National Insurance contributions are slightly more complicated than that, but the upshot is you generally won't be paying more personally as a freelancer than a

National Insurance contributions are slightly more complicated than that, but the upshot is you generally won't be paying more personally as a freelancer than as an employer. When you're employed, both you and your employer pay NI rates. If you're self-employed, you pay £2.65 a week plus 9% on profits over about £8k, which should work out fairly similarly to the rates you pay (out of your gross salary) when employed. More details on gov.uk.