Job Offer Comparison Calculator
Which of two offers is worth more over the next few years, and how much of it is guaranteed.
Base salary is the easy part to compare. A sign-on bonus pays once, a bonus target may not be met, raises compound, and equity can be worth a lot or nothing. Enter two offers, or your current job and an offer, and this calculator adds each one up year by year, then shows how much of each total is guaranteed. It runs entirely in your browser, with no signup.
We never send or store any of this. The math runs entirely in your browser, no account needed.
How the two offers compare
What this means
Year by year
Each year’s total before tax. Equity counts in the year it vests, at today’s price.
| Year | Offer A | Offer B | Ahead by |
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What’s guaranteed and what’s at risk
Guaranteed pay (base, sign-on, retirement match and benefits) arrives as long as you stay. A bonus depends on results. Equity depends on the share price, and private company shares usually can’t be sold until the company is sold or lists.
These are pre-tax estimates from the numbers you entered. They are not tax, legal or financial advice.
Equity is counted at today’s price as it vests. What it pays can be more, less or nothing, and two offers can be taxed very differently, especially when one is mostly equity or the jobs are in different countries. The comparison leaves out refresh grants, promotions and anything you didn’t enter.
The gap between two offers is often something you can ask for. A sign-on bonus to cover the bonus or equity you’d leave behind is a common ask. Rehearse the conversation first, against an AI hiring manager who pushes back like a real one.
Practice the offer conversationFree to start, no card needed. Or read how the salary negotiation scenario plays out first.
Before you decide
The totals tell you where the offers differ. These are the questions that decide whether the numbers hold.
- Negotiate the gaps. If one offer trails on a single line, ask to close that line. When the base is fixed by a pay band, a sign-on bonus is often easier to move. The salary counter offer calculator helps you pick the number and the words.
- Ask about the equity. A share count means little without the total number of shares, the vesting schedule and the current price. The guide to negotiating equity and stock options lists what to ask.
- Check the bonus history. Ask what the bonus paid as a percentage of target in each of the last few years, and whether it depends on company results, your own, or both.
- Read the sign-on terms. Find out how much you would repay if you left early, and for how long that applies.
- Check how the retirement match vests. Some employer contributions vest over several years, like equity, and leaving early forfeits part of them.
How the calculator works
Each year, an offer’s total is its base salary, bonus, retirement match, other benefits and the equity that vests that year. The sign-on bonus is added to year one. Raises apply to the base from year two, and the bonus and match follow the raised base.
Base in a later year = base times (1 plus raise), once for each year after the first Bonus = that year’s base times bonus target times expected payout Retirement match = that year’s base times match Equity in a year = grant value at today’s price times the share that vests that year Guaranteed = base plus sign-on plus retirement match plus benefitsA worked example. A startup offers a $130,000 base, a $30,000 sign-on bonus and 20,000 options with a $1.00 strike, at a 409A value of $1.50, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff. A larger company offers a $140,000 base, a 10% bonus target and a 4% retirement match. With no raises, the startup pays $162,500 in year one ($130,000 base, the $30,000 sign-on and $2,500 of vested options) against $159,600 ($140,000 base, a $14,000 bonus and a $5,600 match). From year two the startup pays $132,500 a year and the larger company $159,600, so the larger company is ahead on the running total by $24,200 after year two and by $78,400 after four years. Of the startup’s $560,000, $10,000 is equity; of the larger company’s $638,400, $56,000 is bonus.
Common questions
How do I compare two job offers?
Add up everything each offer pays over the same period, ideally the years you expect to stay, then look at how much of each total is guaranteed. Base salary, a sign-on bonus, the bonus you expect to receive, raises, a retirement match, the cash value of benefits and any equity all count, but they are not equally certain. Compare the totals, then compare guaranteed pay alone. If one offer wins only because of its bonus or equity, ask how likely that part is to pay out.
Is a higher base salary better than equity?
Base salary arrives every pay period as long as you stay, and raises, bonuses and retirement matches are usually set as a percentage of it, so a higher base keeps paying off. Equity can be worth more, but its value depends on the share price as it vests, and at a private company on a sale or listing that may never happen. One way to compare is to count equity at today’s price, then ask whether you would still take the offer if the equity were worth half that, or nothing.
How much is a sign-on bonus worth?
Its face value, paid once near the start and taxed as income. Over a four-year comparison a $20,000 sign-on bonus adds the equivalent of $5,000 a year; over one year it adds the full $20,000. Most sign-on bonuses have to be repaid, in full or in part, if you leave within a set period, often one or two years. A sign-on bonus is often easier to negotiate than base salary, because it doesn’t change the pay band or future raises.
How do I compare job offers with RSUs?
Multiply the number of RSUs by today’s share price to get the grant’s value, then count only the part that vests within the period you’re comparing. A grant of 4,000 RSUs at $25 a share, vesting over four years, is worth about $25,000 a year at today’s price. RSUs at a listed company can usually be sold as they vest; at a private company they often can’t be sold until the company is sold or lists. Many companies also add yearly refresh grants, which this calculator leaves out, so ask about them.
Should I count a bonus at its target?
Count it at what it is likely to pay. A target is what the company aims to pay when results are on plan, and actual payouts can land below or above it. Ask what the bonus paid as a percentage of target in recent years, and enter that as the expected payout.
Where do my numbers go?
Nowhere. The math runs entirely in your browser. This page never sends or stores what you type, and no account is needed to calculate.
Read these numbers as estimates
The totals are only as good as the numbers you supply, and they leave out everything that isn’t money, which often decides between two close offers. Before you trade salary for equity or move countries for an offer, talk to a tax or financial adviser.