Side hustle comparison calculator.

How it is calculated

Each hustle is run through the same engine as the net hourly pay calculator: profit, SE tax, income tax, hours with ramp-up spread out, then net per hour and payback months (upfront cost ÷ monthly after-tax profit). Tax settings are shared and each hustle is taxed as if it were your only side income, so combined income that pushes you into a higher bracket is not modelled.

Effort-vs-reward index = 100 × (net per hour ÷ your reference hourly pay) × variance factor × payback factor × hours factor. Variance factor = 1 − weight × (variance rating ÷ 100). Payback factor = 1 ÷ (1 + weight × payback years), or 0 if an upfront cost is never recouped, and 1 if there is no upfront cost. Hours factor = spare hours ÷ hours needed per week when the hustle needs more than you have, otherwise 1. A loss counts as 0 on the first term. The index is a transparent ranking aid built from your own ratings, not a measurement of which hustle is best.

Worked example (illustrative inputs)

Hustle A: $1,000 revenue, $200 goods and fees, $100 expenses, $600 upfront, 20 paid + 5 unpaid hours a month, variance rated 50. Net per hour $17.02, payback 1.4 months, 5.8 hours a week, index 56. Hustle B: $400 revenue, $20 expenses, 8 hours, no upfront cost, variance 10: net per hour $28.87, 1.8 hours a week, index 112. Hustle B nets more per hour and ranks first, while Hustle A keeps more total dollars ($425.45 against $230.96 a month after tax) but needs more hours; change the weights and the order can change. These are example inputs, not typical results.

What this does not cover

• The 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on high earnings.
• The qualified business income (QBI) deduction, the standard or itemized deduction, credits, and bracket changes caused by the extra income: the model applies one flat marginal rate you choose.
• State self-employment rules, local taxes, sales tax and the details of any one platform’s fees: enter them as costs.
• Quarterly estimated-tax timing and penalties (see estimated tax due dates).
• The value of your time at other uses, burnout, and whether the work is enjoyable.
• Correlated risk: two hustles that depend on the same platform or customers can fail together.

Method and sources

Sources: IRS Topic no. 554, Self-employment tax (15.3% total, 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare, on 92.35% of net earnings; half of the tax is deductible; retrieved 2026-10); Instructions for Schedule SE (Form 1040) ($400 net-earnings rule and the Social Security earnings limit; retrieved 2026-10); SSA contribution and benefit base (the Social Security wage base; the tool starts from $184,500 for 2026 and lets you overwrite it; this page could not be re-opened automatically in 2026-10, so confirm the current figure there; our own taxable maximum by year page lists it); IRS 2026 inflation adjustments (the seven federal rates, 10% to 37%, and their income thresholds; retrieved 2026-10). Your marginal federal rate is an input, not a lookup. The reference hourly pay, weights, variance ratings, rates and wage base are all inputs.