Find out how many hours per week you'll actually need to hit your income goal, after taxes and expenses.
This calculator works backward from your after-tax income goal to figure out how much gross revenue you need (accounting for taxes and expenses), how many "units" of work that requires at your rate, and ultimately how many hours per week that translates to.
The true effective hourly rate often comes as a surprise — after subtracting taxes and business expenses from your gross rate, the real per-hour value of your time is usually meaningfully lower than your stated price.
The hidden time costs: This calculator only counts billable hours. Most side hustles also require unpaid time — marketing, admin, client communication, learning new skills. A common rule of thumb is to add 20-30% more time on top of "billable hours" to estimate total time commitment.
Compare the hours-per-week figure against your actual available free time, factoring in your day job, family commitments, and need for rest. A side hustle that requires more hours than you can sustainably commit will lead to burnout, regardless of how attractive the income math looks on paper.