Employee or freelancer?

Compare take-home pay with estimated freelance revenue, expenses, billable hours and time off.

Currency

The initial figures are editable examples, not estimates of your situation.

Currency: GBP

Option A · Employee

Net monthly paySalary payments per year0–24Guaranteed net bonuses per yearWork-related expenses per yearTotal working hours per week0–168Weeks actually worked per year0–52Actual travel days per year0–366Round-trip travel minutes per dayWeekend workShift pattern

Option B · Freelancer

Hourly rate excluding VAT/sales taxTotal working hours per week0–168Billable share of working time (%)0–100Weeks off per year, including holidays and inactivity0–52Annual business expensesReserve as a share of revenue (%)0–100Weekend workShift pattern

Include the effects of weekends and shifts in your income and hours: these choices do not add automatic pay premiums.

Consider your own circumstancesDo you have children or others to care for?

Optional: helps select relevant reading. It does not change the calculations.

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Your comparison

Option A · Employee	Option B · Freelancer
Annual amount available
£23,600.00	£34,262.50
Hours committed per year
2,040	1,610
Amount available per hour committed
£11.57	£21.28
Weekend work
Not specified	Not specified
Shift pattern
Not specified	Not specified

Your choice at a glance

On the money and time entered, the second option is at least as favourable on both measures.

Consider weekends and shifts too: even with the same money and hours, they can change how you organise your life.

Annual amount available£10,662.50

With “Freelancer”, you have £10,662.50 more available per year than with “Employee”, after the expenses and reserves entered.

Hours committed per year430 hours

With “Freelancer”, you spend 430 fewer hours on work and any travel included in your inputs, per year than with “Employee”.

What this means for you

As a freelancer, 1,127 of your 1,610 working hours are billable; 483 are not. Estimated revenue of £56,350.00, minus £8,000.00 in business costs and £14,087.50 set aside, leaves £34,262.50 per year.

To match the employee option's £23,600.00 available per year, your hourly rate would need to be about £37.39, with the same billable hours, costs and reserve percentage.

The estimate assumes you can bill all the hours entered at that rate. Check whether you have enough clients, how long payments take and how you would cover time without work. The comparison does not put a price on benefits or income stability.

Consider your own circumstances

Something to consider beyond the comparison figures.

Estimated income is an average: try a scenario with fewer assignments too, and check which costs you still need to cover.

Budgeting when your income varies ↗
MoneyHelper · Article in English

Money and time are separate: choose the trade-off that works for you.

How the comparison works

The reserve is a percentage of revenue that you choose for taxes, contributions or uncertainty. This is not a tax calculation. Unbilled work still takes time; the result does not price employment protections or benefits.

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