Compare · Up to three offers
Job Offer Comparator
Compare up to three job offers on the same basis: guaranteed cash, variable cash, equity estimates kept separate from cash, employer-paid benefits, the costs you pay to work there, commuting time and effective hourly value. Every figure is before taxes, and every formula is shown on this page.
Everything you type stays in this browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, saved, added to the page address or sent to analytics. Clear removes every entry and result. Load example fills in three obviously fictional offers.
Offer A
What matters most to you (optional)
These weights only affect the preference ranking below. They never change any dollar figure. Whatever numbers you choose, they are converted to shares of 100% and the shares are shown next to each slider.
Side-by-side comparison
All figures are before federal, state and local taxes. This page does not calculate take-home pay — use the Paycheck Calculator for a separate take-home estimate.
| Figure | Offer A |
|---|---|
| 1. Base annual pay | $0.00 |
| 2. Guaranteed first-year cashIncludes the sign-on bonus once. Sign-on bonuses may have repayment or continued-employment conditions. Review the written offer. | $0.00 |
| 3. Variable first-year cashOvertime, bonus and commission estimates only — not guaranteed. No equity. | $0.00 |
| 4. Total potential first-year cashCash only. Equity and employer benefits excluded. | $0.00 |
| 5. Recurring cash in later yearsSign-on bonus removed. No equity. | $0.00 |
| 6. Estimated equity value, first yearEquity is your own estimate. It is not cash, is not guaranteed, may never vest and may end up worth nothing, so it is excluded from every cash total. | $0.00 |
| 7. Estimated equity value, each later yearUncertain. Excluded from all cash figures. | $0.00 |
| 8. Employer-paid benefit valueValue to you, not cash paid to you. | $0.00 |
| 9. Your annual work costsHealth premium × 12, plus commuting costs and other annual costs, each counted once. | $0.00 |
| 10. Potential first-year value including equityCash + equity estimate + benefits − work costs. Part of this is uncertain. | $0.00 |
| 11. Potential recurring value including equityLater-year cash + recurring equity estimate + benefits − work costs. | $0.00 |
| 12. Monthly cash equivalentCash only ÷ 12. No equity, no benefits. | $0.00 |
| 13. Weekly cash equivalentCash only ÷ 52. No equity, no benefits. | $0.00 |
| 14. Cash effective hourlyCash minus work costs ÷ working hours. Commuting time excluded. | $0.00 |
| 15. Total-value effective hourlyCash + benefits + equity estimate − work costs ÷ working hours. | $0.00 |
| 16. Time-adjusted total value hourly (optional view)Same value spread over working hours plus commuting hours. | $0.00 |
| 17. Annual working hours | 2080.0 h |
| 18. In-office days per year | 0.0 days |
| 19. Annual commuting cost | $0.00 |
| 20. Annual commuting hours | 0.0 h |
| 21. Paid-time-off daysTime benefit — excluded from every cash total and from the ranking unless you weight it. | 0.0 days |
Offer A
- 1. Base annual pay
- $0.00
- 2. Guaranteed first-year cash
- $0.00
- 3. Variable first-year cash
- $0.00
- 4. Total potential first-year cash
- $0.00
- 5. Recurring cash in later years
- $0.00
- 6. Estimated equity value, first year
- $0.00
- 7. Estimated equity value, each later year
- $0.00
- 8. Employer-paid benefit value
- $0.00
- 9. Your annual work costs
- $0.00
- 10. Potential first-year value including equity
- $0.00
- 11. Potential recurring value including equity
- $0.00
- 12. Monthly cash equivalent
- $0.00
- 13. Weekly cash equivalent
- $0.00
- 14. Cash effective hourly
- $0.00
- 15. Total-value effective hourly
- $0.00
- 16. Time-adjusted total value hourly (optional view)
- $0.00
- 17. Annual working hours
- 2080.0 h
- 18. In-office days per year
- 0.0 days
- 19. Annual commuting cost
- $0.00
- 20. Annual commuting hours
- 0.0 h
- 21. Paid-time-off days
- 0.0 days
Includes the sign-on bonus once. Sign-on bonuses may have repayment or continued-employment conditions. Review the written offer.
Overtime, bonus and commission estimates only — not guaranteed. No equity.
Cash only. Equity and employer benefits excluded.
Sign-on bonus removed. No equity.
Equity is your own estimate. It is not cash, is not guaranteed, may never vest and may end up worth nothing, so it is excluded from every cash total.
Uncertain. Excluded from all cash figures.
Value to you, not cash paid to you.
Health premium × 12, plus commuting costs and other annual costs, each counted once.
Cash + equity estimate + benefits − work costs. Part of this is uncertain.
Later-year cash + recurring equity estimate + benefits − work costs.
Cash only ÷ 12. No equity, no benefits.
Cash only ÷ 52. No equity, no benefits.
Cash minus work costs ÷ working hours. Commuting time excluded.
Cash + benefits + equity estimate − work costs ÷ working hours.
Same value spread over working hours plus commuting hours.
Time benefit — excluded from every cash total and from the ranking unless you weight it.
Highest guaranteed first-year cash
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Base pay plus sign-on bonus plus other guaranteed annual cash. Sign-on bonuses may have repayment or continued-employment conditions. Review the written offer.
Highest total potential first-year cash
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Guaranteed cash plus your overtime, bonus and commission estimates. Variable amounts are not promised, and equity is not included.
Highest recurring cash in later years
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Same cash totals with the sign-on bonus removed, because it is paid once.
Highest employer-paid benefits
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Highest employer-paid benefit value. Employer contributions are not cash paid to you.
Highest estimated equity
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Equity is your own estimate. It is not cash, is not guaranteed, may never vest and may end up worth nothing, so it is excluded from every cash total.
Lowest work costs
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Smallest total of your yearly premium, commuting costs and other annual work costs.
Shortest commuting time
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Fewest annual commuting hours, based on the in-office days you entered.
Highest cash effective hourly
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Cash minus work costs, divided by the hours you expect to work. Commuting time is excluded.
Highest total-value effective hourly
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Cash plus benefits plus your equity estimate, minus work costs, divided by working hours.
Your weighted preference result
The cash compensation score uses this measure: Total potential first-year cash minus your annual work costs. Equity and employer-paid benefits are scored separately. Estimated equity is excluded from the ranking unless you choose to include it.
Only one offer has been entered, so there is no winner and no ranking comparison.
Offer A — score 50.0 of 100
- Cash compensation — score 50.0 of 100, weight 35.7% of the total
- Measured value $0.00 from: total potential first-year cash − annual work costs. Total potential first-year cash minus your annual work costs. Equity and employer-paid benefits are scored separately. No offer supplied a different value here, so every offer receives the same neutral score.
- Employer-paid benefits — score 50.0 of 100, weight 21.4% of the total
- Measured value $0.00 from: retirement match + HSA + insurance contribution + education benefit + other employer-paid benefit. Employer-paid benefit value. This is value to you, not cash paid to you, so it is never added to a cash total. No offer supplied a different value here, so every offer receives the same neutral score.
- Paid time off — score 50.0 of 100, weight 21.4% of the total
- Measured value 0.0 days from: paid vacation days + paid holidays + paid sick days. Total paid days off, counted as time only. No dollar value for paid time off enters this score or any cash total. No offer supplied a different value here, so every offer receives the same neutral score.
- Commuting time — score 50.0 of 100, weight 21.4% of the total
- Measured value 0.0 h from: round-trip commute minutes × in-office days per year ÷ 60. Annual commuting hours, based on the in-office days you entered. Fewer hours scores higher. No offer supplied a different value here, so every offer receives the same neutral score.
Weighted score = sum of (category score × weight) ÷ sum of all weights, so the weights always add up to 100%.
Paid time off — non-cash time benefit
Paid vacation, holidays and sick days are already paid through your salary, so they are never added to any cash total. The dollar figure below is a non-cash illustration only, uses the standard hours per workday you entered, and is excluded from every total above and from the ranking.
- Offer A — 0.0 paid days at 8.0 h per workday
- $0.00 non-cash
Self-prepared comparison — not an employment, tax, legal or financial determination. Equity, bonus, commission and overtime figures are your own uncertain estimates.
Calculations are estimates for informational purposes and are not tax, legal, or financial advice. Actual withholding and take-home pay may differ.
Every formula used on this page
Nothing is hidden. Each total below is produced by exactly this arithmetic, in your browser, with no tax assumptions applied.
- 1. Base annual pay
- Salary: annual salary. Hourly: hourly rate × regular hours per week × paid weeks per year.
- Base hourly rate
- Hourly: the rate you entered. Salary: annual salary ÷ (regular hours per week × paid weeks per year). A zero denominator returns zero, never an error.
- Annual overtime pay (variable)
- Only when you enable overtime: base hourly rate × overtime multiplier × overtime hours per week × paid weeks per year. Zero overtime hours produces zero overtime pay.
- 2. Guaranteed first-year cash
- base annual pay + sign-on bonus + other guaranteed annual cash.
- 3. Variable first-year cash
- annual overtime pay + expected annual cash bonus + commission estimate + other variable annual cash. Equity is never included.
- 4. Total potential first-year cash
- guaranteed first-year cash + variable first-year cash. Cash only: no equity, no employer benefits.
- 5. Recurring cash in later years
- base annual pay + variable first-year cash + other guaranteed annual cash. The sign-on bonus is excluded, and equity is excluded.
- 6 and 7. Estimated equity value
- exactly the first-year and later-year amounts you entered, reported separately. Equity is not cash, is not guaranteed, may never vest and may be worth nothing.
- 8. Employer-paid benefit value
- 401(k) match + HSA contribution + employer-paid insurance contribution + education benefit + other employer-paid benefit.
- 9. Your annual work costs
- (health-insurance premium per month × 12) + annual commuting cost + other work cost per year. Each cost is counted exactly once.
- 10. Potential first-year value including equity
- total potential first-year cash + first-year equity estimate + employer benefit value − annual work costs. Part of this figure is uncertain.
- 11. Potential recurring value including equity
- recurring later-year cash + recurring equity estimate + employer benefit value − annual work costs.
- 12. Monthly cash equivalent
- total potential first-year cash ÷ 12. No equity, no benefits.
- 13. Weekly cash equivalent
- total potential first-year cash ÷ 52. No equity, no benefits.
- Annual working hours
- (regular hours per week + overtime hours per week) × paid weeks per year.
- 14. Cash effective hourly
- (total potential first-year cash − annual work costs) ÷ annual working hours. Commuting time is excluded.
- 15. Total-value effective hourly
- (total potential first-year cash + employer benefit value + first-year equity estimate − annual work costs) ÷ annual working hours. Commuting time is excluded.
- 16. Time-adjusted total value hourly (optional view)
- potential first-year value including equity ÷ (annual working hours + annual commuting hours).
- In-office days per year
- in-office days per week, limited to your expected workdays per week, × paid weeks per year. No five-day week is assumed.
- 19. Annual commuting cost
- (transportation per in-office day + parking and tolls per in-office day + other commuting cost per in-office day) × in-office days per year.
- 20. Annual commuting hours
- (round-trip commute minutes × in-office days per year) ÷ 60.
- 21. Paid-time-off days
- paid vacation days + paid holidays + paid sick days. Non-cash illustration: base hourly rate × standard hours per workday × paid days — excluded from every cash total and from the ranking.
- Weighted preference score
- Each category is scored 0-100 against the strongest offer in that category (commuting hours score inversely, so fewer hours scores higher). If no offer supplies a different value in a category, every offer receives the same neutral score. Weighted score = Σ (category score × weight) ÷ Σ weights, so your weights always add up to 100%.
How to read the comparison
Guaranteed first, potential second
Base pay and other promised annual cash are the figures you can plan around. A discretionary bonus, a commission estimate and expected overtime might not arrive, so they are reported as variable cash and never folded into guaranteed cash.
Equity is not cash
Equity appears only on its own lines and in the clearly labelled totals that include it. It may never vest, its value can change and it may end up worth nothing, so it is left out of every cash figure and out of the ranking unless you deliberately include it.
Year one is not a typical year
A sign-on bonus can make a lower-paying offer look stronger for twelve months. The later-year figure removes it so you can see what the job actually pays on an ongoing basis. Sign-on bonuses may have repayment or continued-employment conditions. Review the written offer.
Benefits are value, not cash
An employer 401(k) match, HSA contribution or insurance premium contribution is worth real money, but it never appears in your paycheck. It is reported separately so cash totals stay honest.
Your own week, not a default one
Four-, five- and six-day weeks are all handled. Commuting cost and commuting time come from in-office days only, so remote days genuinely reduce both. Costs are entered per in-office day, per month or per year, and each one is counted once.
Two hourly figures, on purpose
Cash effective hourly answers what your time earns in money. Total-value effective hourly adds benefits and your equity estimate. Commuting time is excluded from both, and shown separately in the optional time-adjusted view.
Next steps
Job offer comparison questions
How guaranteed cash, variable cash and equity are separated, why paid time off is not cash, and what this page deliberately does not do.
How is a sign-on bonus treated?
It is counted once, in the first year only. The recurring later-year figure removes it entirely, because a one-time payment does not repeat. Sign-on bonuses may have repayment or continued-employment conditions. Review the written offer. This page does not read or interpret contracts.
Is equity counted as compensation here?
Equity is reported on its own lines and is never included in variable cash, total potential cash, recurring later-year cash or the monthly and weekly cash equivalents. The figure you enter is your own estimate: equity is uncertain, may never vest and may end up worth nothing. It is also left out of the ranking unless you deliberately include it.
Why are bonus, commission and overtime kept separate?
None of them is guaranteed. A discretionary bonus, a commission estimate and expected overtime hours are shown as variable cash, so you can see the guaranteed figure on its own and the potential figure separately.
How is overtime calculated?
Overtime is off until you switch it on for an offer. You enter a multiplier such as 1.5, never a dollar amount, and zero overtime hours always produces zero overtime pay. Whether you are eligible for overtime depends on your role and applicable law, and a legal overtime rate is based on your regular rate of pay, which can include certain other payments. This page does not decide eligibility.
Does this assume a five-day week?
No. You enter expected workdays per week, in-office days and remote days, each from 0 to 7. In-office days plus remote days should not exceed your workdays, and you are told when they do. Commuting cost and commuting time are based on in-office days only.
Is paid time off counted as extra money?
No. Paid vacation, holidays and sick days are already paid through your salary, so adding them again would double-count your pay. They are compared as days of time. A dollar figure is shown only as a clearly labelled non-cash illustration, based on the standard hours per workday you enter, and is excluded from every cash total.
Are employer health-insurance contributions money paid to me?
No. An employer premium contribution, 401(k) match or HSA contribution has real value to you, but it is not cash in your paycheck. Those amounts are reported as employer-paid benefit value, separate from cash and from equity.
Does this show my take-home pay?
No. Nothing here subtracts federal, state or local income tax, Social Security or Medicare. Every figure is before taxes. Use the Paycheck Calculator for a separate take-home estimate.
Is my compensation information stored or sent anywhere?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged, saved or placed in the page address, no values reach analytics, and Clear removes every entry and result.
Does this tool tell me which offer is best?
No. It shows which offer ranks highest on the values and importance weights you entered, states the exact measure behind every score, reports ties as ties, and gives no winner at all when only one offer has been entered. Choosing a job involves factors no calculator can measure.