Contractor vs Employee in Web3: What’s Better?

I’ve done both in Web3, started as a full-time employee, then switched to contracting with DAOs and a couple of startups.

As an employee, the best thing for me was the visa. My company sponsored my Germany visa on a Blue Card. They also handled payroll, health insurance, even opened a bank account for me. I didn’t have to think about taxes at all. But the downside was I couldn’t work on side projects. I wanted to work for my favorite DAO but HR said no. Salary was steady, but honestly lower than what I make now.

As a contractor, money was better. Payments came in stablecoins, sometimes faster than my salary ever did. I could work with two projects at once, which kept things exciting. But taxes were rough. My tax practitioner had no idea how to file DAO token income. I spent hours explaining it to the tax office. And when I thought of moving to Singapore, It was more tough than I thought. They wanted a proper job contract, not a list of crypto payments.

My take:

Need relocation, insurance, stability? Go employee. Want higher pay and freedom? Contracting is better, but you have to deal with taxes and no visa support.

For me, the big difference wasn’t just money vs stability. It was: do you want a company to handle the “real world” stuff for you, or are you ready to deal with the mess yourself?

Yeah, I feel the same as the first reply, but for me the big difference was the schedule.

When I worked as an employee, everything was fixed. Set working hours, daily standups, and even for a short leave I had to wait for approval. Honestly, it felt like I was asking for permission just to manage my own time.

As a contractor, I finally got freedom. Most clients only cared about the deliverables, not when I did the work. If I wanted to take a Monday off and make it up on Saturday, that was fine. I could move things around family or travel without stress.

But here’s the catch: you need strong self-discipline. No manager is chasing you, no HR checking if you logged in at 9. It’s easy to slip, delay work, or overcommit. I’ve seen people burn out or lose contracts just because they couldn’t manage their own time. Contractor life gives you freedom, but if you don’t stay disciplined, it can actually make your professional life worse than a 9–6 job.