Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Equivalent hourly
$86.69
Equivalent day rate
$694
Total comp to replace
$148,557
Billable hours / yr
1714
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter salary offer ($).
- 2Enter benefits value ($).
- 3Enter paid time off (days).
- 4Enter extra self-employment tax (%).
- 5Enter billable hours per week.
- 6Read your equivalent hourly on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
A salary comes with benefits, paid leave and half your payroll tax. This converts a salary plus benefits into the equivalent contractor hourly rate.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Salary offer: 120000 $
- Benefits value: 18000 $
- Paid time off: 22 days
- Extra self-employment tax: 7.65 %
- Billable hours per week: 36
Results
- Equivalent hourly: $86.69
- Equivalent day rate: $694
- Total comp to replace: $148,557
- Billable hours / yr: 1,714
What each field means
Inputs
- Salary offer ($)
- The salary offer used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 120000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Benefits value ($)
- The benefits value used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 18000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Paid time off (days)
- The paid time off used in the calculation, measured in days. Starts at 22 days so you have a working example on load.
- Extra self-employment tax (%)
- The extra self-employment tax used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 7.65 % so you have a working example on load.
- Billable hours per week
- The billable hours per week used in the calculation. Starts at 36 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Equivalent hourly
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Equivalent day rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total comp to replace
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Billable hours / yr
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
How does the contractor vs employee pay calculator work?
A salary comes with benefits, paid leave and half your payroll tax. This converts a salary plus benefits into the equivalent contractor hourly rate. The underlying maths is: Rate = (salary + benefits) × (1 + extra tax) ÷ billable hours.
What do I need to enter?
5 values: salary offer, benefits value, paid time off, extra self-employment tax, and billable hours per week. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move.
What does the equivalent hourly result mean?
It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds.
Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser.
How accurate is the result?
It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Who is this tool for?
It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Contractor vs Employee Pay Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-vs-employee-pay
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-vs-employee-pay" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contractor vs Employee Pay Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Contractor vs Employee Pay Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contractor-vs-employee-pay) (2026).