Apprentice pay in France: gross, net and the age grid

How it is calculated

The legal minimum is calculated by the site: the official grid gives, for each age band and each year of the contract, a share of the gross monthly SMIC (€1,867.02 since 1 June 2026). The 15-point top-up is added to that share; from age 21, the share applies to the higher of the SMIC and the collective-agreement minimum you enter. The result is cross-checked with the “minimum pay” rule of the modele-social engine, the one behind URSSAF's simulator, which rounds to the euro.

The net and the employer cost are then calculated by the engine for an apprenticeship contract: employee contributions exempt up to a share of the SMIC, no CSG or CRDS below it, reduced employer contributions. The professionalisation contract follows the same path with its own grid, by age and prior education, without the employee exemption specific to apprenticeships.

What the result includes

So that two people get the same figure from the same gross pay, the site always calculates from the same baseline situation. Each line can be changed in the calculator's options where it matters.

• General social security scheme (régime général), rates as of 26 October 2026 (rules from modele-social, the engine behind URSSAF's simulator).
• Permanent full-time contract (CDI), 35 hours a week, i.e. 151.67 h a month, paid over 12 months.
• Non-cadre by default (cadre status is one button away), collective agreement set to the general rules (“droit commun”).
• Company health cover (mutuelle) of €40 a month, of which €20 is deducted from pay, URSSAF's default setting; zero is possible in the options.
• Outside Alsace-Moselle (option available), without meal vouchers or benefits in kind.
• Before income tax: tax withheld at source depends on your household and comes on top (see the “net after tax” tool).
• Minimum wage (SMIC) since 1 June 2026: €12.31 gross per hour (service-public.gouv.fr).
• Hiring aid not counted in the employer cost: it varies with the company and the contract date.

Limits

A correct calculation for a typical situation is not your payslip. Here is what the tool does not know, so that you read the result as a reliable order of magnitude, not a promise.

• Collective agreement: sector minimums, seniority bonuses, compulsory thirteenth month and specific provident schemes are not taken into account (general rules only).
• Bonuses, variable pay, overtime, benefits in kind: left out, except in the tools that ask for them.
• Health cover and provident scheme: your actual contribution may be different; change it in the options.
• Alsace-Moselle: the option adds the local scheme's health contribution, without its other specifics.
• Public sector not covered: civil servants' pay scales and contributions follow other rules.
• Simplified tax: no tax reductions or credits, no exceptional income; the engine's “tax” module is flagged as experimental by URSSAF.
• Collective-agreement minimum: many sectors set apprentice pay above the legal grid; the tool only knows yours if you enter it.
• Age band change during the contract: the new share applies from the first day of the month after the birthday; the tool calculates one month at a time.
• Public sector and special cases (apprentice with recognised disability, extended contract, Mayotte): their own rules, outside the tool.

Gross, net and employer cost by profile

Legal minimum, estimated net (health cover of €20 deducted) and employer cost before aid for a few profiles, calculated by the site's engine.

The apprentice grid

Share of the SMIC and minimum gross per month by age band and contract year, based on a SMIC of €1,867.02 (service-public.gouv.fr, grid in force since 1 January 2019). Under 16: same row as under 18. From age 21, replace the SMIC with your collective-agreement minimum if it is higher.

The professionalisation contract

The professionalisation contract has its own grid, by age and prior education (service-public.gouv.fr). From age 26, pay cannot be lower than the SMIC or than a share of the collective-agreement minimum: the tool uses the SMIC. The net is lower than for an apprenticeship with the same gross, because employee contributions apply as normal.

Negotiating above the minimum

The grid is a floor: nothing stops the employer paying more, and many do for an apprentice with prior experience or a successful second year. Before raising it, look at the SMIC rules, and compare with an internship allowance: an apprenticeship contract pays far better and builds up rights. On the employer side, the employer cost tool shows what an ordinary employee costs, to measure the gap.