The gross numbers make owner-operator life look like a raise. The take-home numbers are where the real decision lives. Enter both sides to compare real yearly pay — after fuel, truck, insurance, benefits, and self-employment tax — and see the exact rate per mile you'd need to come out ahead.
"Operating cost per mile" is every owner-operator cost except your own pay — fuel, truck payment, insurance, maintenance, tires, permits, tolls, factoring. Don't know it yet? Build it on the cost-per-mile calculator or take-home pay calculator, then bring the number back here. Defaults model a solo dry-van driver; replace every field with your own.
Ask an owner-operator what they gross and you'll hear a big number — $180,000 to $250,000 a year is normal. Ask a company driver and you'll hear about $71,000 (ZipRecruiter's mid-2026 average for a long-haul company driver). That gap is why so many drivers buy a truck. But gross is not pay. Out of an owner-operator's gross comes fuel, the truck and trailer payment, insurance, maintenance and tires, permits, tolls, and a factoring fee — and then, unlike a W-2 driver, they owe the full 15.3% self-employment tax and fund their own health insurance and time off. Once you net all of that out, the average owner-operator's take-home lands near what ATBS measured across thousands of trucks in 2025: about $71,800. The real question isn't "who grosses more" — it's whether your rate, costs, and miles clear a company paycheck by enough to be worth the risk. The calculator above answers that with your numbers.
| Company driver (OTR, solo) | Owner-operator (solo) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay basis | $0.45–$0.75 / mile | $1.50–$2.50 / mile gross |
| Typical gross / year | $55,000–$85,000 | $180,000–$250,000 |
| Typical take-home / year | $55,000–$85,000 | $60,000–$120,000 net |
| Industry average | ~$71,200 salary | ~$71,800 net (ATBS) |
| Benefits & PTO | Usually included | You self-fund |
| Truck, fuel, insurance | Company pays | You pay |
Company-driver figures: ZipRecruiter long-haul average ~$71,196/yr (mid-2026). Owner-operator gross ~$228k/yr average (ZipRecruiter, 2026); net ~$71,808 average (ATBS 2025, thousands of owner-operators); most net $60k–$120k. Cost structure from ATRI 2025. Ranges, not quotes — your numbers decide it.
| Company driver | Owner-operator | |
|---|---|---|
| Control (loads, home time) | Lower | Higher |
| Income ceiling | Capped by your CPM | Uncapped — with risk |
| Financial risk | Low (steady paycheck) | High (truck, downtime, market) |
| Benefits & paid time off | Usually provided | You fund them |
| Taxes | W-2; employer covers half of FICA | Self-employed; full 15.3% SE tax |
| Startup cost | ~$0 | Truck + insurance + reserves |
Planning the jump? Size the entry cost with the trucking startup cost calculator and the truck payment with the semi-truck loan calculator.
Most "owner-operator vs company driver" articles compare gross owner-operator revenue to a company salary and call it a day. That's the wrong comparison. Two costs quietly close the gap. First, self-employment tax: a company driver's employer pays half of the 15.3% Social Security and Medicare tax (7.65%); an owner-operator pays all of it on net profit. Second, benefits: employer health insurance, a 401(k) match, and paid time off are worth roughly $6,000–$12,000 a year that an owner-operator has to buy or forgo. This calculator handles both — it subtracts the employer-side self-employment tax from the owner-operator side and lets you add a benefits value to the company side — so you're comparing true take-home to true take-home, not gross to salary.
The tool shows four numbers: what the company driver keeps (pay plus benefits), what the owner-operator keeps (profit minus the extra self-employment tax), the yearly difference, and your break-even rate — the all-in revenue per total mile at which the owner-operator side exactly matches the company job. If you're booking above the break-even rate, the truck is worth it on money alone; if you're near or below it, you'd be taking on all the risk of ownership for company-driver pay. Remember to book against your total-mile rate: deadhead miles you drive empty still count against you.
Both sides are shown before personal income tax, which each driver owes on their earnings. The 0.9235 factor is (1 − 7.65%), the apples-to-apples self-employment adjustment.
On paper yes: owner-operators gross around $180k–$250k versus a company driver's roughly $71k salary. But after fuel, truck payment, insurance, maintenance, and self-employment tax, the average owner-operator nets about $60k–$120k (ATBS put the 2025 average near $71,800). The take-home gap is far smaller than the gross gap — and at low rates or high costs, a company driver with benefits can keep more.
It depends on your cost and miles, but as a rule of thumb an owner-operator running 120,000 miles a year at ~$1.55/mile operating cost needs to average about $2.30 per total mile just to match a $0.65/mile company driver with benefits. Every deadhead mile and every added dollar of cost pushes that break-even higher. The calculator solves it for your exact numbers.
They matter a lot. A company driver's employer covers half of Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) and often health insurance, a 401(k) match, and paid time off — easily $6,000–$12,000 of value an owner-operator self-funds. As a self-employed owner-operator you pay the full 15.3% self-employment tax on net profit. This tool subtracts the employer-side tax and lets you add a benefits value so the comparison is apples to apples.
It's worth it when you can consistently book loads above your cost per mile, keep deadhead low, and run enough paid miles — then the upside is real. It's not worth it if you'd be averaging near your break-even rate, because you'd carry all the risk (truck, insurance, downtime, taxes) for company-driver money. Run your own numbers before you buy a truck.
There's no single number, but the math improves with miles because fixed costs spread thinner. At a healthy rate most owner-operators need 100,000+ paid miles a year to clear a company driver's pay by a meaningful margin. Fewer miles at a low rate is the fastest way to earn less than you would as a company driver.
The big ones: self-employment tax (15.3%), unpaid downtime (no PTO), health insurance you now buy yourself, higher new-authority insurance premiums, and a maintenance and repair reserve for the day a major component fails. Leaving these out is why a "good gross" can still net less than a company paycheck.
This comparison runs on the same numbers as the rest of your business. Nail down your cost per mile and take-home pay, check any load with the rate-per-mile calculator, find your break-even rate, cut empty miles with the deadhead calculator, and if you're going independent, price the entry with the startup cost and insurance cost calculators.
The comparison treats the owner-operator's own pay as the residual (revenue minus operating costs), then subtracts the employer-side self-employment tax (7.65%) a W-2 company driver doesn't pay, and adds an optional benefits value to the company side. Company-driver pay: ZipRecruiter long-haul average ~$71,196/yr (mid-2026). Owner-operator net: ATBS 2025 average ~$71,808; gross ~$228k/yr (ZipRecruiter, 2026). Cost structure: ATRI Operational Costs of Trucking: 2025 Update ($2.26/mi all-in). Self-employment tax 15.3% on 92.35% of net (IRS). Diesel context ~$4.67/gal (EIA, mid-2026). Ranges are typical figures, not quotes. Last updated July 2026. Estimates for planning only — confirm with your accountant. Built by TruckMargin.