administration time and project-specific costs.
Stress-test the decision
Retest delivery hours and direct costs.
When this estimate can be misleading
- No tax, payment risk, scope change, overhead allocation or market rate is inferred.
- A positive target margin is not a profit guarantee.
- Timing of cash collection is excluded.
- Use net hourly rate only after counting non-delivery time and direct costs.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Use these practical guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- How to use the Project Fee to Hourly Rate calculator
Compare gross and net project rates with a user-entered target after all entered hours and direct costs.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
What hourly rate does this project fee produce after all time and direct costs?
Review scope, administration time and project-specific costs.
Which official source and period does this use?
This market-neutral tool does not use an official local policy rule.
Can I share or save a scenario?
Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
How should I use the calculated result?
Treat the calculated result as one scenario, then verify the input record with the greatest effect on that result.