A straight day-rate-versus-salary comparison misses what a PAYE employer funds on top of salary — employer PRSI, pension contributions, paid leave — which a contractor effectively has to price into their day rate to be equivalent.
The contracting side computes net take-home from a day rate under self-employed PRSI; the PAYE side computes net take-home from salary under employee PRSI, then separately accounts for employer-funded costs (11.25% employer PRSI, rising to 11.40% from October 2026, plus any employer pension match) that a contractor doesn't receive and would need to self-fund to match.
Often, at the headline day-rate level — but that comparison alone ignores that PAYE employees get paid annual leave, employer PRSI-funded benefits, and typically employer pension contributions, none of which a contractor receives, and all of which have to come out of a higher day rate to be genuinely equivalent.
Higher than a naive division by working days would suggest, once you account for no paid leave (fewer billable days than a PAYE employee's working days), no employer pension contribution, and different PRSI treatment — this calculator's full comparison is more reliable than a back-of-envelope estimate.
Figures are estimates for informational purposes only, based on the assumptions you enter, and are not tax advice. Consult a tax advisor or Revenue.ie before making financial decisions.