FRATCH Tools · Cost Calculator 2026
What does a freelancer cost — compared to a permanent hire?
German employers pay €29 of non-wage costs on every €100 of gross salary (Destatis). This free calculator compares the true 2026 full cost of a permanent employee — social contributions, levies, overhead, recruiting — with a freelancer's rate per productive hour, including the break-even point for your scenario.
Cost comparison calculator
Permanent employee
€82
per productive hour — €105,619 full cost across 1,286 productive hours/year
Freelancer
€103
per billed hour incl. fee — €824 day rate (8 h)
Difference per hour
+25.5%
The freelancer costs more per productive hour in this scenario.
Where the money goes — annual view
Break-even: when does the permanent hire win?
At full utilisation, the permanent employee becomes the more economical option after about 3.1 months . Below that — for scoped projects, peak loads or partial utilisation — the freelancer wins.
How this calculator works
The employee side adds the verified 2026 employer contribution rates — with both contribution ceilings applied — plus levies, statutory accident insurance, workplace, training and amortised recruiting costs to the gross salary. That full cost is divided by realistic productive hours: 260 weekdays minus public holidays, vacation, sick days and training, multiplied by the productive share of working time. The freelancer side multiplies the hourly rate (plus an optional agency fee) by the same productive hours — freelancers only bill delivered work.
| Parameter (defaults) | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employer social contributions 2026 (RV 9.3% · ALV 1.3% · KV 7.3% + Ø1.45% · PV 1.8%) | ≈ 21.15% | lohn-info.de |
| Contribution ceilings 2026 (KV/PV · RV/ALV) | €69,750 · €101,400 | bundesregierung.de |
| Levies (U1 Ø1.6% editable · U2 0.44% · U3 0.15%) and accident insurance Ø1.09% | ≈ 3.3% | tk.de · dguv.de |
| Average sick days per employee (2025) | ≈ 15 | AOK/WIdO |
| Average freelancer hourly rate DACH 2026 | €103 | Freelancer-Kompass 2026 |
| Employer labour cost per worked hour, Germany (2025) | €45.00 | Destatis |
All figures are 2026 reference values for Germany and editable above. Results are indicative estimates for planning purposes — not tax, legal or payroll advice.
Freelancer or permanent hire — when does which model win?
Freelancer wins
Projects, peaks and specialist skills
- Start in days — IT positions stay vacant for Ø 7.7 months in Germany (Bitkom)
- Scoped engagements up to ~12–18 months or below full utilisation
- No idle, recruiting, severance or equipment costs
- Senior expertise that is hard to hire permanently
Permanent hire wins
Continuous workload at full utilisation
- Long-term roles past the break-even month shown above
- Core-business knowledge that should stay and compound in-house
- Leadership and roles requiring deep organisational integration
- Work that would otherwise drift into false self-employment
Freelancer hourly rates 2026 by specialisation
Market averages for the DACH region (Freelancer-Kompass 2026 and freelancermap directory averages, spring 2026). Use them as presets above, then refine with the rates you are actually quoted.
| Specialisation | Ø hourly rate | Ø day rate (8 h) |
|---|---|---|
| All freelancers (Ø) | 103 € | 824 € |
| SAP consulting | 117 € | 936 € |
| IT project management | 125 € | 1000 € |
| DevOps & cloud | 105 € | 840 € |
| Data science & AI | 103 € | 824 € |
| Consulting & management | 101 € | 808 € |
| Engineering | 98 € | 784 € |
| Software development | 92 € | 736 € |
| Design & media | 75 € | 600 € |
Looking for a rate benchmark for a specific role? Request a custom pricing benchmark or explore the roles dictionary with available freelancers
Freelancer costs 2026 — FAQ
Quick answers on hourly rates, employer non-wage costs, contribution ceilings and when each engagement model pays off.
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