How Many Freelance Hours Replace a 9-to-5 Salary?
The question sounds simple: "If I freelance at $75/hour, can I replace my $75,000 salary?"
Not quite. Your salary is only part of what your employer pays to keep you. When you go freelance, you absorb costs that used to be invisible — and you need enough billable hours to cover all of it.
Salary alone understates your job's value
A typical full-time job in the US might include:
- Health insurance — often $5,000–$15,000/year in employer contributions
- Retirement match — 3–6% of salary is common
- Paid time off — 3–4 weeks you still get paid for
Add those up and a $75,000 salary might be worth $87,000–$95,000 in total compensation. Comparing freelance income to salary alone makes freelancing look easier than it is.
The break-even math
To match your job as a freelancer, you need to earn enough gross billable revenue to cover the true value of your current role:
- True job value = salary + estimated benefits value
- Hours needed per year = true job value ÷ your freelance hourly rate
- Hours needed per week = annual hours ÷ working weeks (52 minus time off)
Then compare that to the hours you can realistically bill each week. If you have a surplus, the rate and schedule could work. If you're short, you need a higher rate, more available hours, or both.
What this doesn't account for
This is a breakeven comparison, not a full life decision:
- Income volatility — freelance revenue isn't a steady paycheck
- Unpaid work — proposals, admin, and marketing eat hours you can't bill
- Taxes and expenses — your rate calculator should gross up for these separately
- Job security — a pipeline of one client isn't the same as employment
Use the break-even number as a starting point, then add buffer for slow months and non-billable time.
Try the calculator
Plug in your salary, benefits estimate, freelance rate, and available hours:
Should I Go Freelance? Break-Even Calculator →
Don't know your rate yet? Start with the Freelance Rate Calculator — it accounts for taxes, expenses, and billable percentage — then come back with that hourly number.
The bottom line
Going freelance isn't just "match my salary divided by 2,000 hours." Benefits add real cost. Billable time is less than hours worked. And income isn't guaranteed every month.
Run the numbers honestly — including benefits — before you hand in your notice. The calculator takes two minutes and might save you from a costly miscalculation.