The Math of Truth: What Are You REALLY Earning as a Freelancer?

I have an uncomfortable question for you.

Not "how much did you make last month" — that's an easy question. You check your account, see the number, done.

The question is: how much did you REALLY make?

After subtracting everything. Literally everything.

Most freelancers shut down at this point.

"I make X dollars a month" — end of conversation.

But I'm not like most people.

I don't just know how to count — I'm not afraid to do it.

And if you count it out with me right now, you'll discover a truth that might change your entire approach to freelancing (or solopreneurship).

Counting Backwards

Most freelancers count forward:

“How much do I need to earn today to survive?”

I count backwards:

“Can this price even BE fair?”

And here's how I do it:

I look at a price — let's say $250 for a quick Photoshop project on Fiverr.

Yes, I know that's a lot for a quick project, especially on Fiverr —

but that's intentional, so bear with me.

I start subtracting:

Platform Commission

• 20% + VAT, so about $60

Transfer Fee

• From platform to your account: 3%, so $7.50

Subscriptions

• Adobe Creative Cloud: $85/month (legal license)

• AI Tools: minimum $85/month (2–3 good tools, though I personally spend over $250)

That's about $5.70 per day

Equipment

• Laptop: $2,000 / 3 years = $1.80/day

• Monitor: $550 / 4 years = $0.35/day

• Graphics Tablet: $300 / 4 years = $0.20/day

Total: $2.35/day

Taxes and Self-Employment

• Let's say 15% income tax: $37.50

• Self-employment tax/insurance: $15/day

Combined: $52.50

Time

• 2 hours for a quick project (realistically, including preparing the proposal, client communication, revisions)

That's $125/hour gross

• After subtracting costs (commissions + subscription + equipment + taxes + insurance = $127.35): What's left: $250 - $127.35 = $122.65

That's $61.33/hour

And now the most important question:

Where's vacation? Where's sick leave? Where's a decent retirement?

Let's keep counting:

• Paid vacation (30 days per year): $4.50/hour

• Paid sick leave (14 days per year): about $3.50/hour

Leaves $53.33/hour

Can This Business Scale?

Let's say you hire an employee.

A good Photoshop specialist earns about $60,000/year all-in with taxes and benefits.

But that's not the end, because the employee actually works about 10.5 months a year, but you pay for 12.

Plus downtime — let's assume 20%.

Let's calculate:

• Base cost: $60,000/year → $33.50/hour

• Vacation + sick leave: $3.80/hour

• Downtime: $6.70/hour

Total: $44/hour

After subtracting employee cost (and assuming unit costs drop by $7.50/hour at larger scale): $53.33 + $7.50 - $44 = $16.83/hour

That's what you have left if you're not doing production work, but handling admin and clients instead. From this, you need to cover your own salary, private retirement contributions, accounting, and company margin.

You're balancing on the edge of profitability and you haven't even rented an office yet.

The Verdict?

Seemingly great earnings will let you live at a good level — but they probably won't let you scale the business.

If you counted along with me, your hair might be standing on end. Because how much are you REALLY earning?

Less than you thought. Much less.

The Time Bomb

And now for the worst part.

All those costs you just read about? They don't come today.

• Subscription? You pay monthly.

• Equipment? It'll break in a year or two.

• Taxes? The IRS will remind you in six months.

• Vacation? You'll feel the cost when you actually rest.

• Illness? When you can't get out of bed.

• 
  

So the freelancer thinks: "I made $250 today!"

But the truth is: they made $122.65, and the rest is a loan from their future self.

It's like a credit card — you spend today, you pay later.

Except you don't even know you're borrowing.

Every day of work at the wrong price is a loan from your future.

And someday payment comes due.

The laptop dies. You get sick. The IRS wants their cut.

You take a week off.

And you discover you were working for free.

Or worse — at a loss.

Fiverr Knows

Do you know Fiverr, the global marketplace for freelancers?

I checked the average prices for Photoshop services.

Average: $20–$50 per project.

I've talked to hundreds of clients.

With my manager on Fiverr too.

And you know what he told me?

“Lower your prices to get more orders.”

Because according to him — whether you pay $10 or $100 — you get "the same thing."

But if they can count (and they can), they know perfectly well that at these prices, the math doesn't add up.

Unless:

• You're using pirated software ("Jack Sparrow's Photoshop version")

• You don't pay taxes

• You work on old equipment

• You never take vacation

• You never get sick

Fiverr is not a platform for professionals.

It's a system that only works because someone somewhere is breaking the rules.

If you're an honest freelancer, paying taxes, investing in equipment and subscriptions —

this system isn't for you.

But nobody will tell you that.

Until you count it yourself.

Two Types of Freelancers on Fiverr

Fiverr (consciously or unconsciously) attracts two types of freelancers:

Type 1: Honest but Unaware

They work for "fair" rates but do not count the real costs.

Until:

• They get sick

• Equipment breaks

• The IRS comes calling

• Or they just want to take a vacation

Then the curtain falls.

Type 2: Desperados from Third World Countries

• They don't worry about taxes or subscriptions.

• Often working on an old laptop or... a phone.

  (I'm not kidding — actual case.)

And they're the ones setting prices.

Because if they'll do something for $20 — why would a client pay you $200?

A Mechanism That Works?

The Fiverr marketplace runs on a simple yet risky mechanism:

it attracts clients that no one else wants — those searching for the cheapest possible deal.

It’s a system that connects a bargain-hunting client with a desperate freelancer willing to work for a few dollars.

On paper, it looks perfect — everyone “earns something,” everyone “gets something.”

But in practice, it leads to price dumping, lower quality,

and bypassing the very rules that were meant to protect both sides.

At best, it’s a case of systemic negligence:

no real verification,

no meaningful distinction between professionals and amateurs (in practice, not just in theory),

and no client education on why quality work costs what it costs.

As a result, two worlds collide on one platform:

clients chasing the lowest price,

and freelancers doing whatever it takes to survive.

And while this system does function — it rests on a fragile foundation.

Because the moment someone starts doing the math…

the illusion of profitability disappears.

I’m not saying that all Fiverr clients are freebie hunters.

There are plenty of classy, respectful people on the platform —

those who know what they’re looking for and value real professionalism.

But the business model itself is built to function even when many participants bend the rules — or simply don’t understand them.

The Question That Changes Everything

If you've made it this far and you're thinking: "Okay, but what am I supposed to do about this?" — good.

Because this isn't an article about complaining.

This is an article about opening your eyes.

Someone once asked me:

"If you see that the math doesn't add up... why are you still there?"

That question changed everything.

Because I understood the problem isn't Fiverr.

The problem is the mindset that makes people accept these conditions in the first place.

Fiverr is just a symptom.

A byproduct of a mentality that says:

• "I have no choice."

• "At least I'm earning something."

• "Maybe someday it'll get better."

  
  

Poverty isn't a state of your bank account.

It's a state of mind.

And the former is much easier to change than the latter.

What's Next?

If you made it this far, you probably just recalculated your earnings.

And you probably didn't like it.

Good.

Because you can't change something you don't see.

This is the beginning — The Math of Truth.

The next step isn't fighting Fiverr, or any other system.

Not escaping the platform.

Not looking for a new marketplace.

The next step is changing how you think about what you're selling — and to whom.

But that's a topic for another post.

For now: count your REAL earnings.

And see if you still want to play this game.

And if you don't — stay with me.

Because I'll show you how to change the rules.