Job Offer Comparison Calculator
Compare salary, benefits and the costs of taking a new job.
Your inputs
Example inputs are filled in. Replace them with your own amounts.
Your results will appear here.
How this calculator works
Cash compensation = salary + expected cash bonus. Total modeled compensation adds vested employer retirement contributions and your valuation of other benefits. Cost-adjusted cash subtracts employee insurance and commuting costs. Hourly comparison divides that cash by hours actually worked. All values are before tax; insurance tax treatment, bonus uncertainty, equity, retirement vesting, geographic living costs and paid leave valuation require separate review. Do not count a benefit in more than one field.
Source review: October 2, 2026. Planning estimate; individual terms and rules may differ.
How to use the job offer comparison
- Enter your current job as Offer A and the new job as Offer B, or two new offers side by side.
- Use base salary and an honest expected bonus: if a target bonus of $10,000 has paid out about half the time, enter $5,000.
- Enter the employer retirement contribution you would actually keep, such as a 4% match on your salary, only if you plan to stay long enough to be vested.
- Add the yearly value of other benefits you would otherwise pay for, such as an employer HSA deposit or a phone allowance, and your own share of insurance premiums.
- Enter yearly commuting costs and the hours and weeks you expect to work, then press Calculate.
Worked example: a $7,000 raise with a longer commute
The example inputs compare a current job paying $65,000 with an offer paying $72,000. Both include a $2,000 bonus, $2,000 of employer retirement contributions, $1,000 of other benefits and $2,400 of employee insurance premiums. The new job's commute costs $4,000 a year instead of $1,800.
| Measure | Offer A | Offer B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash pay (salary + bonus) | $67,000 | $74,000 | +$7,000 |
| Total compensation | $70,000 | $77,000 | +$7,000 |
| Cash after premiums and commute | $62,800 | $67,600 | +$4,800 |
| Per hour (40 hours x 48 weeks) | $32.71 | $35.21 | +$2.50 |
The headline raise is $7,000, but the higher commute cost eats $2,200 of it before tax. The offer is still better, by $4,800 a year, as long as the hours are the same.
Why hours matter as much as salary
Change Offer B to 45 hours a week and its cost-adjusted pay falls to $31.30 an hour, below the $32.71 Offer A pays for a 40-hour week. In other words, the higher salary would buy five extra hours of your time every week for less money per hour than you earn now. Ask about typical hours, on-call duties and busy seasons before you compare salaries, especially when moving to a salaried exempt role where overtime is not paid.
Turning the difference into take-home pay
The comparison is before tax. A raise is taxed at your marginal rate, not your average rate. For a single filer whose taxable income is in the 22% federal bracket, each extra dollar of salary also pays 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, so roughly 70 cents is kept before state tax. On the $7,000 raise above, that is about $4,900 extra a year, or about $190 more per biweekly paycheck, before any state income tax. Pre-tax benefits work the other way: a premium paid through payroll before tax costs you less than its sticker price.
Run each salary through the salary after tax calculator or the pay raise calculator to see the exact after-tax gap in your state.
How to value common benefits
- Health insurance: compare your share of the premium and the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum you are likely to use, not just the premium. A cheaper premium with a $5,000 deductible can cost more for a family that uses care.
- Retirement match and vesting: an employer match is only yours once it vests. Federal rules allow employer contributions to vest over up to three years all at once (cliff vesting) or up to six years in steps (graded vesting). If you might leave in two years, discount an unvested match.
- Paid time off: value extra PTO at your daily pay. At $72,000 a year, one day is worth about $277 (salary divided by 260 workdays).
- Equity: restricted stock units are taxed as wages when they vest; stock options may be worth nothing if the share price falls. Treat equity as upside, not salary.
- Remote work: a fully remote job can remove commuting costs entirely but may add home office, internet and utility costs.
Questions to ask before you accept
- How is the bonus decided, and what share of employees received their target last year?
- When does the retirement match vest, and is it paid each paycheck or once a year?
- Which health plans are offered, and what do they cost for my household?
- What are normal weekly hours, and is the role exempt or eligible for overtime?
- How much PTO and how many paid holidays do new employees get, and does unused time pay out when you leave?
- Is there a sign-on bonus, and does it have to be repaid if you leave within a year?
A written answer to these questions is worth more than a verbal promise; ask for the offer letter to include the bonus terms and start date.
Using the comparison to negotiate
If the new job's cost-adjusted pay is close to what you earn now, the gap gives you a specific number to ask for. For example, a $2,200 higher commuting cost is a clear, reasonable basis for asking for a $2,500 salary increase, a commuting stipend or one remote day a week. Employers often have more room on sign-on bonuses, start dates and PTO than on base salary, so ask about those if the salary is fixed. Our guide on how to negotiate a raise covers how to frame the request.
When the offer is in another city or state
A job in another place changes more than your commute. State income tax ranges from zero in states such as Texas, Florida and Washington to high progressive rates in California, New York and Oregon, so the same salary can take home thousands of dollars more or less. Compare the two salaries with the paycheck calculators by state, or with a city calculator where local income tax applies, such as New York City or Philadelphia.
Housing usually matters more than tax. A 10% raise rarely covers a move from a mid-priced metro to one where rent is 40% higher. Relocation packages help with the move itself, but since 2018 most employer-paid moving expenses are taxable wages for federal purposes, so a $10,000 relocation payment may add a few thousand dollars of tax unless the employer grosses it up.
Contract, part-time and 1099 offers
Comparing an employee salary with a contract rate needs extra care. As an independent contractor you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare (15.3% self-employment tax on most earnings), get no employer health plan or retirement match, and are not paid for holidays or vacation. A common rule of thumb is that a contract rate must be roughly 25% to 40% higher than the equivalent employee wage to come out even, depending on benefits. The W-2 vs. 1099 take-home pay guide and self-employment tax calculator show the math for your numbers.
Sign-on bonuses and repayment terms
Sign-on bonuses are taxed as supplemental wages, so federal withholding is often a flat 22%, plus Social Security, Medicare and state tax. A $10,000 sign-on bonus might arrive as roughly $6,500 to $7,000. Many come with a clawback: leave within 12 or 24 months and you must repay some or all of it, sometimes the full gross amount even though you received less after tax. Read the terms before you count the bonus as part of the offer, and use the bonus tax calculator to see what you would actually receive.
Comparing remote and hybrid offers
Remote work changes the math in both directions. You save commuting time and costs, which this calculator captures, and often lunch and work clothing. You may pay more for home internet, electricity and a workspace, and some remote roles pay less in lower-cost areas. If an offer is fully remote, check which state's income tax will apply: usually the state where you live and work, although a few states, such as New York, can tax remote employees of in-state employers in some cases. Hybrid roles still need a commute, so enter the yearly cost for the days you would actually go in.
A benefits checklist for comparing offers
| Benefit | What to compare | How to enter it here |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurance | Your premium, deductible, out-of-pocket maximum | Your yearly premium in insurance cost |
| Retirement plan | Match formula and vesting schedule | Vested employer dollars per year |
| HSA or FSA | Employer deposit, if any | Employer deposit in other benefits |
| Paid time off | Vacation, sick days, holidays | Weeks worked per year |
| Bonus | Target and actual payout history | Expected cash bonus |
| Commute or remote work | Fuel, parking, transit, home office | Annual commuting cost |
Leave out anything you would not use. A gym subsidy has no value if you never go, and counting it would make one offer look better than it is.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare two job offers fairly?
Compare cash pay after your own costs (insurance premiums and commuting) and divide by the hours you will really work. Then add benefits you would keep, such as a vested retirement match.
Is a higher salary always the better offer?
No. Longer hours, a costlier commute, weaker health coverage or an unvested match can make a higher salary worth less per hour than your current job.
How much of a raise do I actually keep?
Roughly 60% to 75% depending on your tax bracket and state, because the raise is taxed at your marginal federal rate plus 7.65% FICA and any state income tax.
How should I value an expected bonus?
Multiply the target bonus by how often it has actually paid in full. A $10,000 target that usually pays half is worth about $5,000 for planning.
Should I include my 401(k) match in the comparison?
Yes, if you expect to stay long enough to be vested. Enter only the employer dollars you would keep, not your own contributions.
How do I compare a salaried offer with an hourly job?
Enter the hourly job as salary equal to rate x hours x weeks, then compare the cost-adjusted pay per hour, which accounts for longer salaried hours.