Recruiting compensation can include more than base salary

A W-2 recruiting role may combine base pay with bonus, commissions, employer health coverage, paid leave and retirement benefits. A contract recruiting arrangement may instead pay a higher hourly, monthly or project amount while shifting health insurance, payroll-tax burden and business overhead to you. Compare the cash economics first, then use the full-offer analysis when a large portion of employee compensation comes from bonus or employer-paid benefits.

The editable example is not a market benchmark. It is only a starting scenario for testing the audited 2026 federal and state calculation path with your own offer.

Pipeline swings can change effective billable time

Independent recruiters can spend unpaid time on sourcing systems, outreach, client development, reporting, invoicing and periods when hiring slows. If a contract is hourly, determine how many hours are actually guaranteed. If it is project or placement based, convert expected annual revenue into a conservative billable-hour assumption before comparing it with a W-2 salary.

A lower utilization assumption raises the hourly break-even because the same annual take-home target must be earned from fewer paid hours. Testing several hour scenarios can show how sensitive the decision is to hiring volume and contract continuity.

Use break-even as a floor, not a promise of profitability

The calculator answers whether the contractor gross can match estimated W-2 take-home after entered costs. It does not price client concentration, delayed payments, commission uncertainty or the value you place on employment stability. Once the modeled floor is known, add those business considerations separately when deciding whether to accept or negotiate the contract.