Hourly to day rate calculator
A 7.5 hour day turns £60 an hour into £450 a day, which bills £103,500 over 46 billable weeks. Every week you do not bill at that rate costs £2,250.
Checked 7 November 2026.
| Hourly rate | £60.00 |
|---|---|
| Day rate (7.5 hours) | £450.00 |
| Days a year (5 × 46 weeks) | 230 |
| Hours a year | 1,725 |
| Billed a year | £103,500.00 |
| Day rate | Hourly | A year |
|---|---|---|
| £400 | £53.33 | £92,000 |
| £425 | £56.67 | £97,750 |
| £450 | £60.00 | £103,500 |
| £475 | £63.33 | £109,250 |
| £500 | £66.67 | £115,000 |
These are gross billing figures before any tax, expenses or fees.
A worked example
At £60 an hour and a 7.5 hour day, the day rate is £60 × 7.5 = £450. Five days a week bills £2,250. Over 46 billable weeks that is 230 days, so the year comes to 230 × £450 = £103,500, or £8,625 a month. You would bill 1,725 hours in that year.
Going the other way, a £450 day rate divided by 7.5 hours is £60 an hour. If the client counts an 8 hour day, the same £450 is worth £56.25 an hour.
Why the result moves
The hours in a day set the conversion between hourly and daily. Days a week and weeks a year only change the weekly, monthly and yearly totals. Each billable week you lose at £450 a day costs £2,250 of billing, so dropping from 46 weeks to 44 takes the year from £103,500 to £99,000.
When this calculator is wrong for you
- Your hours change from day to day. Use an average, or work from the hourly rate and the hours you expect to bill.
- You are paid overtime or a different rate for evenings and weekends.
- You need take-home pay rather than billing. The figures here are gross, before tax, expenses and any umbrella or agency costs.
- Your contract pays a fixed fee for the whole job rather than a time rate.
Questions people ask
Should I use 7.5 or 8 hours for a day?
Use whatever your contract says counts as a day. Most UK contract and public sector days are 7.5 hours, often 9 to 5:30 with an unpaid hour for lunch. Some clients and agencies count 8. On a £450 day the difference is £60 an hour against £56.25.
Why 46 billable weeks a year?
A year has 52 weeks. Take off about five for holidays and one more for the eight bank holidays and you have 46, which is 230 days at five a week. If you expect gaps between contracts or sick days, lower it. 44 weeks gives the 220 days many contractors plan on.
Is a day rate better than an hourly rate?
Neither pays more on its own. A day rate is simpler to invoice and protects you on short days. An hourly rate pays for every extra hour, which suits work with long or unpredictable days. Check what the contract says happens when you work more or less than a standard day.
How do agencies quote rates?
Outside IR35 roles are usually quoted as a day rate to your limited company, before VAT. Inside IR35 roles are often quoted as an umbrella rate, which still has employer costs to come off. A PAYE rate is the lowest of the three for the same job, because the agency has already taken its employer costs out.
What about overtime?
Most day-rate contracts do not pay overtime; a long day is still one day. Some pay extra hours at the hourly equivalent, or bill half days. If yours does, add the extra hours to the hours a day here, or work them out separately at the hourly rate.
How do I get from this to my take-home pay?
Tick the take-home option under more options for a quick limited company figure at the day rate. For full control over salary, expenses, pension and IR35 status, take the day rate into the contractor take-home or umbrella calculators.
How this is worked out
Day rate equals hourly rate multiplied by billable hours a day; hourly rate equals day rate divided by those hours. Weekly billing is the day rate times days a week. Days a year are days a week times billable weeks, and the annual figure is the day rate times days a year. Monthly is the annual figure divided by 12. Figures are rounded to the penny. The optional take-home line runs the site’s limited company sum at the resulting day rate with a £12,570 salary, £2,000 of expenses, no pension and 2026/27 rates.
Full formulas, rounding rules and test cases are on the methodology page. Every rate update is listed in the changelog.