Job Offer Total Compensation Tool

When you’re choosing between job offers, it’s easy to focus on the base salary. That number is visible, simple, and emotionally charged. But in many roles—especially in tech, finance, and leadership positions—salary is only part of the story. Bonuses, equity, benefits, and perks can dramatically change the real value of an offer.

This tool is designed to help you see that full picture. Start by entering the base salary, annual bonus, equity grant, vesting period, and benefits value for Offer A. Then do the same for Offer B. If you’re not sure about exact numbers, use reasonable estimates based on offer letters, recruiter conversations, or typical packages in your field.

Next, choose growth rates for salary, bonus, and equity. Salary growth might reflect annual raises or promotions; bonus growth might capture performance improvements or company growth; equity growth is your best guess at how the underlying stock or units might appreciate. These are assumptions, not guarantees, so it’s helpful to be conservative and explore multiple scenarios.

The vesting period fields tell the tool how quickly your equity grant becomes yours. A four-year vest with a one-year cliff is common, but some companies use different schedules. For simplicity, this calculator assumes straight-line vesting—meaning the grant is spread evenly across the vesting period—and then applies your growth rate to estimate the value of vested equity each year.

Benefits and perks can be surprisingly valuable. Health insurance, retirement matches, wellness stipends, commuter benefits, and flexible work arrangements all have financial implications. If you can, assign a rough annual dollar value to these benefits for each offer. It won’t be perfect, but it will help you avoid ignoring important parts of the package.

The discount rate and discounting toggle let you decide whether to weigh future compensation differently from near-term pay. If you care more about what you earn in the next few years than what you might earn a decade from now, you can apply a discount rate to future totals. This is similar to how investors think about the time value of money.

Equity and bonuses are often less certain than salary. The equity risk discount and bonus risk discount fields let you model that uncertainty. If you’re skeptical that a company’s stock will perform as promised, or you’re unsure whether bonuses will be paid consistently, you can apply a discount to those components. The tool then reduces their contribution to total compensation accordingly.

When you click “Calculate Total Compensation,” the tool builds annual totals for each offer, combining salary, bonus, equity, and benefits. It then sums those totals over your chosen horizon and shows the difference between Offer A and Offer B. You’ll see not only which offer pays more overall, but also how much of that pay comes from salary versus equity or bonuses.

One powerful way to use this tool is to run multiple scenarios. Try a conservative equity growth rate and a more optimistic one. Adjust the bonus risk discount to reflect your confidence in the company’s performance. Shorten or lengthen the time horizon to see how the balance between salary and equity shifts over time. As you explore, you’ll get a feel for which offer is more robust across different assumptions.

At the same time, remember that compensation is only one dimension of a job. Culture, manager quality, role fit, growth opportunities, and work-life balance all matter. An offer with slightly lower total compensation might still be the better choice if it aligns more closely with your values and long-term goals. Conversely, a high-paying offer that feels unsustainable could carry hidden costs.

Use this tool as a way to bring clarity to the financial side of your decision. When you understand how each offer pays you over time, you can pair that knowledge with your intuition about the work itself. That combination—numbers plus lived experience—is often where the best decisions come from.