Outsourcing Break-Even Calculator
Whether to do a task yourself or pay for it — the value of your hour against what the task costs to outsource, allowing for how much longer it takes you and what you would do with the time — with the yearly saving either way.
A task worth outsourcing is one where the hours it takes you, valued at what your time earns or is worth, exceed what someone else charges.
How the outsourcing break-even calculator works
A task worth outsourcing is one where the hours it takes you, valued at what your time earns or is worth, exceed what someone else charges. Two adjustments matter: an amateur usually takes longer than a professional, and the saved hours only count if you would actually use them for something worth the rate. The break-even hourly value is the number to compare with your own.
Formula: your cost = your hours × hourly value × share of saved time used; outsource if your cost > price; break-even value = price / (your hours × share used)
Worked examples
| Inputs | Recommendation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Four hours of your time against 120 | Outsource it | outsource |
| You enjoy it | Do it yourself | closer |
| Time you would waste anyway | Do it yourself | do it yourself |
FAQFrequently asked questions
What is my time worth?
What an extra hour would earn you, or what you would pay to get one back. After-tax hourly pay is the usual anchor; people who can take on more paid work should use their marginal rate.
Why discount the saved time?
Because outsourcing a Saturday chore only pays if the Saturday hours go to something worth the rate. If they go to the sofa, the value is what you place on the sofa.
What about the quality?
A professional may do it better or worse than you. If better, the price buys more than time; if worse, add the cost of fixing it to the price.
Does this apply at work?
Exactly the same way — delegating, contracting or buying a tool. Managers who do 45-an-hour tasks at 150 an hour are the classic case.
Should I outsource everything above break-even?
Only up to the hours you can actually use. Past that, the saved time has no marginal value and the arithmetic stops.
Where these figures come from
- ISO 8601 — Date and time — Representations for information interchange — the yyyy-mm-dd format and the week-numbering rules used here
- US Naval Observatory — Calendars — the Gregorian leap-year rule
- Australian Government — public holidays — public holidays by state (not applied here)
Last checked: September 2026. The Gregorian calendar rules do not change; working-day counts exclude Saturdays and Sundays only.