Freelancer vs full-time employee cost calculator
Enter what you would pay a freelancer and what a full-time hire would cost you, including your own time, to see which is cheaper at the hours you need.
The numbers shown are examples. Replace each with your own.
The freelancer
What you pay per hour of work.
Hours you will actually buy.
Briefing, review, rework.
The full-time hire
Pay plus the employer contributions you will carry.
Laptop, software, seat, insurance.
Job ads, recruiter, onboarding time.
- Freelancer, total for the year
- ₹12,09,600
- Full-time hire, total for the year
- ₹10,36,000
- Cost per hour of work, freelancer
- ₹1,260
- Cost per hour of work, full-time hire
- ₹1,079
- Break-even hours of work per month
- 69 hours
- At these figures the full-time hire costs ₹1,73,600 less over the year.
An estimate from the standard formula, not advice. Rates, ceilings and rules change, and your contract or state rules can change the result. Confirm with a qualified professional before relying on a figure.
How it is worked out
- Freelancer cost is the hourly rate times the hours you buy each month times the months engaged, plus your own time spent managing the work.
- Full-time cost is twelve months of cost to company and extras, plus a one-time hiring cost and your time spent managing the person.
- Break-even is the number of hours of work a month at which the freelancer's yearly cost equals the full-time hire's. Above it, hiring tends to be cheaper per hour; below it, a freelancer does.
- Every figure is yours. The tool uses no market rates, so the answer is only as good as the numbers you enter.
No. A freelancer is cheaper when the work is occasional or short, because you pay only for hours used. When the work is steady and large, the hourly cost of a full-time hire often falls below the freelancer's rate.
Use the yearly cost you expect to carry for the role, including the employer contributions and benefits your company gives. Your payroll or finance lead can give you the figure.
Briefing, reviewing and correcting work takes hours either way. Counting them at a value you choose shows whether a cheap hourly rate hides a costly management load.
Quality, continuity, knowledge that stays in the company, notice and handover, and the legal terms of the engagement. Have your own qualified adviser check the contract and tax position of either route.