Free Salary to Hourly Calculator

Convert an annual salary into an hourly rate or vice versa, with a full pay-period breakdown (annual, monthly, biweekly, weekly, daily, hourly).

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Annual salary if converting to hourly, or hourly rate if converting to annual.

Use 50 if you take two weeks of unpaid time off.

Result
Enter your details on the left, then press Calculate.

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What is this calculator for?

The job listing says "$28-35/hour, full-time." You want to know what that means annually, what your biweekly paycheck would be, what your monthly take-home roughly looks like. Or you've been earning $74,000 a year salaried for three years and you're considering switching to hourly contract work — what hourly rate is equivalent. The salary converter handles all directions: hourly to annual, annual to hourly, monthly to biweekly, contractor day-rate to salaried equivalent.

The math: standard full-time year = 2,080 hours (40 hours/week × 52 weeks). $28/hour × 2,080 = $58,240/year. $35/hour × 2,080 = $72,800/year. Biweekly pay (most common US frequency): annual ÷ 26 paychecks. Semi-monthly (24/year): annual ÷ 24. Monthly (12/year): annual ÷ 12. Weekly (52/year): annual ÷ 52. Each pay frequency produces slightly different per-paycheck amounts despite identical annual totals.

This calculator handles all conversions plus contractor-to-employee equivalence: contractors earning $50/hour gross need approximately $50 × 2,080 ÷ 1.4 ≈ $74,000 salaried W-2 equivalent to match net income after accounting for self-employment tax, health insurance costs, and unpaid time off. The "1.4 multiplier" reflects typical contractor cost burden.

How to use this calculator

Pick your conversion direction: hourly to annual, annual to hourly, annual to biweekly, etc. The calculator handles all 16 combinations of hourly/daily/weekly/biweekly/semi-monthly/monthly/annual.

Enter your source amount and source frequency. For unusual hours (part-time, overtime-heavy roles, contractor billing): enter your actual expected weekly hours rather than the default 40.

For contractor/freelancer conversions, enable the contractor toggle. The calculator subtracts self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings up to Social Security wage base), estimates unpaid time off (10 days vacation + 5 sick + 8 holidays = ~3 weeks unbillable per year = ~6% rate adjustment), and accounts for health insurance ($600-1,500/month for individual ACA plan, $1,400-2,500/month for family). The output is a more honest "what you actually keep" comparison vs a salaried equivalent.

For relocation scenarios: enter your current salary and city, target city, and the calculator can integrate with cost-of-living data to show purchasing-power equivalent in the new location.

Understanding your results

The calculator returns your amount in each common frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly, annual). For contractor mode: gross hourly rate, after-SE-tax hourly, after-health-insurance hourly, and W-2 salaried equivalent.

How to read it. $30/hour full-time = $62,400/year = $5,200/month = $2,400 biweekly = $1,200 weekly = $240 daily. Same total, different cadences. People sometimes underestimate or overestimate compensation when seeing it in unfamiliar frequencies — a "$2,400 biweekly" job is identical to a "$62,400 annual" job, but the biweekly number sounds smaller emotionally.

The contractor calculation. $50/hour contractor with no benefits: gross $104,000/year (2,080 hours). SE tax: 15.3% on first $176,100 (2026 Social Security cap) + Medicare on excess = roughly $14,500. Health insurance: $900/month family plan = $10,800/year. Unpaid PTO/sick/holiday (15 days/year): $6,000 of unbilled time. Effective W-2 equivalent: $72,700 — the gross of $104K reduces to about $72K of "fair comparison" against a salaried role. Contractors pricing themselves below 1.3-1.4× the equivalent salary rate often realize too late they're underpaid.

The annual-to-hourly insight. $85,000 salary ÷ 2,080 = $40.87/hour standard. But many salaried professionals work 45-55 hours/week, not 40. Real hourly equivalent: $85K ÷ (50 hours × 52 weeks) = $32.69/hour. When a salaried professional considers a $45/hour contract role with similar total hours, the contract's hourly rate doesn't look as impressive if you account for the actual hours worked at the salaried job. The Mubboo perspective: salaried jobs commonly hide their effective hourly rate behind the "we don't track hours" framing.

Reality check on offers. Job offer comparison should use hourly rates accounting for actual expected hours, plus benefits value (health insurance is worth $10K-25K depending on family situation; retirement match is worth $3K-15K depending on income), plus equity (RSUs, options, stock plans) annualized over vesting period, plus geographic cost-of-living adjustment. A $130K offer in San Francisco vs $115K in Austin is a Austin-wins comparison after these adjustments. The Mubboo total-compensation calculator handles the full math.

A worked example

James, 32, currently makes $78,000 salaried at a marketing agency. He's evaluating a contract role at $55/hour, 40 hours/week, with no benefits. He wants to know if it's a raise or a pay cut after factoring in self-employment tax, health insurance, and lost time.

Contract gross: $55 × 40 × 52 = $114,400/year. Looks like a $36K raise.

Contract net adjustments:

Self-employment tax: 15.3% on first $176,100, Medicare 2.9% above + 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200K. On $114,400: ~$15,800 SE tax. (W-2 employees pay only 7.65% FICA; employer covers the other 7.65%; contractors pay both halves as SECA.)

Health insurance: He has ACA Silver plan for himself + wife, $750/month = $9,000/year. (Currently free at his W-2 job.)

Unpaid time off: 10 vacation days + 5 sick + 8 holidays = 23 unpaid days = $10,120 of unbilled time.

Retirement: His current job offers 4% 401(k) match on $78K = $3,120 free. Contract has no match (he'd need to fully self-fund an SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) for similar tax-advantaged retirement).

Effective contract take-home: $114,400 − $15,800 − $9,000 − $10,120 − $3,120 (lost match) = $76,360. Comparable to the W-2 $78,000.

The contract is roughly a wash — perhaps a slight pay cut once everything is netted. James decides to negotiate the contract rate up to $65/hour to make the math work. At $65/hour × 2,080 hours = $135,200 gross, minus SE tax (~$18,300), minus health ($9K), minus PTO ($11,960), minus lost match ($3,120) = $92,820. Now meaningfully ahead of W-2 by $14,800. He counter-offers; client agrees to $62/hour. Final calculation puts him about $9K ahead of W-2 — modest but real raise plus more flexibility. He accepts.

The lesson: contract hourly rates need to be 1.3-1.5× the apparent salaried hourly equivalent ($78K / 2,080 = $37.50/hour at W-2; contract at $55 is only 1.47× — barely enough; $62 = 1.65× provides real margin). Below 1.3× is a pay cut despite the higher headline number.

Related resources

For paycheck-level take-home math, see Paycheck Calculator. For broader job-offer comparison including benefits, equity, and bonus, the Total Compensation Calculator. For overtime-eligible hourly workers, the Overtime Calculator. For relocation salary comparisons, the Cost of Living Comparison. The BLS Occupational Employment Statistics publishes median wage and salary data by occupation and metropolitan area, useful for benchmarking offers.

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Frequently asked questions

How many work hours are in a year?

The standard US assumption is 2,080 hours per year: 40 hours/week × 52 weeks. If you take two weeks of unpaid time off, that drops to 2,000 hours; with three weeks off, 1,960. Salaried employees are paid for 2,080 regardless of holiday and PTO usage, so $50K/year ÷ 2,080 = ~$24/hour is the canonical conversion.

Does this include overtime?

No. This is a straight-line conversion that assumes all hours are paid at the same rate. Non-exempt employees are entitled to time-and-a-half (1.5×) for hours over 40 per week under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Use the Overtime Calculator to model weeks with overtime pay.

How do I account for PTO?

If your PTO is paid, leave weeksPerYear at 52 — those weeks count as worked and paid. If PTO is unpaid, reduce weeksPerYear accordingly (e.g. 50 for two weeks unpaid). For comparing job offers, always compare on the same total compensation basis including benefits, 401(k) match, and bonus.

How do I convert an annual salary to an hourly rate?

Divide by 2,080 (standard full-time year). $60,000 / 2,080 = $28.85/hour. For part-time or unusual schedules, divide by actual hours worked. The 2,080-hour standard assumes 40 hours × 52 weeks with no time off; in reality, salaried employees take 2-4 weeks of PTO. If you want a more honest hourly rate accounting for PTO: divide by 1,920-2,000 hours instead of 2,080. The 2,080 standard is fine for offer-comparison purposes; the lower hour counts matter more for billing equivalent (contractors should price as if they have PTO and benefits the W-2 employee receives).

Why is biweekly pay different from semi-monthly pay?

Biweekly = every 2 weeks = 26 paychecks per year. Semi-monthly = twice a month (typically 15th and last day) = 24 paychecks per year. Same annual total, different per-paycheck amount. $52,000 salary biweekly: $2,000 per paycheck × 26. Same salary semi-monthly: $2,167 per paycheck × 24. Biweekly has two months per year with 3 paychecks (creating 'extra' pay months felt as windfalls). Semi-monthly never has 3 in a month. Most US employers use biweekly; salaried professional roles sometimes use semi-monthly. The cash flow rhythm differs even though annual income is identical.

Are there any years with 27 biweekly paychecks?

Yes — approximately every 11 years. The 26-paycheck calendar assumes 364 days per year; the actual year is 365 days (366 in leap years). The extra 1-2 days per year accumulate, eventually producing a 27-paycheck year. For salaried employees, this means one extra paycheck — but employers handle it differently. Some prorate annual salary across 27 paychecks (slightly smaller per check). Some pay the extra as a bonus. Some adjust withholding to maintain the same per-check net pay. Check with your HR department if you're approaching a known 27-paycheck year.

How do I convert a contractor hourly rate to a fair W-2 salary equivalent?

Multiply by ~1.3-1.5 depending on benefits. The differential accounts for: self-employment tax (~7-9% additional on contractor side), health insurance (~$10-25K/year depending on family), unpaid time off (~3 weeks = ~6% of annual rate), retirement match loss (~3-6%), short-term disability and life insurance the W-2 employer typically provides (~$1-2K/year). A $50/hour contractor with these adjustments needs $65-75/hour to match a $50 W-2 equivalent. Contractors who price below this gap consistently are unintentionally underpricing. The flip side: contractor flexibility, ability to bill multiple clients, and direct control over your time has real value that the math can't always capture.

How is freelance income taxed differently from salary?

Self-employment tax (SECA): 15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base ($176,100 in 2026), then 2.9% Medicare on excess + 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200K single / $250K married. This compares to a W-2 employee's 7.65% FICA — the contractor pays both employer and employee halves. Half of SECA is deductible from AGI (above-the-line deduction). Quarterly estimated taxes typically required (April 15, June 15, September 15, January 15) — failure to pay quarterly with sufficient amounts triggers underpayment penalties. Schedule C lets you deduct legitimate business expenses (home office, equipment, business travel) — strategic expense planning can reduce taxable self-employment income substantially. Hiring a CPA familiar with self-employment is usually worth it for contractors earning $50K+.

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