Your rate before moving abroad: what to charge to live there

Work out your rate before you move: from your budget in the new place, one-off costs and the months while you find clients. No sign-up.

Three mistakes that pull your income down

1. The old budget. People take their costs at home and multiply by the exchange rate. In the new place, rent, insurance and tax are different — the budget has to be built again.

2. One-off costs left out. Visa, flights, a deposit on housing, setting up. Over a year it adds up to a lot, and it's usually missing from the rate.

3. Twelve working months in the first year. The first months go on settling in and finding clients. If you count them as working months, the rate comes out too low exactly when you need the money most.

You need a rate before you move, not after

Clients at home are often quoted a price per project. Clients abroad usually ask for an hourly or day rate first. Knowing your number in advance is the condition for even starting that conversation.

Working it out after the move is too late: once the flat is rented and the visa is done, the rate has to already work, not be chosen.

So work it out ahead, for the country you're heading to: the budget is different there, so is the tax, and the first year is almost always the most expensive.

What the first year costs

Say you need €3,000 a month to live in the new place, tax is 20%, margin 50%, you work 75 hours a month and a fifth of your time is unpaid. This is an example, not a forecast: put in your own numbers.

From the second year the one-off costs and the empty months are over, and the rate goes back to the first line. But while you're in your first year, use the last one.

Working out your rate is half the job

The calculator tells you what to charge. The timer shows what you actually get: how many hours you worked today, how many of them are paid, and how much is left until your daily target.

A rate without tracked hours is a promise to yourself that nobody checks.

Five of your numbers, not someone else's median

Going by someone else's rate makes no sense: it's built from someone else's life — another city, another tax, another share of paid hours. Yours comes from five numbers, and all of them are about you.

Common questions

Which currency should I use?

In the currency of the country where you'll spend: switch the currency in the calculator's header. If your clients stay behind and pay in another currency, the exchange rate is a separate risk to account for.

How do I account for tax if I haven't picked a country?

Run it with a few values and look at the spread. Tax depends on the country, your status and how the work is set up; ask a local accountant which percentage to enter.

How many months should I allow for the start?

As long as it usually takes you to find your first clients somewhere new. If clients come with you, fewer; if you start from zero, more. An honest figure comes from past experience of finding work, not from hope.

Should I recalculate once I've moved?

Yes, after a couple of months: real costs almost always differ from the plan. Once you've logged hours, your actual rate shows up too.

Rate, hours and projects in one place

A minute on how it works day to day.

Other calculators: Freelance hourly rate calculator, Designers, Illustrators, Developers, Copywriters, Photographers, Tutors, [](/calculators/hourly-rate/moscow-spb/), [](/calculators/hourly-rate/regions/), [](/calculators/hourly-rate/abroad-rub-clients/), Quoting clients abroad, Dubai, [](/calculators/hourly-rate/georgia/), Germany, Portugal, How to calculate a rate, How much to charge, Hourly or fixed price, Salary to hourly, Day rate.