Day rate to salary calculator UK
Turn a freelance or contractor day rate into a yearly figure — both your gross annual billings and the employed salary it's really equivalent to, once you allow for the National Insurance, pension and holiday an employer would otherwise cover. Free, no signup.
Your day rate
Days you actually invoice. 230 is a realistic freelance year after holiday and gaps (a full 5-day week is 260).
Costs an employer would normally cover (equipment, software, insurance). Left blank, we assume none.
About this calculator
A day rate isn't a salary. This tool shows two things: your gross annual billings (day rate × the days you bill) and, separately, the employed salary that would cost an employer the same — because an employer also pays National Insurance and a pension on top of the salary, which you fund yourself as a freelancer. It's a planning figure for comparing freelance and employed work, not tax or financial advice.
Why the equivalent salary is lower than your billings
An employer's cost of employing someone is more than their salary: employer's National Insurance (15% above £5,000) and the minimum 3% workplace pension sit on top. To find the salary your billings are worth, we strip those out. Paid holiday is handled differently — an employee is paid for time off, so we compare against the days you actually invoice, not a full year. This is a gross-cost comparison; for your real take-home after tax, use the freelance rate calculator.
TrustSolo helps UK freelancers set their rate, invoice, and get paid — from day one →
Start freeWorking out your rate from scratch? Try the freelance rate calculator, or estimate your self-employed tax.