I’ve done both. Permanent employee with a contratto indeterminato, and freelancer with a partita IVA. Both have real advantages. Both have real costs that nobody tells you about until you’ve already made the switch. Here’s the honest comparison.
The money (it’s not what it looks like)
A freelancer charging €400/day looks like they’re making almost three times a permanent employee earning €35,000 RAL. They’re not.
Let’s do the math:
Permanent employee at €35,000 RAL:
- The company pays ~€48,000 total (your salary + their contributions)
- You take home roughly €24,000–26,000 after IRPEF, INPS, regional/municipal taxes
- You also get: paid holidays (26+ days), tredicesima and quattordicesima, sick pay, TFR (severance fund), parental leave, NASpI if laid off
Freelancer billing €400/day × 220 working days = €88,000 gross:
- Gestione separata INPS: ~26% on income = ~€22,880
- IRPEF (progressive): roughly €22,000–28,000 depending on deductions
- Accountant: €1,500–3,000/year
- Professional insurance: €500–1,500/year
- Net take-home: roughly €35,000–42,000
- You get: no paid holidays, no sick pay, no severance, no NASpI, no tredicesima
Those 30+ days of paid leave the permanent employee gets? The freelancer has to fund those from their own pocket, which effectively costs another €12,000–15,000 in unbilled time.
The real hourly rate comparison is much closer than the daily rate suggests. The freelancer earns more — but not 3× more. Maybe 40–60% more, and they carry all the risk.
The freedom (it’s real, but different than you expect)
The pitch for freelancing is always about freedom: choose your projects, set your schedule, work from wherever. And that’s genuinely true — after you have a stable pipeline of clients. The first year is different.
Year one reality:
- You say yes to everything because you can’t afford to say no
- You work weekends because you’re terrified of the gap between contracts
- You spend hours on admin that an HR department used to handle
- You discover that “freedom to choose projects” mostly means “freedom to choose which client’s bad architecture to untangle next”
Year three reality (if it goes well):
- You actually can say no to projects that don’t interest you
- You’ve built relationships with 3–4 clients who call you directly
- Your rate has gone up because you have a track record
- The admin is still annoying but you’ve automated or outsourced the worst parts
The freedom is real, but it’s earned, not instant.
The risk (this is the part nobody talks about)
As a permanent employee:
- Getting fired in Italy is hard (especially with indeterminato). The protections are strong.
- If you get laid off, NASpI provides ~75% of your salary for up to 24 months.
- You can be mediocre for a surprisingly long time without consequences. I’m not recommending it, just observing it.
As a freelancer:
- Your income drops to zero between contracts. Instantly. No buffer, no safety net.
- Clients can end projects with 2–4 weeks notice (or less, depending on your contract).
- If you get sick for a month, you earn nothing and your INPS contributions don’t cover real sick pay.
- The Italian tax system treats freelancers as cash cows: you pay estimated taxes in advance (acconti), often based on last year’s income, even if this year is worse.
The acconto system is particularly brutal for new freelancers. In your second year, you’ll pay the balance for year one PLUS the estimated advance for year two — in the same tax period. Budget for it or it will blindside you.
The psychological trade-off
This is the one nobody puts in spreadsheets but everyone feels:
Permanent: predictability. You know what’s in your account on the 27th of every month. You can plan a mortgage, a family, a life, without doing mental math about runway.
Freelance: ownership. Your income is directly proportional to your skill, your hustle, and your reputation. That’s exhilarating when things go well and terrifying when they don’t.
Some people need the first. Some need the second. Knowing which one you are before you make the switch is worth more than any financial comparison.
The practical advice
If you’re thinking about going freelance:
- Save 6–9 months of living expenses first. Not 3. The gap between “I quit” and “first invoice paid” is always longer than you expect. (See the emergency fund.)
- Line up your first client before you quit. Ideally with a 3+ month commitment.
- Talk to a commercialista. The regime forfettario (flat tax regime for small freelancers, 15% — or 5% for the first 5 years) changes the math dramatically if you qualify. Don’t make the decision without understanding the tax implications.
- Keep your professional network alive. As a freelancer, your network is your pipeline. LinkedIn messages, meetups, conference talks — this becomes part of the job, not an optional extra.
If you’re staying permanent:
- That’s a perfectly valid choice. Not everyone needs to optimize for maximum income. Stability has real value, especially if you have dependents or want to focus your energy on things outside work.
- Use the stability to invest consistently. A permanent employee who invests €500/month for 20 years builds serious wealth without any of the freelance stress.
My personal take
I went freelance because I wanted to choose what I work on and who I work with. That turned out to be true — eventually. The first year was a scramble. The financial complexity is real and ongoing. I spend at least one full day per month on invoicing, taxes, and administrative overhead that a permanent employee never thinks about.
Was it worth it? For me, yes. But I know permanent employees who are happier, wealthier (once you factor in all the hidden benefits), and more relaxed. There’s no universal right answer here — just the right answer for you.