Pre-filled with the HK$5200/day Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker benchmark rate in Hong Kong. Adjust to your actual rate to convert it to an equivalent salary.
2026 Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker rates in Hong Kong, worked through as a sole proprietor over 220 billable days, with no expenses or pension.
| Rate | Billed / year | Take-home / year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| HK$3,400/dayJunior | HK$748,000 | HK$648,550HK$54,046/mo | HK$54,046 |
| HK$5,200/dayMid-level | HK$1,144,000 | HK$977,230HK$81,436/mo | HK$81,436 |
| HK$7,800/daySenior | HK$1,716,000 | HK$1,451,990HK$120,999/mo | HK$120,999 |
| HK$10,500/dayPrincipal/Lead | HK$2,310,000 | HK$1,948,200HK$162,350/mo | HK$162,350 |
At the median HK$5,200/day, a Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker contractor working as a sole proprietor takes home about HK$977,230 a year, 85% of the HK$1,144,000 billed over 220 billable days.
A permanent Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker on the HK$65K median takes home HK$675,110, so contracting at the median rate leaves HK$302,120 more a year before unpaid holidays, pension, and gaps between contracts. On take-home alone, contracting draws level with that salary at about HK$3,545/day.
Pre-filled with the Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker median HK$5200/day benchmark. Adjust for your actual rate.
Contractor structure
An agency or umbrella treats you like an employee for Salaries Tax and MPF purposes, deducting both the normal 5% employee MPF and Salaries Tax before you're paid.
Equivalent permanent salary
HK$1,087,273
A HK$5,200/day rate at 230 billable days with a 10% loading is worth roughly the same as a HK$1,087,273 permanent base salary.
Annual gross contract income
HK$1,196,000
Equivalent base salary
HK$1,087,273
A modelling tool, not a quote. The contractor loading is a market rule of thumb (8%-15% PAYG/agency, 15%-25% sole proprietor) for unpaid leave, lack of job security and business admin; actual rates depend on skills demand, contract length and negotiating leverage. Hong Kong has no compulsory employer-side cost beyond 5% MPF (capped at HK$1,500/month) this MVP passes through to contractor pricing (see lib/hk-contractor-calculator.ts for the full Salaries Tax/MPF treatment by structure). Not personalised financial or tax advice. For take-home after Salaries Tax and MPF, see the Hong Kong Take-Home Calculator.
Multiply the day rate by your expected billable days (230 is a common default, accounting for Hong Kong's 12 statutory holidays, a paid-leave-equivalent buffer, and unpaid downtime between contracts), then adjust for the contractor loading you're charging on top of an equivalent salary. The calculator above does this both ways: salary to day rate, or day rate back to an equivalent salary.
It depends on your structure. PAYG/agency contractors, where the agency runs payroll and MPF like an employer, typically load 8-15% on top of an equivalent salary rate since the loading mainly covers unpaid leave. Sole proprietors, who invoice clients directly and self-fund their own mandatory MPF, typically load 15-25%.
It depends on your structure. A PAYG/agency contractor has MPF deducted the normal employee way (5%, capped at HK$1,500/month), matched by an employer contribution. A sole proprietor is legally required to enrol in MPF too, but contributes the full 5% themselves with no employer match. Always confirm your structure before comparing a quoted rate to a permanent salary.
A PAYG/agency contractor is taxed exactly like an employee under Salaries Tax. A true sole proprietor is technically assessed under Hong Kong's separate Profits Tax regime (a two-tiered 7.5%/15% rate on assessable business profits), which this calculator approximates using the same Salaries Tax mechanism as a simplification: see the day rate calculator's disclaimer for details.
At HK$5200/day over 220 billable days, the gross annual contract income is HK$1144K. This is a 47% gross premium over the Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker permanent salary median of HK$65K/mo. The premium compensates contractors for self-funded MPF, leave, job security, and business admin that a permanent employer covers on an employee's behalf.
At the median HK$5,200/day, a Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker contractor working as a sole proprietor takes home about HK$977,230 a year, 85% of the HK$1,144,000 billed over 220 billable days. A permanent Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker on the HK$65K median takes home HK$675,110, so contracting at the median rate leaves HK$302,120 more a year before unpaid holidays, pension, and gaps between contracts. On take-home alone, contracting draws level with that salary at about HK$3,545/day.
Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker Day Rate Benchmarks
Full range, city breakdown, confidence
Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker Permanent Salary
Salary benchmarks and take-home comparison