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Hourly Wage CalculatorCalculate now
Free & updated for 2026

Hourly Wage Calculator

Convert your UK salary to an hourly rate in seconds. Get a full breakdown — daily, weekly, monthly — and see how you compare to the National Living Wage.

Enter your details

Your salary

Default: 37.5 hrs (standard UK full-time)

Deduct holiday weeks if needed (e.g. 47)

Formula: Annual salary ÷ (hours/week × weeks/year)

Enter your salary details and click Calculate to see your breakdown.

How to calculate your hourly wage

The standard UK formula divides your annual salary by the total number of hours you work each year:

// FormulaHourly rate = Annual salary ÷ (Hours/week × Weeks/year)

For example, a £30,000 salary with 37.5 hours per week over 52 weeks gives:

£30,000 ÷ (37.5 × 52) = £30,000 ÷ 1,950 = £15.38 per hour

Note: all figures are gross (before income tax and National Insurance). Your take-home pay will be lower depending on your tax code and NI contributions.

Adjusting for holiday

If you want to find the rate you're actually paid for time worked (excluding paid annual leave), reduce the weeks field. Most UK full-time employees receive 28 days (5.6 weeks) of statutory paid holiday, so you would enter 46.4 weeks instead of 52.

National Living & Minimum Wage — Current UK Rates

Age groupHourly rate
21 and over (NLW)£12.21
18–20£10.00
Under 18£7.55
Apprentice£7.55

Source: gov.uk. Rates apply from 1 April 2025. Check gov.uk for confirmed minimum wage 2026 UK rates.

Checking compliance?

If your calculated hourly rate is below the minimum wage for your age group, your employer may not be paying you the legal minimum. Raise this with your employer or contact ACAS on 0300 123 1100.

Hourly Wage Calculator UK — What You Need to Know

Whether you are starting a new job, negotiating a pay rise, or simply verifying you are being paid fairly, an hourly wage calculator is one of the most practical financial tools available to UK workers. Our free hourly wage calculator UKconverts any salary — annual, monthly, or weekly — into a precise hourly rate instantly, with a full pay breakdown included.

How the Hours and Wage Calculator Works

The formula is straightforward: divide your total annual earnings by the total number of hours you work each year. For example, a £32,000 salary worked over 37.5 hours per week across 52 weeks gives: £32,000 ÷ (37.5 × 52) = £16.41 per hour.

Our hours and wage calculator does this automatically. Enter your salary, choose annual, monthly, or weekly, then set your contracted hours and weeks per year. Results appear instantly — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pay in a single clear breakdown panel.

Gross Pay vs Take Home Pay

All figures from this hourly rate calculator are gross earnings — what you earn before income tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions are deducted. Your take home pay will be lower.

For the 2025/26 tax year, the personal allowance is £12,570, meaning you pay no income tax on the first £12,570 of earnings. Above that, the basic rate is 20%, the higher rate is 40%, and the additional rate is 45%. National Insurance contributions further reduce your net pay. Use the gross hourly rate from this hourly wage calculator UKas your starting point, then apply HMRC rates to estimate your actual take home pay.

National Minimum Wage 2026 UK

Checking whether your pay meets the legal minimum is one of the most important uses of a wage calculator. The national minimum wage 2026 UK is reviewed annually by the government, following recommendations from the Low Pay Commission, with new rates typically taking effect each April. Current rates from April 2025 are:

  • 21 and over (National Living Wage): £12.21 per hour
  • 18–20: £10.00 per hour
  • Under 18: £7.55 per hour
  • Apprentice: £7.55 per hour

The UK minimum wage 2026 rates will be confirmed by the government ahead of April 2026. Always checkgov.ukfor the latest figures. Our calculator automatically compares your calculated hourly rate against the current National Living Wage and clearly flags whether you are above or below the legal minimum threshold.

Minimum Wage for 18 Year Olds

If you are 18 years old, your legal entitlement is £10.00 per hour under the 18–20 age bracket. This minimum wage 18 year old rate applies from the first day of the pay reference period after your 18th birthday. Once you turn 21, you become entitled to the full National Living Wage. Students in part-time work, young workers in retail or hospitality, and apprentices can all use this tool to verify their hourly rate against the correct minimum wage threshold for their age group.

Who Uses This Hourly Wage Calculator UK?

Our hourly wage calculator UK is built for every type of worker:

  • Salaried employees who want to understand their true hourly value
  • Part-time and zero-hours workers calculating variable or irregular earnings
  • Students and young workers checking minimum wage compliance for their age group
  • Freelancers and contractors benchmarking a competitive hourly or day rate
  • HR teams and employers running quick payroll compliance checks

Why Use This Free Hourly Rate Calculator?

Unlike paywalled tools, this hourly rate calculator is entirely free, requires no sign-up, and stores no personal data. Everything runs in your browser — no data is ever sent to a server. Calculations are instant, the results are clear, and the tool is regularly updated to reflect the latest UK wage legislation. Whether you earn at the minimum wage 2026 UK level or a six-figure salary, knowing your exact hourly rate puts you in a stronger position in job negotiations, payroll queries, and everyday financial planning. Enter your salary above and let ourhourly wage calculator show exactly what your time is worth.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert my monthly salary to an hourly rate?
Multiply your monthly salary by 12 to get your annual figure, then divide by your total annual hours (hours per week × weeks per year). Our calculator handles this automatically — just switch the toggle to "Monthly" before entering your figure.
Does the calculator include tax or National Insurance?
No — all results are gross figures (before deductions). The hourly wage calculator shows what you earn before income tax, National Insurance, and any pension contributions are taken. Use a take-home pay calculator if you need net figures.
What is the National Living Wage in the UK?
From 1 April 2025, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.21 per hour. Workers aged 18–20 receive at least £10.00/hr, and those under 18 receive £7.55/hr. Apprentices also receive a minimum of £7.55/hr.
How many weeks should I use if I get paid holiday?
Use 52 weeks for a standard full-year rate. If you want the rate excluding paid holiday (i.e. pay per hour actually worked), deduct your holiday weeks. The statutory UK minimum is 5.6 weeks, so enter 46.4 weeks. Your employment contract may give more.
How do I work out my day rate from an annual salary?
Your daily rate is your hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours you work each day. The calculator shows this automatically in the breakdown. For example, at £15.38/hr working 8 hours a day, your day rate is £123.04.
Can I use this for zero-hours or variable-hours contracts?
Yes. Enter your average weekly hours and average weeks worked per year. For zero-hours workers, the government requires holiday pay to be calculated at 12.07% of earnings — this calculator gives you the hourly rate from which that can be derived.
I am a freelancer — how do I set my day rate?
A common rule of thumb is to take your equivalent employed salary, then add a contractor premium (typically 20–40%) to cover gaps between contracts, self-employment taxes, and the lack of employee benefits. Use the hourly rate from this tool as your baseline, then adjust upward accordingly.

Know what you're worth.

Use the free hourly wage calculator above to turn any UK salary into a clear hourly rate — in seconds.

Calculate my hourly wage