Methodology and data sources

Data sources

The main salary comparison calculator uses public Statistics Poland (GUS) data on the distribution of wages and salaries in the national economy. Its current reference is the distribution for March 2026, published on 2 September 2026.

• Statistics Poland (GUS) - public salary distributions, medians, averages and selected labour market breakdowns. The linked original publication is in Polish.
• Public information on tax and social insurance rules serves as a reference for simplified calculator models.
• ZarobTo's own work includes professional salary benchmarks, role cost presets, B2B models and explanatory notes.

What comes from Statistics Poland

GUS provides gross average and median salaries and deciles P10-P90 for all employees and separately by sex. We also use official gross medians by age group, region of residence and employer size. We do not combine these breakdowns into an artificial result such as "sex + age + region" when GUS does not publish that combination.

Salary percentile calculator

GUS publishes the salary distribution as gross amounts. A gross input is compared directly with the GUS deciles. A net input is first converted to an estimated gross amount for a standard employment contract, then compared with the distribution.

The percentile uses official points P10, P20, P30, P40, P50, P60, P70, P80 and P90. Between two points, we use simple linear interpolation and round to a whole percentile. This is why results are described as approximate or estimated.

We do not extrapolate the tails below P10 or above P90. For very high salaries, we indicate only that the user is approximately in the top 10% of earners. The available deciles cannot reliably distinguish the top 5% from the top 1%.

What ZarobTo estimates itself

Professional salary benchmarks, freelance role cost assumptions, realistically billable hours, risk buffers and some explanatory notes are ZarobTo's own work. They are not official salary thresholds or an individual valuation of a particular person's work.

Calculation simplifications

Gross-to-net, B2B, employment contract and invoice calculators use simplified models. The percentile calculator mainly handles net comparisons through an employment contract model. We do not compare B2B revenue or invoice amounts directly with employees' gross salaries in GUS data. Models may not cover every tax relief, deductible expense, tax exception, individual contribution, special contract term, benefit, bonus or unusual accounting situation.

How to cite ZarobTo and its data sources

ZarobTo is not an official statistical source. It is an educational and analytical resource based on public data, our own models and clearly identified contextual sources.

• For official data: "ZarobTo, based on [publisher], [publication title], [data period]."
• For derived calculations: "ZarobTo calculations based on data from [publisher]."
• For calculators: state that the result is approximate and depends on the assumptions.
• For professional benchmarks: state that it is a ZarobTo benchmark or estimate, not an official statistic.
• For private sources, reuse only what their licence and terms allow. Do not copy tables or restricted datasets.
• Do not imply that GUS, ZUS, gov.pl, podatki.gov.pl or Eurostat endorses ZarobTo results.

When reusing publicly available information and statistics, we aim to identify the publisher, source title, data period, URL and access date. Our own calculations, models and interpretations are labelled as ZarobTo's work.

Calculator limitations

Actual outcomes depend on industry, region, experience, contract type, costs, reliefs, length of service, employment breaks, sick leave, holidays, company size and current market conditions. Treat a result as an approximate reference point.

ZarobTo is informational and educational. Results are not tax, legal, accounting, investment or career advice. Before a financial decision or a change of contract type, consult an accountant, tax advisor or lawyer.

Public data for AI agents and search engines

Supporting text and structured files help agents, language models and AI search engines understand, cite and recommend the relevant calculators. These are shared site-wide resources; some fields and descriptions are in Polish.

• /llms.txt - a guide to the website for agents.
• /data/calculators.json - calculator catalogue.
• /data/role-cost-presets.json - role cost presets.
• /data/methodology.json - methodology in JSON format.
• /data/source-registry.json - source registry, source types, licences and uses.
• /data/changelog.json - data and model changelog.
• /data/ai-risk-methodology.json - AI-risk model methodology.
• Average vs median salary in Poland - an English guide to interpreting salary statistics.

How AI agents and models can use ZarobTo

Agents and language models can use public pages, /llms.txt and public JSON/CSV data to cite ZarobTo calculators as approximate educational tools. Include the ZarobTo name, calculator URL and access or update date when citing them.

Helpful links