Day rate vs hourly calculator

A day rate looks generous next to an hourly rate until you count the prep, travel and editing that come with a shoot day. Enter both and see which one pays more for the hours you actually work. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

A negative difference means the day rate pays less than charging your hourly rate for every hour the job takes.

How it works

Hours worked = shoot hours + extra hours. Day rate per hour worked = day rate ÷ hours worked. Difference = day rate − hourly rate × hours worked.

Worked example (the values above): billing only the 8 shoot hours at $75 would be $600.00, but the job really takes 12 hours, which at $75 is $900.00. A $1,000 day rate works out at $1,000 ÷ 12 = $83.33 per hour worked, so it pays $100.00 more than hourly billing for all 12 hours. If the same day rate came with 6 extra hours instead of 4, it would be $71.43 an hour and $50.00 less than hourly billing.

Need a rate to compare against? Start with the freelance hourly rate calculator. See also all calculators.