Enter your salary and we'll tell you the freelance rate that matches it — after tax, expenses, and the PF, gratuity and health insurance your employer quietly paid for.
As an employee
₹
net bank credit
₹
PF, gratuity, leaves, insurance
₹
₹
As a freelancer
software, coworking, CA fees
₹
you pay this yourself now
₹
11 mo
Freelancers often have 1–2 slow months.
30 hrs
Less than employee hours — sales & admin eat time.
Break-even projection
Assuming you start at 50% capacity and ramp to 100% by month 6. You don't break even this year at these numbers — rate may need adjustment.
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Freelance cumulative Employee cumulative
Freelancing likely pays more. If you can command ₹1,172/hr at your expected capacity, freelancing beats your salary — plus freedom.
Take it with you
Take the comparison with you
What the package is really paying once PF, gratuity and paid leave are counted, and the billings that would replace it — the version to reread before you resign, and to show the person who'll ask.
No email, no signup — the PDF downloads straight to your device.
Crossover usually happens 6–12 months into freelancing if you have an established network. Before that, ramping clients + 44ADA tax savings + no PF deduction makes the numbers tight but feasible. Our tool models this with a configurable capacity-ramp slider.
Does freelancing save tax under 44ADA?
Often, if your work qualifies for 44ADA (it is open only to specified professions — IT, engineering, architecture, legal, medical, accountancy and a few others; design, writing and marketing are not on the list). Under 44ADA + new regime, ₹18L of freelance receipts becomes ₹9L taxable — fully covered by the 87A rebate, so ₹0 tax. A ₹18L CTC salary becomes ~₹15.5L taxable (after standard deduction + employer NPS), ~₹1.17L tax. The gap on tax alone is ~₹1.17L a year — but you lose PF, ESI, gratuity, and paid leave.
What about PF and gratuity if I freelance?
You lose them. ~12% of basic salary is the lost PF contribution. Add VPF and gratuity (~5% of basic per year of service) and the "missing benefits" gap is roughly 15–20% of your CTC. Our calculator subtracts this from the freelance side for a fair comparison.
Should I quit my job to freelance?
Build 3–6 months of runway first, validate 1–2 paying clients while still employed, and only then transition. The tool's verdict shows whether your projected freelance income covers your monthly burn + savings goal — but the decision is also about freedom, risk tolerance, and career stage, not just rupees.
Tax estimates use the new regime and Section 44ADA presumptive taxation, which is open only to specified professions (IT, engineering, architecture, legal, medical, accountancy and a few others). Results are indicative.
