Last updated 18 May 2026
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Top UK Take-Home Pay Calculators Compared
NHS staff: These general UK calculators can work for NHS employees if you know your pension contribution tier and the calculator supports the NET pay method. You will need to enter your tier rate manually. For calculators that handle NHS tiers automatically, see the NHS calculator comparison.
A new job offer, a pay rise, a decision about whether you can afford to go part-time. Each one depends on knowing what you will actually take home. If the calculator you use gets that number wrong, the decision you make next is based on a figure that doesn’t reflect reality.
We build take-home pay tools, and getting the numbers right is the thing we care about most. So we tested the five calculators that people actually use — the ones that account for almost all the visits when you search for a take-home pay calculator. If you’re not sure how take-home pay is calculated, start with our walkthrough of the deduction steps.
At a Glance
For a straightforward salary with no pension, all five calculators produce similar results. The differences start when pensions, student loans and less common tax scenarios are involved. Some of those differences come down to missing features. Others come from labels that do not match what the calculator actually does.
How We Tested
Four test cases were run through all five calculators: a baseline PAYE case, a personal allowance taper case, a salary sacrifice stress test, and a capital gains tax scenario (unsupported by all). Each calculator was also checked against a feature grid covering core features, pension handling, student loans, and usability.
What We Found
We scored each calculator across six areas using a simple red, amber and green scale. Some dimensions like accuracy could be quantified precisely, but others like usability and privacy are judgement calls, so we kept the scoring consistent. Each calculator is reviewed in detail below. The full set of test results is available in the dataset.
| Accuracy | Pension | Features | Student Loans | Privacy | Usability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSE | ||||||
| HMRC | ||||||
| Salary Calc | ||||||
| UK Tax Calc | ||||||
| UK Salary Calc |
Every calculator in this comparison focuses on a single pay scenario at a time. None of them cover:
- NHS pension tier modelling — contribution rates tiered by actual pay, changing automatically with part-time hours
- Multi-scenario comparison — comparing two salary offers or pension strategies side by side
- Pension projection — estimating your annual pension at retirement based on accrual, revaluation, and lump sum commutation
Money Saving Expert
moneysavingexpert.comBest for: Quick estimate for simple PAYE with NET pay pension.
- Trusted brand with large audience
- NET pay pension support
- Blind person’s allowance
- Ad-free
- No salary sacrifice
- No Plan 5 or Postgraduate loan
- Tax code input not validated
- Newsletter popup on page
Best for: Official reference for salary sacrifice cases.
- Official government calculator
- Tax code validated
- Assumptions documented
- No ads or tracking scripts
- Only salary sacrifice pension (no NET pay)
- No Plan 5 or Postgraduate loan
- No tax year selection
- Percentage pension only (no fixed £)
The Salary Calculator
thesalarycalculator.co.ukBest for: Complex cases needing salary sacrifice and employer pension.
- All three pension methods supported
- Employer pension contribution
- Overtime and bonus inputs
- Marriage and blind person’s allowance
- Multiple student loan plans selectable at once
- Percentage pension input treated as £
- Tax code not validated
- Displays ads
UK Tax Calculators
uktaxcalculators.co.ukBest for: Self-employed users or those needing Plan 5 support.
- All five student loan plans
- Self-employment support
- Marriage allowance
- Export/print
- Assumptions documented
- Salary sacrifice not labelled clearly
- No NET pay pension option
- Tax code not validated
- Displays ads
Listen to Taxman (UK Salary Calc)
listentotaxman.comBest for: Student loan plan coverage with effective rate display.
- All five student loan plans
- Effective rate shown
- Marriage and blind person’s allowance
- Pension labelled ‘auto enrolment’ but uses NET pay
- No salary sacrifice
- No fixed £ pension input
- Tax code not validated
- Displays ads