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This is the FreelanceDesk 2026 Freelance Bookkeeper Rates Report. The data below aggregates publicly available rate disclosures from professional bodies, government wage surveys, and bookkeeping-practice rate guides across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, sampled in May 2026. It is built for the bookkeeper setting their own rates, not the business buying the service, so the emphasis is on freelance charge-out rates and monthly retainers rather than employed salaries. All raw figures are downloadable as a CSV at the end. For the cross-profession picture, see the freelance rates 2026 complete guide.
Key findings · Methodology · Cross-market table · Download CSV
Key Findings
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- US freelance charge-out: $30 to $90 per hour per Relay Fi, against an employed median of $23.66 per hour per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- US monthly retainers: $300 to $1,500 standard, rising to $1,000 to $2,500 for growing businesses and $2,500 or more for advisory work, per Relay Fi.
- UK freelance hourly: £22 to £40 per DigiAccounting, with a survey median of £33.36 (mean £35.67) per the 6 Figure Bookkeeper 2025 survey of 131 UK bookkeepers.
- UK licensed self-employed median fee income: £72,000, down from £74,500 in 2023, per the AAT 2025 salary survey.
- Australia freelance hourly: A$40 to $70 per Morelli Bookkeeping, with a tiered range of A$40 to $120 from junior to specialist per Arbour Advisory.
- Australia monthly retainers: A$300 to $2,500 from micro to medium business, per Arbour Advisory.
- Canada freelance hourly: C$30 to $60 (average $45) per Outsource Bookkeeping, against an employed median of C$28.02 per Statistics Canada.
- Canada monthly retainers: C$300 to $800 across flat and cloud-based service, per Outsource Bookkeeping.
Methodology
The figures come from four source types, in descending order of authority: government wage surveys (the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada via Job Bank), professional bodies (AAT in the UK), practitioner surveys (the 6 Figure Bookkeeper 2025 pricing report, 131 UK respondents), and published rate guides from working bookkeeping practices in each market.
Two distinctions matter when reading the numbers. First, employed versus freelance: government surveys report what employed bookkeepers earn, which is the floor a freelancer prices above, not the freelance rate itself. Second, currency and market: each figure is shown in its local currency (USD, GBP, AUD, CAD) and is not currency-converted, because a bookkeeper sets rates in their own market. Where a source mixed employed and freelance figures, only the freelance or self-employed figure is used for the freelance bands, with employed medians shown separately as a reference floor.
The Cross-Market Benchmark Table
No single existing rate guide puts all four markets side by side. This is the table this report exists to provide.
| Market | Freelance hourly (charge-out) | Monthly retainer (small business) | Employed median (reference) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $30 to $90 | $300 to $1,500 (to $2,500+ for larger) | $23.66 |
| United Kingdom | £22 to £40 (survey median £33.36) | £150 to £300 typical per client | Not separately surveyed here |
| Australia | A$40 to $70 (to $120 specialist) | A$300 to $2,500 by size | Not separately surveyed here |
| Canada | C$30 to $60 (avg $45) | C$300 to $800 | C$28.02 |
Figures are local currency, not converted. US employed median per the Bureau of Labor Statistics; Canada employed median per Statistics Canada. Freelance and retainer figures per the market-specific sources cited in each section below.
United States
The US gap between employed and freelance is the widest and clearest. Per bookkeeping-services.com, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national employed median is "$23.66 per hour" with an average of "$25.01 per hour," and the highest state, Washington DC, sits at $31.56 median hourly. That is the employment floor.
Freelance charge-out starts above it. Per Relay Fi, US freelance "hourly rates range from $30 to $90 per hour." On retainers, the same source reports that "monthly retainers typically fall between $300 and $1,500 for standard engagements," that "growing businesses with $500K to $2M in revenue typically pay monthly retainers between $1,000 and $2,500," and that "multi-entity businesses or those needing CFO-level advisory work often pay $2,500 or more monthly." The market is also shifting toward fixed retainers: per Relay Fi, "the modal monthly fee range has shifted to $250 to $499, with 29% of firms pricing within this bracket."
United Kingdom
The UK has the strongest setter-side data of any market, thanks to a practitioner survey. Per the 6 Figure Bookkeeper 2025 pricing report, which surveyed 131 UK bookkeepers, the median hourly rate is £33.36, the mean is £35.67, and the most common band is £26 to £30 (22.1% of respondents). General market guidance aligns: per DigiAccounting, "self employed or freelance bookkeepers often charge £22 to £40 per hour," with London at "£30 to £55 per hour."
The same survey reports per-client monthly figures lower than other markets, a median of £150.50 and a mean of £288.94, which reflects that many UK bookkeepers carry small or partial-month client engagements rather than full-service retainers. For full self-employed earnings, per the AAT 2025 salary survey, among licensed members "median income has dipped slightly from £74,500 in 2023 to £72,000 in 2025." A UK freelancer setting rates should anchor in the low-to-mid £30s per hour and adjust up for London and specialist work.
Australia
Australian freelance rates sit higher in nominal terms. Per Morelli Bookkeeping, a "freelance bookkeeper" costs "A$40 to $70 per hour." Per Arbour Advisory, the tiered structure runs from junior at A$40 to $55, intermediate at A$55 to $80, and senior or specialist at A$80 to $120 per hour.
On retainers, per Arbour Advisory, monthly packages run A$300 to $600 for micro businesses, A$600 to $1,200 for small businesses, and A$1,200 to $2,500 for medium businesses. Morelli notes that small businesses on average "spend between $300 and $1,200 per month on bookkeeping," across all service types. The A$300 to $2,500 spread tracks business size and transaction volume more than seniority.
Canada
Canada shows the same employed-versus-freelance gap as the US. Per Job Bank Canada, drawing on the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, the national employed median is C$28.02 per hour, with a low of C$19.55 and a high of C$45.07, and provincial medians around C$28.50 (Ontario), C$28.00 (British Columbia), and C$30.00 (Alberta).
Freelance charge-out runs above that. Per Outsource Bookkeeping, Canadian freelance bookkeepers charge "C$30 to $60 per hour," averaging C$45, with provincial variation (British Columbia and Ontario higher, Quebec lower). Monthly bookkeeping runs C$400 to $700 flat and C$300 to $800 for cloud-based all-in service. As elsewhere, the freelance rate prices above the employed median to cover self-employment costs.
The Setter's Math: Retainers and Client Count
Hourly rates set the floor; retainers set the income. The practical question for a freelance bookkeeper is how many clients on retainer it takes to hit an income target, and the answer is simple division.
Work backward from your income target
This is why most experienced bookkeepers shift from hourly billing toward fixed monthly retainers as they grow: a roster of four to eight retainer clients is more profitable and more manageable than a larger book of hourly work. The mechanics of pricing and raising rates are in setting your freelance rates and how to raise your freelance rates, and the retainer scope is formalized per client in the bookkeeper engagement letter and proposal template.
Once your rate is set, the next step is putting it on paper. Build a clean retainer invoice with the free FreelanceDesk invoice generator, or formalize the engagement with the proposal generator.
How to Cite This Report
Cite as: FreelanceDesk 2026 Freelance Bookkeeper Rates Report, freelancedesk.online/blog/bookkeeper-freelance-rates-2026. Raw data is available as a downloadable CSV.
References
- Bookkeeper Hourly Rates by State (BLS data), Bookkeeping-Services.com
- How to Charge for Bookkeeping Services 2026, Relay Fi
- UK Pricing Report 2025, 6 Figure Bookkeeper
- How Much Do Bookkeepers Charge in the UK, DigiAccounting
- AAT Salary Survey 2025, AAT
- Bookkeeping Rates Australia 2026, Morelli Bookkeeping
- Outsourced Bookkeeping Costs Australia 2026, Arbour Advisory
- Bookkeeper Wages, Job Bank Canada (Statistics Canada)
- Bookkeeping Rates Canada, Outsource Bookkeeping