Freelance Runway Calculator
See how many months your savings last while your freelance income is below your monthly costs, and how much you need to earn to break even.
Freelancer "Burn Rate" & Runway Calculator
See how many months your savings last if your freelance income stays below your monthly costs.
Safety Runway Metrics
Calculated Survival Runway
8.6 Months
Bar is full at 12 months
Your savings would cover the monthly shortfall for at least six months.
$1,400/mo
$3,200/mo
Guide: Using your runway number
How runway is calculated
Runway is how long your savings last while your income is lower than your costs. The calculator subtracts your average monthly freelance income from your monthly costs to get your monthly shortfall (your "burn"), then divides your savings by that shortfall. If income covers costs, there is no shortfall and your savings aren't being used.
Freelance income rarely arrives evenly, so use an honest average of the last several months rather than your best month. Remember that tax on freelance income is usually paid later, so money set aside for tax shouldn't be counted as savings here.
Smoothing uneven income
One common approach is to have all client payments go into a separate account and pay yourself the same amount from it each month. In good months the extra stays in that account; in slow months it covers the gap. Your runway number tells you how long that account can keep paying you if new work slows down.
If your runway is short, the two levers are the same ones the calculator uses: lower your monthly costs, or raise your reliable monthly income, for example with a retainer or part-time work. Try changing one input at a time to see which has more effect.