Rate Calculator.

A working tool for any photographer figuring out what to charge. Plug in your real monthly overhead, set a take-home target, and choose how you bill — by the hour, or by the job. Result updates live as you type. Free, no signup, runs entirely in your browser.

Step 01

Monthly business costs.

Your real overhead — not what you wish it were. Estimate the monthly equivalent for annual costs.

$
$
$
$
$
$
Monthly overhead $0
Step 02

Take-home target.

What you want in your pocket each month after the business pays its own bills. This is your income, not revenue.

$
Step 03

Billable hours per month.

Time you actually invoice clients for — not total hours worked. Most full-time photographers bill 60–110 hours a month after admin, marketing, and unpaid prep.

hrs
Step 03

Jobs & hours per job.

How many shoots you can realistically take per month, and the total hours each one consumes (drive + shoot + edit + delivery).

jobs
hrs
Note on the verdict. Rate ranges here are based on broad U.S. commercial photography market data. Your local market may be more or less competitive, and certain specialties (luxury real estate, commercial architecture, advertising) command a significant premium over the medians shown. Use this as a sanity check, not a price ceiling. The math itself is the same regardless of niche — you can't sustainably charge less than your real cost of doing business.