Free tool · For doulas and agency owners

Doula Rate & Package Calculator

Start from what you need to earn, not from what someone else charges. For birth work, enter what you want to make, your overhead costs, taxes and how many clients you can take in a year; the calculator gives a rate per client. For postpartum work, enter what you would like to make, how many weeks you will work and how many hours per week; it gives a rate per hour. If you work as both a birth and a postpartum doula, fill in both sections.

  • Free
  • No signup or email
  • Works right on this page
  • Nothing you enter is sent anywhere; saving is your choice
A hand holding open a folded brochure about labor support, postpartum care and placenta encapsulation on a marble table

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How the math works

The calculator does two separate calculations, each on your own numbers:

  1. Birth doula rate per client = (what you want to make + overhead costs) ÷ (1 − taxes) ÷ the birth clients you can take in a year. For example, wanting to make $50,000 with $6,000 of overhead and 25% set aside for taxes needs $74,667; shared across 22 clients that is $3,394 per client.
  2. Postpartum doula rate per hour = what you would like to make ÷ (the weeks you will work × the hours per week). For example, $20,000 over 40 weeks at 20 hours a week is 800 hours, or $25 an hour.

Fill in only the section for the work you do. Overhead costs and taxes are optional for birth work; a blank box counts as zero. Nothing else is asked, so the number you get is easy to check by hand with a calculator.

If the birth rate comes out high

If the rate per birth client is more than $4,000, the calculator says so and suggests ways to bring it down: adding more births, supplementing your income with postpartum work, teaching childbirth classes or becoming an affiliate with BBU. The number itself is never changed or capped.

What the number does and does not include

It includes only what you entered. It is not a market rate: this page deliberately publishes no rate list and no “doulas usually charge” figures, because those numbers vary by area, experience and service, and a figure that ignores your own costs and caseload can leave you underpaid. The taxes percentage is your own estimate, not tax advice; check yours with a tax professional, along with insurance and other business costs.

Printing your rate

Press Print for one page with your rates and how each was worked out. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere; save a copy on this device or print it. If you run or plan an agency, the Doula Agency Owner Mentorship works on pricing and packages alongside team and systems.

Questions people ask

What do doulas charge in my area?

This tool does not publish market rates. Enter your own numbers and it works out the rate that meets them.

Should I charge per package or per hour?

The calculator gives a rate per birth client and a rate per postpartum hour. You choose how to present it.

I work as both a birth and a postpartum doula. What do I fill out?

Fill out both sections. The birth section gives a rate per client and the postpartum section gives a rate per hour.

Does it include taxes?

Only as the taxes percentage you enter for birth work. It is not tax advice; check your numbers with a tax professional.

Are my numbers saved?

Only if you choose. Nothing is sent anywhere. Your numbers stay on this page and are cleared when you close it, unless you press “Save on this device,” which keeps a copy in your own browser. You can also download a copy.

Sources

  1. Birth & Baby University. The Doula Agency Owner Mentorship information page (linked above). Checked October 9, 2026.

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