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Wage Portage or Freelance: Which Status Fits a €500 Day Rate?
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You've just left a permanent job or a consulting firm, a mission is taking shape, and the question lands: set up your own company or go through a portage firm? The answer changes your net pay, your social cover and the time you'll spend on paperwork.
Wage portage or freelance: as a freelancer you invoice directly and run everything yourself (company, contributions, accounting). With portage you stay an employee: the portage firm invoices your client, keeps its fees and pays you a salary.
Are you a consultant or freelancer? Estimate your net salary under wage portage from your day rate in 2 minutes with the WEEPO salary simulator.
Wage portage or freelance: the point-by-point comparison
The difference between wage portage and freelancing is who carries the admin and the social protection. A freelancer is their own boss and their own manager. A ported consultant is an employee of the portage firm, which handles invoicing, contributions and filings. The contract with the client stays the same in both cases.
| Criterion | Freelance (micro-business or company) | Wage portage |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Self-employed, non-salaried (SASU president treated as an employee) | Employee of the portage firm |
| Invoicing | You invoice the client yourself | The portage firm invoices for you |
| Admin | Accounting, filings and payment chasing are yours | Delegated, a payslip every month |
| Unemployment | As a rule no rights as a micro-entrepreneur or SASU president | Possible rights under conditions, like any employee |
| Cost | 25.6% contributions in micro (non-regulated liberal profession, excluding Cipav), plus an accountant in a company | 3% management fee (capped at €550 per mission) plus 2% additional fees at WEEPO |
| Revenue cap | €83,600 a year as a micro-entrepreneur (services) | No cap tied to the status |
Which status for a freelancer billing €500 a day?
At a €500 day rate, the micro-business regime is almost always ruled out: the €83,600 annual revenue cap is reached in under 10 months. That threshold applies to services in 2026 (source: service-public.gouv.fr), roughly €6,967 a month.
The 2026 WEEPO Barometer, built on 20,000 payslips of ported consultants, shows a median day rate of €526 and median revenue of €10,260 a month. Over twelve months that's €123,120: the median consultant exceeds the micro cap by about 47%. In that regime contributions reach 25.6% of revenue for a non-regulated liberal profession excluding Cipav, with a 34% allowance for income tax (details on service-public.gouv.fr).
Take Karim, a developer at €500 a day billing 18 days a month: €9,000 of monthly revenue, €108,000 a year. A micro-business isn't possible. That leaves a company (SASU or EURL) and portage, compared in detail in our article on wage portage or SASU at a €500 day rate.
What are the advantages of wage portage?
The main advantage of wage portage is combining a freelancer's autonomy with an employee's protection. You negotiate your missions and your day rate, and the portage firm handles the rest: invoicing, payslips, social filings.
At WEEPO, a wage portage company, fees are 3% for management, capped at €550 per mission, plus 2% in additional fees (professional liability insurance, occupational health, factoring and financial guarantee, CVAE). On €9,000 of billing, 3% is €270, far below the €550 cap. The "Zéro Frais Cachés" label from Fedep's backs that transparency, and missions are accepted from a €300 excl. VAT day rate.
The collective agreement (IDCC 3219) also sets a floor: a minimum salary of 75% of the monthly social security ceiling (PMSS) for a full-time senior consultant, i.e. €3,003.75 gross with a 2026 PMSS of €4,005, and 85% (€3,404.25) for an expert. On the result side, the median net salary in the Barometer is €4,200 a month, a magnitude covered in our piece on ported employees' salaries.
What are the disadvantages of wage portage?
The disadvantages of wage portage come down to management fees, sometimes a lower net than a company at a high day rate, and less room for optimisation. A SASU president can trade salary against dividends. A ported consultant is 100% an employee, without that lever.
Another limit: the portage firm doesn't bring you clients, finding them is on you. Between missions, your pay draws on the financial reserve you've built (10% on a permanent contract under IDCC 3219). To size the gap with a company, go from day rate to net with our method for calculating net salary from a day rate.
Freelance or portage: which profile for which choice?
Portage suits consultants who want to focus on their missions, a company suits those willing to manage and optimise. Three profiles stand out fairly clearly.
Portage if you're starting out or change clients often
No company to create, and an employee status that reassures a bank or a landlord. It's the choice of many tech profiles: the Barometer counts 85% IT consultants and a median of 29 months in portage.
A company (SASU, EURL) if your day rate is high and steady
When missions follow each other over several years, a company lets you trade pay against dividends. It needs an accountant and discipline. The freelance status in a company isn't a failure of portage: it's a logical step for some.
A micro-business if your revenue stays under the cap
For a side activity or a small volume it remains the simplest. Keep an eye on the micro-business threshold for 2026 and on the date you'd exceed it.
Not sure about your case? See how wage portage works at WEEPO (fees, financial guarantee, contract), then compare with your real situation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a freelancer and a self-employed person?
Freelance describes a way of working: missions for several clients, with no subordination. Self-employed is a legal and social status for non-employees. A freelancer is therefore usually self-employed, except under portage where they become an employee.
Is it better to be an employee or self-employed?
Neither in absolute terms. Employees keep social protection, the self-employed keep the margin. Wage portage targets exactly the middle: you choose your missions and day rate, with a payslip at month end.
What is the difference between an auto-entrepreneur and wage portage?
An auto-entrepreneur invoices directly, pays contributions personally and stays under the €83,600 cap for services. A ported consultant is an employee, isn't bound by that cap and leaves invoicing to the portage firm.
Can you do wage portage with a €300 day rate?
Yes, WEEPO accepts missions from a €300 excl. VAT day rate. The simulator then shows the net you keep, depending on your billed days.
Does wage portage give you unemployment rights?
As an employee you pay into unemployment insurance and may open rights under France Travail rules. The conditions and combination rules are covered in our article on unemployment benefits and wage portage.
Key takeaways
- Wage portage or freelance: a freelancer runs everything, a ported consultant delegates the admin and keeps employee status.
- The micro-business regime caps at €83,600 a year in 2026, about €6,967 a month, while ported consultants' median revenue is €10,260 a month.
- Portage costs 3% management (maximum €550 per mission) plus 2% additional fees at WEEPO.
- A company pays off at a high, steady day rate, portage when starting out or switching missions often.
- A calculation on your real day rate beats any general rule.
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Responsable Marketing & Communication chez Weepo, je suis passionnée par l'animation du réseau et l'accompagnement de nos consultants. J'organise des événements parisiens et accompagne nos équipes régionales pour créer des moments d'échange enrichissants dans l'écosystème du portage salarial.
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