---
title: "Freelance Rate Calculator: What to Charge — Geo-Parity"
description: "Compare contractor take-home with a salaried offer, find the break-even rate, and work out the hourly and day rate you must charge to hit a target net income."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Freelancers · Pricing & Tax Parity

# The Freelance Rate Calculator

Two questions, one tool: **is contracting worth it vs a salaried offer**, and **what must you charge per hour** to hit the take-home you want — after taxes, health insurance and every unbillable hour.

## True-Cost Contract Calculator

Compare a self-employed hourly rate against an employee (W2/EOR) rate — after taxes and self-paid health insurance — and find the exact **break-even** rate.

✓ Contracting nets more

Break-even rate: $91.65/hr

To beat the $70/hr employee offer, ask for at least $92/hr as a contractor.

Contractor net / year

$121,560

on $192,000 gross

Employee net / year

$110,656

on $145,600 gross

121560

110656

Optimize your contractor setup

Company structure, invoicing & cross-border banking for freelancers:

[Xolo →](https://www.xolo.io/)[Wise →](https://wise.com/)

Estimates only — not tax advice. Links may be affiliate links.

## How it works

A contractor pays both halves of social/self-employment tax, buys their own health insurance, and isn't paid for time off. We convert each side to net take-home using an effective tax rate, then solve for the contractor rate that matches the employee's net:

break-even = ((employeeNet + health) ÷ (1 − contractorTax) + expenses) ÷ (hours × weeks)

Below the break-even rate, the lower-stress employee role actually pays more. Above it, contracting wins — by enough to justify the extra risk and admin.

## FAQ

- **Why fewer contractor weeks?** Unpaid holidays, sick days, and admin mean fewer billable weeks (default 48 vs 52).
- **What's in the tax rate?** An effective combined rate (self-employment + income tax for contractors; income tax + employee social security for employees).
- **Health insurance?** Contractors self-pay; employees are typically employer-covered, so it's a real cash gap.
- All presets are editable — adjust them to your situation.

## For AI agents & advisors

Two endpoints power this tool: `GET /api/contract.json?contractorRate=100&employeeRate=70&country=US` (both net incomes, break-even rate, verdict) and `GET /api/rate.json?desiredNet=100000&country=US` (required hourly/day rate). Declared in [/.well-known/mcp.json](https://geo-parity.com/.well-known/mcp.json) and described in [/llms.txt](https://geo-parity.com/llms.txt).

Illustrative estimates using simplified effective tax rates — **not tax, legal, or financial advice**. Consult a qualified professional for your jurisdiction.

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Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/contractor-calculator/