Rate of Pay Calculator

Convert a pay rate between hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and annual amounts using your hours per week, days per week, and weeks worked per year.

Quick Facts

Formula
Annual = Hourly × Hours/Week × Weeks/Year
Every other pay period (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly) is derived from the hourly and annual figures.
Standard full-time schedule
40 hrs/week × 52 weeks = 2,080 hrs/year
The common baseline employers and payroll systems use for salary-to-hourly conversions.
Paychecks per year
Bi-weekly = 26, Semi-monthly = 24
These schedules are easy to confuse; they produce different per-check amounts for the same annual salary.

Your Results

Calculated
Hourly rate
-
Pay per hour worked
Weekly pay
-
Hourly rate × hours/week
Monthly pay
-
Annual pay ÷ 12
Annual pay
-
Weekly pay × weeks/year

Ready

Enter a pay rate, its pay period, and your work schedule, then press Calculate.

How the Rate of Pay Calculator works

This tool converts a pay rate from any one pay period into every other common pay period — hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and annual — using how many hours you work per week and how many weeks you're paid per year.

The formula

Every conversion routes through an hourly rate first. Once the hourly rate is known:

Weekly pay = Hourly rate × Hours per week
Annual pay = Weekly pay × Weeks worked per year

From those two figures the calculator derives the rest using the standard number of pay periods per year: Daily = Weekly ÷ Days per week, Bi-Weekly = Weekly × 2, Semi-Monthly = Annual ÷ 24, and Monthly = Annual ÷ 12. If you enter a rate in a period other than hourly, the calculator first solves the same equations in reverse to back out the hourly rate, then rebuilds every other period from it.

Worked example

Take an hourly rate of $25, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year. Weekly pay is $25 × 40 = $1,000. Annual pay is $1,000 × 52 = $52,000. Monthly pay is $52,000 ÷ 12 ≈ $4,333.33, and semi-monthly pay is $52,000 ÷ 24 ≈ $2,166.67.

Bi-weekly versus semi-monthly

These two schedules are commonly confused. Bi-weekly pay is issued every 14 days, which produces 26 paychecks in most years — and two months a year end up with a "third" paycheck. Semi-monthly pay is issued on two fixed calendar dates each month (for example the 15th and the last day), producing exactly 24 paychecks a year. For the same annual salary, a bi-weekly paycheck (annual ÷ 26) is smaller than a semi-monthly paycheck (annual ÷ 24), even though the annual totals match.

Accounting for unpaid time off

The "weeks worked per year" input defaults to 52, assuming every week is paid. If you take unpaid leave, lower this figure — for example to 50 for two unpaid weeks off — to see how it reduces the calculated annual and monthly pay, while your hourly and weekly rate stay exactly the same.

Comparing job offers

When comparing an hourly offer against a salaried one, convert both to the same period (usually annual) using each role's actual hours per week — a 35-hour "salaried" week and a 40-hour hourly week are not directly comparable until both are expressed the same way. This calculator handles the gross-pay conversion; it does not account for taxes, benefits, or overtime, which can still make a lower gross number the better offer overall.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert an hourly rate to an annual salary?
Multiply the hourly rate by the number of hours worked per week, then multiply that by the number of weeks worked per year. For example, $25/hour x 40 hours/week x 52 weeks/year = $52,000/year. This calculator runs that same conversion in either direction for any pay period you enter.
What is the difference between bi-weekly and semi-monthly pay?
Bi-weekly pay is issued every 14 days, producing 26 paychecks a year, while semi-monthly pay is issued on two fixed calendar dates each month, producing exactly 24 paychecks a year. For the same annual salary, a bi-weekly paycheck (annual / 26) is smaller than a semi-monthly paycheck (annual / 24), and two months a year include a third bi-weekly paycheck.
How does the calculator handle unpaid time off?
The weeks worked per year input defaults to 52, assuming every week is paid. Lowering it, for example to 50 for two unpaid weeks off, reduces the calculated annual and monthly figures while leaving the hourly and weekly rate unchanged, showing the effect of unpaid leave on total pay.
Why does the calculator ask for hours per week?
An hourly rate only has meaning alongside the number of hours it is paid for. Converting a weekly, monthly, or annual amount into an hourly rate (or the reverse) requires knowing hours per week, since the same salary implies a different hourly rate at 30 hours/week than at 40 hours/week.

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