About

Who built this and why

SalaryParity is a free suite of career finance tools built for people navigating salary negotiations, freelance pricing, business structure decisions, and employment contracts — without a finance degree or a lawyer on retainer.

The creator

Mahmoud Mahdali

Software Developer & Career Tools Builder · Cairo, Egypt

Mahmoud is an independent software developer who builds practical web tools focused on career finance and professional decision-making. He has built and shipped multiple data-driven web products, with a focus on making complex financial calculations accessible to people without professional finance backgrounds. SalaryParity was built after noticing that most salary and career finance tools either require expensive subscriptions, demand account creation, or produce results without explaining the methodology behind them.

Why SalaryParity exists

Most people make major career and financial decisions — accepting or rejecting job offers, setting freelance rates, choosing a business structure, signing contracts — without access to the data that would help them decide well. The information exists, but it is scattered across government databases, academic studies, and paywalled tools that charge monthly fees for what should be basic financial literacy.

SalaryParity puts that data in one place, does the calculations, and explains the results in plain English. Every tool is free, requires no account, and stores none of your inputs. The goal is to level the information playing field between employers who negotiate salaries professionally every day and employees who do it once every few years.

The tools

💰 Salary Reality Check

Adjusts any salary offer for cost of living across 50+ cities worldwide, estimates take-home pay after federal and state taxes, benchmarks against market data by role and experience level, and generates a negotiation email. Data: Numbeo 2025 CoL Index, BLS OES May 2024, Levels.fyi.

🧮 Freelance Rate Calculator

Calculates the minimum viable hourly rate based on target income, business expenses, self-employment tax (15.3%), state income tax, and realistic billable hours per year. Benchmarks against market rates by field and experience level. Includes email templates for quoting clients, raising rates, and handling pushback.

📅 Last Day Calculator

Calculates your exact last working day based on resignation date and notice period. Estimates PTO payout. Generates a departure timeline and three resignation letter templates.

🏢 LLC vs Sole Proprietor

Side-by-side tax comparison between sole proprietor, default LLC, and LLC with S-Corporation election. Uses 2024 federal brackets and state tax rates. Shows exact tax liability and calculates annual savings from S-Corp election after payroll and accounting costs.

🔍 Contract Red Flag Scanner

AI-powered contract analysis built on Anthropic's Claude model. Analyzes employment contracts, freelance agreements, NDAs, and non-competes. Returns a severity-scored breakdown of red flags, yellow flags, and protective clauses in plain English. Contract text is never stored.

Data sources and methodology

Every calculation is based on cited, publicly verifiable data. The methodology is transparent and sources are linked from each tool page.

Numbeo Cost of Living Plus Rent Index 2025

Real-time crowdsourced CoL data across 50+ global cities. NYC = 100 baseline.

BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics — May 2024

Median wages by occupation from ~1.1 million US business establishments.

Levels.fyi Compensation Data

Self-reported total compensation data for tech roles at major companies.

IRS 2024 Tax Brackets & FICA Rates

Federal income tax brackets, SS wage base ($168,600), and Medicare rates.

State Revenue Department Publications

Effective state income tax rates for all US states. Updated for 2024 tax year.

Anthropic Claude API

Powers contract analysis. Input text is not retained after response is returned.

Accuracy and limitations

Our tools provide directional estimates to help you make better-informed decisions. They are not a substitute for professional financial, tax, or legal advice.

Tax estimates use the standard deduction for single filers and do not account for itemized deductions, pre-tax contributions (401k, HSA), or other individual factors
Salary benchmarks reflect BLS median wages adjusted for company size and cost of living — they do not capture every micromarket or specialty niche
Cost of living indices are city-level averages — your actual expenses depend on neighborhood, lifestyle, and household size
Contract analysis is AI-generated and informational only — not legal advice
Business structure comparisons use simplified estimates — consult a CPA for advice specific to your situation

Data is updated annually. If you notice an error or outdated figure, please contact us.

Funding and independence

SalaryParity is intended to be supported by display advertising on article and information pages. We do not place ads inside tool interfaces, charge for tool access, sell user data, or accept sponsored content.

Get in touch

Data corrections, feedback, feature requests, or press inquiries: hello@salaryparity.com