Job Offer Total Compensation Calculator
Compares two job offers side by side on total compensation — base salary, target bonus, signing bonus (properly amortized), equity, 401(k) match, and benefits value — instead of just the headline base salary number. Shows the real dollar and percentage difference, and automatically flags which offer actually pays more. Built for anyone evaluating competing job offers or a counter-offer negotiation who wants to see past the number at the top of the offer letter.
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Real Vesting-Period Amortization
Spreads signing bonuses and equity grants over their actual vesting or repayment period instead of counting the full amount in year one, so the comparison reflects real ongoing value.
Full Compensation Stack, Not Just Cash
Adds 401(k) match and benefits value on top of salary, bonus, signing bonus, and equity, so a richer benefits package can properly offset a lower headline number.
Automatic Winner Flag
Calculates the exact dollar and percentage gap between both offers and automatically flags which one actually pays more on total compensation, not just at the top line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't base salary enough to compare two job offers?
Because base salary is only one of several components that make up your real annual value, and the other components — target bonus percentage, signing bonus, equity, 401(k) match, and benefits — can easily outweigh a base salary gap once properly accounted for. An offer with a lower base salary can genuinely pay more overall.
Using the calculator's defaults: Offer 2 has a $160,000 base salary versus Offer 1's $145,000 — a $15,000 gap in Offer 2's favor at first glance. But Offer 1 includes a 15% target bonus (versus Offer 2's 10%), a $15,000 signing bonus, and a larger equity grant. Once everything is properly totaled, Offer 1's total compensation comes to $219,750 versus Offer 2's $208,000 — Offer 1 actually pays $11,750 more per year, despite the lower headline salary.
How should I value equity and signing bonuses when comparing offers?
Spread them over their real vesting or amortization period, not the full year you receive them — an $80,000 equity grant vesting over 4 years is worth $20,000 per year in ongoing compensation, not $80,000 in year one, and a signing bonus with a repayment clause behaves the same way if you're comparing offers as an ongoing annual value rather than a one-time windfall.
Using the calculator's defaults: Offer 1's $80,000 equity grant vested over 4 years contributes $20,000 annually, while Offer 2's smaller $40,000 grant over the same period contributes $10,000. Similarly, Offer 1's $15,000 signing bonus, vesting over just 1 year, adds a full $15,000 to that first year's total — a meaningful one-time boost that a pure "base + bonus %" comparison would miss entirely.
What should count as "benefits value" in a total compensation comparison?
Anything the employer pays on your behalf that has real financial value to you: health, dental, and vision insurance premiums, employer 401(k) or retirement matching, HSA contributions, and any other employer-funded perks with a clear dollar value (commuter benefits, wellness stipends, and so on). PTO is worth acknowledging too, though it's harder to assign a precise dollar figure to since its value depends on how you'd otherwise use that time.
Using the calculator's defaults, Offer 2's richer benefits package ($14,000 versus Offer 1's $12,000) and higher 401(k) match ($8,000 versus $6,000) partially close the gap created by Offer 1's stronger bonus, signing bonus, and equity — but not enough to overcome it in this example. Getting exact benefits and match figures from each employer (rather than guessing) is worth the extra step, since a $2,000-4,000 difference here can matter when the total gap between offers is otherwise close.
Should I negotiate base salary or the other components of an offer?
Whichever component moves the needle most for your specific situation, and that depends on what each offer is already weak on. If an offer's base is competitive but its equity or bonus target is thin, negotiating those components may have more room to move than base salary, which is often set by internal pay bands the recruiter has less flexibility on.
Using the calculator's defaults, Offer 2's real gap versus Offer 1 isn't really about base salary — it's the 5-percentage-point-lower bonus target and half the equity grant. If Offer 2 could match Offer 1's 15% bonus target, that alone would add $8,000 to Offer 2's total compensation and nearly close the gap, without touching the base salary number at all. Knowing which lever actually matters lets you negotiate the term that will move your total the most, rather than just pushing on the number that's easiest to talk about.
How do I use this calculator for a counter-offer or a raise negotiation, not just comparing two external offers?
Enter your current total compensation package as "Offer 2" and a prospective new offer (or a proposed counter to your current employer) as "Offer 1" — the same comparison logic applies whether you're weighing two external offers or deciding whether to stay and negotiate versus leave.
This is especially useful when a counter-offer includes a one-time retention bonus rather than a base salary increase — the amortization logic in this calculator will correctly show that a one-time bonus is worth less on an ongoing annual basis than an equivalent permanent base salary increase would be, which is exactly the kind of distinction that's easy to lose track of when a number gets presented verbally in a negotiation conversation rather than written out and calculated side by side.
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