Why I built a free 1099 vs W-2 compensation calculator for freelancers

Hey Indie Hackers! 👋

Like many freelancers and independent contractors, I was struggling to compare job offers accurately. A $100k 1099 contract sounds great until you account for self-employment taxes, health insurance, and zero PTO compared to a W-2 salary offer.

Most existing calculators were either hidden behind lead-generation paywalls or too simplified.

So I built Real Contractor Pay (https://realcontractorpay.com) — a lightweight, free web utility to model real net take-home pay, S-Corp tax efficiency, and hourly benchmarks.

I'd love to get your feedback on the UX and calculation logic. What features or tax edge cases should I add next?

Cheers! 🚀