Which legal set-up for freelancing in France?
The right set-up depends less on your trade than on three numbers: turnover, expenses and how much social cover you want.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The legal form that leaves you the most
Top: Micro-enterprise
€3,188
| EURL | €3,063 |
| EI, real profit | €2,957 |
| SASU | €2,934 |
| Umbrella | €2,502 |
Monthly take-home, single, company accounting costs not included.
A freelancer selling services in France can work under five set-ups: micro-enterprise (the simplified auto-entrepreneur scheme), entreprise individuelle (EI, a sole trader taxed on real profit), EURL (a single-member limited company), SASU (a single-shareholder simplified company) or portage salarial (umbrella employment). This site’s engine compares them for a single person in an unregulated freelance profession. On €45,000 of turnover with €2,000 of expenses, the micro-enterprise leaves the most: €2,448 a month after income tax, against €1,963 under umbrella employment. At €80,000 with €4,000 of expenses, the micro-enterprise still leads with €3,868, but loses first place if expenses reach €20,000: the EURL then leaves €3,025. At €130,000 the €83,600 ceiling rules out the micro scheme and the EURL comes first with €5,736 a month, before accounting fees. Take-home is not everything. A SASU president and an umbrella employee belong to the employee social security scheme, a sole trader and an EURL manager to the self-employed scale, and a micro-entrepreneur pays one flat rate on turnover that also funds health cover and pension rights.
Five set-ups, five logics
The micro-enterprise takes a percentage of turnover received, 25.6 % for an unregulated freelance profession in 2026 (Urssaf), regardless of expenses. The EI on real profit pays contributions on profit, under the self-employed scale. The EURL is a one-member company whose manager also contributes as self-employed; if it pays corporate tax, profit can be split between pay and dividends. The SASU treats its president like an employee, at general-scheme rates, and its dividends carry no social contributions. Umbrella employment is not a business at all: you become an employee of an umbrella company that invoices your clients (service-public, sheet F31620).
Three freelance profiles in figures
For each set-up the engine works out what is left each month after contributions, corporate tax, dividend levies and income tax, for a single person with no other income. For the EURL and SASU it searches for the best split between pay and dividends. Umbrella employment uses a 7 % management fee, an assumption rather than a scale.
| Set-up | €45,000, €2,000 expenses | €80,000, €4,000 expenses | €130,000, €8,000 expenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro-enterprise | €2,448 | €3,868 | over the ceiling |
| sole trader on real profit | €2,277 | €3,574 | €5,480 |
| EURL | €2,329 | €3,708 | €5,736 |
| SASU | €2,088 | €3,636 | €5,604 |
| umbrella employment | €1,963 | €2,916 | €4,279 |
Two lessons. Under the ceiling and with low expenses, the micro-enterprise wins. Above it, the EURL edges out the SASU in these examples, because a self-employed manager’s contributions weigh less than an employee-style president’s. Umbrella employment trails at every level: it pays for an executive employee’s cover and a management fee.
Expenses reshuffle the ranking
A freelancer who buys equipment, rents an office or travels a lot sees the micro advantage melt. At €80,000 of turnover with €20,000 of expenses instead of €4,000, the micro-enterprise leaves only €2,535 a month, the EURL leaves €3,025 and the EI on real profit €2,919. Real-profit set-ups deduct costs before contributions and tax are worked out, which the micro rate cannot do. The switch is examined on micro-enterprise or SASU.
The thresholds that decide
Four amounts come up in every decision. The micro ceiling for services, €83,600 of annual turnover; two consecutive years above it take you out of the scheme (service-public, sheet F32353). The VAT exemption threshold, €37,500 for services, with leeway up to €41,250 during the year (sheet F21746); above it, VAT is added to your invoices whatever your set-up. The reduced corporate tax band, up to €42,500 of profit, which makes a company attractive when the profit kept inside stays modest. And the minimum umbrella salary, €2,517.13 gross a month.
Social cover: what each set-up gives you
Take-home is not the full story. A SASU president and an umbrella employee both belong to the régime général, the employee social security scheme; the umbrella employee also pays into unemployment insurance, the president does not, having no employment contract. A sole trader and an EURL manager contribute as self-employed, with minimums of €1,255 a year even with no income. A micro-entrepreneur contributes in proportion to turnover: small turnover earns few rights, but nothing is owed when nothing comes in.
For newcomers to France
If you arrive from abroad, two practical points shape the choice. A micro-enterprise or EI is a business in your own name, while an EURL or SASU means creating a separate company, with set-up and bookkeeping costs that this comparison leaves out. And whichever set-up you pick, French income tax is assessed on your whole household, so another income in the home changes the result.
Many freelancers start as micro-entrepreneurs and move on when turnover nears the ceiling or expenses climb. The legal form comparison reruns the numbers with your own figures, the day rate calculator starts from your daily rate, and umbrella or micro-enterprise looks at the option that needs no business registration. For tech work, see also freelance developer status.
These results are estimates from the published 2026 rules. They bind neither the Urssaf nor the tax office and are not personal advice, especially for a company, whose bookkeeping costs are left out.