Calculating the hourly rate from a monthly salary
What do you really earn per hour? With special payments and a check against the minimum wage.
Your entries
In euros, excluding special payments.
Contractual hours per week.
Christmas and holiday bonuses, in euros. Leave at zero if there are none.
Result
Calculation
- Monthly hours = 40 h × 4,345 weeks = 173,81 h
- Hourly rate = 3.000,00 € ÷ 173,81 h = 17,26 €
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How it is calculated
From the week to the month
A month has 4.348 weeks on average, namely 365 days divided by seven and then by twelve. At 40 weekly hours that is 173.9 monthly hours.
The approximation 4.33, which assumes 52 weeks a year, is also common. It is off by around half a percent. This calculator takes the precise value and states it in the calculation.
Special payments do not always count
For the comparison with the minimum wage, only payments that are irrevocable and made when due count. Christmas pay in November raises the minimum wage in November, not in February.
For the question of what the work is worth over the year, special payments are relevant. The calculator states both values.
The minimum wage is the floor, always
Since 01/01/2026, the statutory minimum wage has been 13.90 euros per clock hour; on 01/01/2027 it rises to 14.60 euros. Waiving it is ineffective under section 3 MiLoG, as is an agreement restricting the claim.
What matters is the pay per hour actually worked. Anyone regularly working longer without pay can fall below the minimum wage on paper, even though the monthly salary looks high enough.
Calculating once takes a minute. MetronHR carries these accounts forward continuously, for every employee, and shows the balance at the month end.
Further reading:Section 1 MiLoG · Section 3 MiLoG · Section 4 TzBfG
The calculator covers the basic statutory rules. Collective agreements, works agreements and employment contracts may contain more favourable arrangements, and for a specific case it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
Frequently asked questions
What we get asked about this most often.
4.348, that is 365 days divided by seven and by twelve. At 40 weekly hours that gives 173.9 hours a month. The often-quoted factor 4.33 comes from 52 weeks and deviates slightly downwards.
Not for the contractual view; there the agreed working time counts. For the minimum wage, on the other hand, every hour worked counts. Anyone who agreed 40 hours and regularly works 45 has to divide the salary by 45 to see whether the minimum wage is still met.
Gross. The calculator works with the gross salary, because the net amount depends on the tax class, church tax, child allowances and additional health insurance contributions, and cannot be calculated credibly without those details.
The same. Enter the actual monthly salary and the agreed weekly hours. Part-time employees must not be treated worse than full-time employees because of their part-time work (section 4(1) of the German Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act), so the hourly rate has to be the same.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Calculating once is good. Never having to calculate again is better.
MetronHR keeps holiday accounts, carries overtime forward and checks breaks automatically as time is recorded. Try it free for 14 days.
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