A fixed task price can look attractive until you count the time spent reading instructions, qualifying, completing the work and correcting it. Use this free freelance rate calculator for AI data tasks, voice recording or transcription to compare the payment with your actual working time.
Enter one task or a complete batch. All amounts must use the same currency. No account is needed, and the calculator does not upload or save your entries.
What does a task pay for your time?
Enter one task or batch and use the same currency for every amount.
Hypothetical example: 20 currency units, 60 work + 15 preparation + 15 correction minutes, a 5% fee and a 1-unit fixed fee. This is not a Spirelight rate.
Enter your task details to see the result.
- Effective hourly rate before tax
- Net before tax
- Total working time
- Total entered fees
- Payout per audio minute
- Net per audio minute
- Work minutes per audio minute
The fees you entered exceed the payout, so the net amount is negative.
An estimate from your entries, not a pay offer. Taxes, future task volume and currency conversion are not included.
How to calculate your effective hourly rate
Start with the payout you expect to receive for approved work. Enter the minutes spent doing the task, then add active preparation, qualification and corrections. Optional blank fields count as zero; leave audio length blank for tasks without audio.
- Total fees = payout × percentage fee ÷ 100 + fixed fee.
- Net before tax = payout − total entered fees.
- Total work hours = (task + preparation + correction minutes) ÷ 60.
- Effective hourly rate before tax = net before tax ÷ total work hours.
The percentage fee applies to the gross payout. The fixed fee is added separately. If a provider calculates fees differently, enter an equivalent fixed total and leave the percentage blank. Avoid counting the same charge twice.
A hypothetical worked example
Imagine a task pays 20 units of your chosen currency. It takes 60 minutes to complete, 15 to prepare and 15 to correct. A 5% fee takes 1 unit, and a fixed fee takes another 1. The net is 18 units across 90 minutes, giving an effective rate of 12 units per working hour before tax.
If that task contains 10 audio minutes, the gross payout is 2 units per audio minute, the net is 1.80, and the total effort is 9 work minutes per audio minute. These invented figures explain the arithmetic; they are not a Spirelight offer or an industry benchmark.
Count the time that belongs to the task
Include reading the brief, setting up a recording space, completing a required sample, fixing rejected items and handling relevant administration. For a batch, use the batch payout and all the time spent on that batch. Spread a one-time qualification across a batch only when you know which approved work it supported. Do not assume future assignments will repay that time.
A recording minute and a working minute are different units. Listening again, checking names, marking speaker turns and following a transcript style guide can all increase transcription time. Use your own measured time rather than a universal speed multiplier.
Check the project before accepting it
This result describes the inputs you entered. It does not account for unentered equipment costs, taxes, exchange rates or periods with no tasks. Confirm eligibility, approval rules, payment method and the fixed payout in the actual project brief. Read how Spirelight contributor projects work, or use the language and country guides to prepare an accurate profile.