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Measured on six things

Free tool to find your optimal director salary and divide...

Security

HTTPS enforced, but missing HSTS, CSP, frame protection, and other headers. No security certifications or bug bounty found. Basic security is in place, but transparency and hardening are lacking.

Screenshots

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UK Dividend vs Salary Calculator

About this app

As a limited company director, figuring out the most tax-efficient way to pay yourself can feel like a minefield. This free calculator from UK Creative Ventures takes the guesswork out of it. It's specifically designed for the 2026/27 tax year, so you know the figures are current. You can input your company profit, other income, and even employer pension contributions, and it'll show you the tax implications of different salary/dividend strategies. The tool includes a handy slider to see how your take-home pay changes with different salary levels, plus a side-by-side comparison of taking pure salary, pure dividends, or the optimized split. It covers all the key taxes—income tax, National Insurance (employee and employer), dividend tax, and corporation tax—giving you a complete picture. Whether you're a seasoned director or just starting out, this is an invaluable resource for keeping more of your hard-earned money. No sign-up required, just instant results.

Key features

1Free, no sign-up calculator for UK limited company directors.
2Calculates income tax, NI (employee and employer), dividend tax, and corporation tax.
3Includes slider for salary levels and side-by-side comparison of strategies.
4Updated for 2026/27 tax year with current rates and thresholds.
5Allows input of company profit, other income, and employer pension contributions.

Target customer profile

Drawn from the product itself, not from a survey.

Demographic

UK limited company directors

Pain points

Unsure how to split salary vs dividends to minimize tax; worried about penalties; time-consuming manual calculations

Primary needs

Quick, accurate tax calculations; understanding of current tax bands; guidance on optimal pay structure

Demographic

Contractors and freelancers operating through a limited company (IR35 affected)

Pain points

Changing tax rules and thresholds; risk of high tax bills; confusion over NI and dividend tax

Primary needs

Up-to-date tax planning tool; clarity on take-home pay; ability to model different scenarios

Demographic

Small business owners and entrepreneurs who are also directors

Pain points

Limited time for financial planning; complex tax legislation; worry about overpaying tax

Primary needs

Simple, user-friendly calculator; accessible tax information; no-cost solution for budgeting

Scout Review

Written by AI from measured evidence, scored out of 100.

UK Dividend vs Salary Calculator is a solid, free tool for UK limited company directors seeking tax efficiency. It offers a clean design, useful features like the slider and side-by-side comparison, and is updated for 2026/27. Usability is good, though the page is dense. Performance is acceptable, but security headers and accessibility need attention. Growth potential is promising due to the niche and recurring tax changes, but the product is early-stage. Overall, it's a valuable resource for its target audience, with room for improvement in technical areas.

Measure by measure

Usability

No sign-up, instant results, and a helpful slider make it easy to use. Tabs are easy to miss, and high information density requires scrolling. Input fields lack custom validation states, but the tool is functional and clear.

Design

Clean, professional design with clear visual hierarchy for results. Hero card and optimal strategy box are well-executed. However, dense text sections and repetitive tables create a wall-of-content feel below the fold.

Speed

Lighthouse mobile performance 75/100 with LCP 3.3s, CLS 0.002, TBT 252ms. Desktop 70/100. Loads reasonably fast, no major lag issues. Could improve LCP by optimizing images or using a CDN.

Security

HTTPS enforced, but missing HSTS, CSP, frame protection, and other headers. No security certifications or bug bounty found. Basic security is in place, but transparency and hardening are lacking.

Accessibility

Lighthouse accessibility 86/100, but failing audits include contrast issues, missing form labels, and no main landmark. No accessibility statement or WCAG mention. Responsive and keyboard-navigable, but needs fixes.

Growth

Niche tool for UK directors with clear differentiators: free, no sign-up, 2026/27 updates, pension contributions. Category has recurring demand due to annual tax changes. Early-stage but positioned well.

Improvement areas

Add custom focus and validation states to input fields.
Improve accessibility: form labels, contrast, and main landmark.
Add security headers (HSTS, CSP) and a privacy policy link.
Reduce page density by collapsing some explanatory sections.

Design & Usability

The design is clean and professional, with a strong hero card and clear visual hierarchy for the optimal strategy result. The calculator's layout is intuitive, with tabs for different views and a slider for salary levels. However, the page becomes dense with explanatory text and repetitive tables below the fold, which can overwhelm users. Usability is strong for a free tool: no sign-up, instant results, and helpful tooltips. The tabs are easy to miss, and input fields lack custom validation states, but the overall flow is straightforward. The side-by-side comparison and slider provide valuable interactivity. The high information density is a double-edged sword—it's comprehensive but requires significant scrolling to grasp the full picture.

Speed & Security

Performance is decent, with a mobile Lighthouse score of 75/100 and an LCP of 3.3s. The page loads without major lag, though optimizing images could improve LCP. Security is basic: HTTPS is enforced, but the site lacks HSTS, CSP, and other security headers. No security certifications or bug bounty are mentioned, and the privacy policy is not prominently linked. For a free tool that doesn't collect user data, this is acceptable, but it's not a model of transparency. The absence of a security page and limited data handling documentation are areas for improvement. Overall, the site is functional but could benefit from stronger security posture and performance optimization.

Accessibility & Growth

Accessibility is a mixed bag. The Lighthouse score of 86/100 is decent, but failing audits for contrast, form labels, and missing main landmark are concerning. No accessibility statement or WCAG mention is present, which is a gap. The site is responsive and keyboard-navigable, but screen reader users may face challenges. Growth potential is strong: the tool targets a specific niche (UK limited company directors) with a clear problem (tax efficiency) and offers differentiators like free access, no sign-up, and 2026/27 tax year updates. The category has recurring demand due to annual tax changes. However, the product is early-stage with no visible traction, and competition from established accounting tools could limit growth. The wedge is the comprehensive, free, and current nature of the calculator.

Conclusion

If you're a UK director tired of spreadsheet gymnastics, this calculator is worth a bookmark. It's free, current, and does the heavy lifting. Just don't expect a security fortress or a screen-reader paradise. With a few tweaks, it could be the go-to tool for the contractor crowd. For now, it's a handy freebie that gets the job done.

Suggestions for improvement

Add custom focus and validation states to input fields for better usability feedback.
Implement HSTS, CSP, and other security headers to strengthen the security posture.
Fix accessibility issues: add form labels, ensure contrast ratios, and add a main landmark.
Add an accessibility statement and link to a privacy policy on the calculator page.

How we score

Alternatives comparison

Named competitors, point by point. Nobody paid to appear here or to be left out.

	UK Dividend vs Salary Calculator	Dividend Calculator UK (by AccountingWEB)	Salary vs Dividend Calculator (by Crunch)
Tax year updates	Updated for 2026/27	May not include all tax updates	Not specified
Pension contributions input	Yes, included	Not mentioned	Requires more input for pension
Side-by-side comparison	Yes, three strategies	Basic comparison	Breakdown for different salary levels
Slider for salary levels	Yes	No	No
Sign-up required	No	No	No