That's not what I understand those terms to mean. A contractor is effectively a non-permanent employee: someone you hire for a fixed period because you have ir

That's not what I understand those terms to mean. A contractor is effectively a non-permanent employee: someone you hire for a fixed period because you have irregular work load and you need some extra people temporarily. I say effectively a non-permanent employee, but it's really skirting the edge here: if the relationship is too much like an employee, then the contractor is an employee for tax purposes. A consultant is someone you hire for their expertise. They're a specialist; they tell you what you should be doing, rather than doing work you specify. https://www.itworld.com/article/2801854/know-the-difference-between-contractors-and-consultants.html https://www.itworld.com/article/2801854/know-the-difference-... https://www.crunch.co.uk/knowledge/tax/consultant-contractor-why-does-it-matter/ https://www.crunch.co.uk/knowledge/tax/consultant-contractor... IT contractors are also usually employed by contracting companies that take care of accounting and other overheads, and if they do things like marketing and referral, they'll eat a significant chunk of the fees too. I don't think there's a significant difference in organizational structure between contractors and consultants in this way. It's mostly that consultants address the problem at a bigger distance, and are more likely to be drawing up the plan, rather than working on the execution.