Free tool · Last reviewed August 11, 2026

    Freelance runway calculator

    How many months can you keep going on the cash you hold? Tax set-aside excluded, because that money isn't yours.

    $

    Business and personal balances you could actually spend

    $

    Money owed to the IRS — excluded from runway

    $

    Retainers and work already contracted, not hoped-for projects

    $

    Software, insurance, contractors, subscriptions

    $

    Rent, food, healthcare — you have to live too

    Your runway

    13.0months

    Comfortable

    Spendable cash
    $13,000
    Monthly outgoings
    $5,000
    Net monthly burn
    $1,000

    Six months or more. You can absorb a lost client or a slow quarter without changing how you work.

    Formula: (cash on hand − tax set-aside) ÷ (business costs + personal costs − reliable monthly income). Estimates only, for planning — not financial or tax advice.

    How to extend your runway

    • Collect what you're owed. Outstanding invoices are runway sitting in someone else's account. Automate reminders and take deposits on new work.
    • Cut recurring costs, not one-offs. A $60/mo subscription you don't use is $720 a year — roughly a week of runway for most solo freelancers.
    • Shorten payment terms. Moving new clients from Net 30 to Net 14 pulls two weeks of cash forward, permanently.
    • Keep the tax account separate. Not more runway, but it stops you spending money you'll owe in January.
    • Add one retainer. Predictable monthly income lowers net burn more reliably than a bigger one-off project.

    Questions

    What is runway for a freelancer?

    Runway is how many months you can keep operating on the cash you hold if income stopped or fell to its current level. It equals available cash divided by your net monthly burn — total monthly outgoings minus the income you can reliably count on.

    How much runway should a freelancer have?

    Three to six months of combined business and personal fixed costs is the usual target, held separately from money set aside for taxes. Freelancers with seasonal or concentrated client income should aim higher.

    Should I count my tax savings as runway?

    No. Money set aside for quarterly estimated taxes is already spent — it belongs to the IRS. Counting it as runway is the most common way freelancers overestimate their safety.

    How do I extend my runway?

    Three levers: collect faster (deposits, shorter terms, automated reminders), cut fixed costs (the recurring ones matter far more than one-offs), and add income. Collecting faster is usually the quickest, since the money is already earned.

    Related tools and guides

    See your real runway, updated automatically

    SnapBooks calculates runway from your actual transactions and outstanding invoices instead of your best guess. $15/mo, 7-day free trial.

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