It is especially not the same due to loss of tax advantaged benefits like health insurance ($20k+ per year if you have a family), 401k matching ($10k+), DCFSA and HSA matches ($5k), and then the 8% FICA taxes up to $10k that have to come out of your pocket.
What these comments ignore is that, if you form an LLC for your consulting work you have access to a massive number of deductions that do not exist for someone who is an employee. My recommendation is to have a conversation with a good accountant and have them quantify the potential differences for you.
That's all stuff you can calculate and price into your rate. It's not like you just take the salary number they offer and divide it by two to get your rate.
