Enter your annual CTC, working days per month, and hours per day. The calculator breaks it down to hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly rates.
Why your hourly rate matters more than you think
Most salaried employees in India think in monthly terms. ₹1 lakh a month sounds solid. But that same person often does 10 hours of unpaid extra work every week without thinking twice. At ₹568/hour, 10 extra hours a week is ₹5,680 of free work, ₹68,160 a year.
Freelancers already know this math. If Priya in Pune wants to replace her ₹12 LPA job as a freelance designer, she needs to charge enough to cover:
- Lost employer PF contribution (~₹8,640/year)
- No paid leaves (21 days = ₹1.05 lakh at ₹568/hr)
- No health insurance, bonuses, gratuity
- Months with no work or delayed payments
A ₹12 LPA salary effectively costs the employer ~₹14–15 LPA with benefits. To match that as a freelancer, the target rate should be at least ₹700–800/hour, not ₹568.
The standard Indian working assumption
22 working days per month is the default here. This is the standard assumption used by Indian payroll systems, it accounts for weekends and roughly 1–2 public holidays per month.
Some companies use 26 days (excluding only Sundays), others use 20 or 21 for companies with more leaves. Change the slider to match your actual office calendar.
Hours per day: 8 is the statutory minimum for most roles. Reality is often 9–10 in Indian corporates. If you work 10 hours/day, your true hourly rate is 20% lower than the calculator shows.
CTC vs take-home: the hourly rate you actually receive
This calculator works on CTC. Your actual cash-in-hand is lower. For a ₹12 LPA CTC:
- Employee PF deduction: ~₹1.1 lakh/year
- Income tax (new regime): ~₹33,750/year
- Professional tax: ~₹2,400/year
- Take-home: roughly ₹9.5–10 lakh/year
On an hourly basis, take-home is closer to ₹450/hour, not ₹568. Use the CTC to In-Hand Calculator to get the exact post-tax number, then divide by your annual working hours.
Comparing two job offers on hourly terms
CTC comparisons miss the time dimension. A ₹15 LPA job requiring 60-hour weeks is worse per-hour than a ₹12 LPA job with 45-hour weeks.
| Offer | CTC | Hours/week | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job A | ₹15 LPA | 60 hrs | ₹481/hr |
| Job B | ₹12 LPA | 45 hrs | ₹512/hr |
Job B pays more per hour despite lower CTC. Add commute time and Job A looks even worse. This framing is especially useful for offers in different cities, a ₹20 LPA in Mumbai with 2 hours daily commute vs ₹16 LPA in Pune with 30-minute commute.
Freelance rate benchmarks in India (2026)
If you’re using this to price freelance work:
| Skill | Beginner | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web development | ₹500–800/hr | ₹1,000–2,000/hr | ₹2,500–5,000/hr |
| Graphic design | ₹300–600/hr | ₹800–1,500/hr | ₹2,000–4,000/hr |
| Content writing | ₹200–400/hr | ₹500–1,000/hr | ₹1,500–3,000/hr |
| Financial consulting | ₹1,000–2,000/hr | ₹2,500–5,000/hr | ₹5,000–15,000/hr |
| Data / ML engineering | ₹800–1,500/hr | ₹2,000–4,000/hr | ₹4,000–10,000/hr |
Platforms like Toptal, Upwork, and Contra typically pay 2–3x Indian domestic rates for the same skills, in USD.
Related calculators
- CTC to In-Hand Calculator - your actual monthly take-home
- Salary Hike Calculator - see new hourly rate after increment
- Freelancer Tax Calculator - tax on freelance income under 44ADA
Sources
- Factories Act, 1948 — Section 54: maximum 9 hours per day, Section 51: maximum 48 hours per week (basis for 8-hour default)
- Ministry of Labour and Employment — Shops and Establishments Acts (state-specific): 22–26 working days/month conventions
- Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 — employer PF contribution computed on basic salary, not CTC