Side-Hustle Pricing Solver

Most side-hustles are quietly losing money. This factors in materials, hidden time, running costs, and tax to find your true price floor.

Logic Updated: April 2026

Direct Materials ($)

Running Costs ($)

Include software, hosting, marketing, or workspace costs split per unit.

Production Time (Hours)

Admin & Hidden Time (Hours)

Target Hourly Wage ($)

Tax Buffer (%)

Percentage to hold back for income tax (typically 20-30%).

Zero Data Stored

All calculations happen in your browser. No data is stored.

Know someone who would find this useful? Share a private link to this tool (your data is never included).

Why this logic matters

Most creators and freelancers end up paying themselves minimum wage without realising it. Skip the hidden hours and skip the tax, and what looks like profit is just cash moving through your hands. Your price floor is the number below which you're working for free. Find that number first.

A real example

Say you make candles for weekend markets. One batch costs $20 in materials and running costs, takes 4 hours including packing, and you want $35 an hour with 25% set aside for tax. That's $160 before tax, close to $200 once the buffer is added. Sell below $200 and you're paying yourself less than minimum wage to make candles.