The Methodology behind Contra's Project Cost CalculatorHere for the secret sauce behind Contra's Project Cost Calculator? Let's pull back the curtain on the inputs that power your personalized results.Project timelinesHow do we offer a timeline that's more than a shot in the dark? We analyzed a wealth of completed projects on Contra from November 2021 to August 2023. When data is scarce, we lean on the averages of similar projects. No magic ball, just calculated foresight.Labor CostsIndependent costsBased on Contra's real-world data, we provide you with an average hourly rate that considers variables like skills, location, and experience.Full-time employee costsThis is where it gets nuanced. We start with Pave's 2022 salary benchmarks. Since we're in 2024, we've upped those figures by 1.7% to account for inflation, courtesy of the latest BLS stats. Additionally, we factor in extra costs that employers often overlook—like benefits, insurance, payroll tax, and worker’s comp.These costs are incorporated into the total employee cost, which is then amortized over the project's duration as a percentage of total annual hours. Unlike these ongoing costs, the average cost-per-hire is considered an upfront, one-time expense. All these elements are based on data from SHRM and the SBA to ensure a realistic comparison between full-time and independent labor costs.The bottom lineOur calculator shows you what you can save by hiring an independent versus a full-time employee. The goal? Smarter, not just cheaper, hiring decisions.Time to impactIndependentsOur benchmarks spotlight how quickly an independent can influence your project. We calculate this by assessing the average time between project approval and independent application acceptance on Contra between November 8th 2021, to August 1st 2023.Full-time employeeThanks to LinkedIn’s Workforce Report, we estimate how long it'll take to onboard a full-time employee and get them to the point where they're truly contributing.Time Sa