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Freelancer calculator 2026

What is really left of the hourly rate?

120 euros per hour sounds like a lot. See what is left after realistic utilization, health insurance, pension and taxes in Germany.

Rate and working time
€/h
h/week
days
days
days
€/month
Billable share of working time
%

Default 40 %. According to the Freelancer-Kompass 2026, freelancers work 42 hours a week on average and earn 6,653 euros per month at 103 euros per hour. That is about 65 billed hours a month, roughly 40 % of the working time. The rest goes into acquisition, proposals, bookkeeping, training and gaps between projects.

Health insurance and pension
%
%

Statutory insurance 2026: 14.6 % general rate with sick pay plus the additional rate (average 2.9 %), care 3.6 %, without children 4.2 %. The self-employed pay all of it, there is no employer share. The base is the profit, at least 1,318.33 and at most 5,812.50 euros per month. 18.6 % pension savings equal the full statutory pension contribution.

Taxes

Income tax by the 2026 basic tariff (single assessment), solidarity surcharge with exemption limit. Software developers usually count as a liberal profession without trade tax. If trade tax applies, up to 4 times the base amount is credited against income tax. All amounts without VAT, which only passes through.

Net per month

€2,882

€34,581 per year, after taxes, insurance and pension

Net per hour worked

€20.58

Instead of €120 per hour. Based on all 1,680 working hours per year, billable or not.

Share of revenue you keep

43 %

The rest goes to business expenses, health insurance, pension and the tax office.

Where the working time goes

672 h billed1,008 h acquisition, admin, training, idle time

At full utilization on 210 working days, revenue would be €201,600. Realistically it is €80,640.

Calculation per year

Revenue (672 billed hours)
€80,640
− Business expenses (hardware, software, insurance, office)
€9,396
= Profit
€71,244
− Health insurance (statutory)
€12,206
− Long-term care insurance
€2,930
− Pension savings (18.6 %)
€13,251
− Income tax (taxable: €43,309)
€8,276
− Solidarity surcharge
€0
= Net
€34,581

A model calculation, not tax advice. Not included: spouses and child allowances, other income, reserves for tax prepayments, disability and liability insurance as separate items, and multi-year investments. The 783 euros of monthly expenses are the average from the Freelancer-Kompass 2026.

Sources: § 32a EStG (2026 tariff), Solidarity Surcharge Act, statutory health insurance values 2026, Freelancer-Kompass 2026 by freelancermap (5,412 respondents).

And from the client side: is the cheaper freelancer really cheaper?

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions: Freelancer Net Income

Utilization, health insurance, pension and taxes in Germany 2026.

Because freelancers do not only work project hours. No client pays for acquisition, proposals, bookkeeping, training and gaps between projects. According to the Freelancer-Kompass 2026, freelancers work 42 hours a week on average but bill only about 65 hours a month. Almost a quarter had fewer than 50 project days last year. If you are booked out all year, raise the value.