Compare what a contractor costs against hiring a worker.
Comparing a contractor's actual booked hours against an employee's salaried burden reveals which engagement costs less for the same workload. The hourly contractor rate looks high until benefits and payroll taxes raise employee cost, so this trade-off is where real staffing money is won.
Contractor vs Employee Cost
Contractor annual = rate x hours x weeks; employee annual = salary x (1 + burden)
Contractor annual = rate x hours x weeks; employee annual = salary x (1 + burden) Comparing a contractor's actual booked hours against an employee's salaried burden reveals which engagement costs less for the same workload.
The hourly contractor rate looks high until benefits and payroll taxes raise employee cost, so this trade-off is where real staffing money is won.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Contractor rate per hour, Contractor hours per week, Employee annual salary, Benefits and taxes on employee, Weeks per year. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.