Job Offer Comparison Calculator Compare two offers side by side and see the true hourly wage after commute, overtime and benefits

What is the Job Offer Comparison Calculator?

When you have two job offers, it's tempting to just compare the headline salary. But a higher-paying job isn't always the better deal — if it comes with a longer commute, more overtime, or fewer vacation days, its "true hourly wage" can actually end up lower than the other offer's. This tool lets you compare two offers side by side: base salary, bonus, stock, PTO, commute cost and benefits all in one view, with the true hourly wage automatically calculated after subtracting commute cost and dividing by the real hours you invest. It's designed to help you make a rational career decision instead of jumping at the bigger number.

Note: this is a simplified estimate. Real career decisions should also weigh things numbers can't capture, like industry outlook, growth opportunities and company culture.

How is "true hourly wage" calculated?

True hourly wage isn't simply salary divided by hours worked. It first subtracts the real cash cost of commuting (gas, parking, transit fares), then divides by your total hours actually invested — work hours plus round-trip commute time. Paid time off matters too: more PTO means fewer weeks actually worked per year, which pushes the effective hourly rate up. The result is a number that reflects what you actually earn per hour of your life, not just per hour on the clock. For background, see Employee compensation (Wikipedia) and Commuting (Wikipedia).

Why compare "total annual value" instead of just base salary?

An offer's real value isn't just the base salary number — it also includes annual bonus, stock or equity, employer retirement matching, and health benefits, which are easy to overlook. This tool adds all of these together, subtracts the commute cost, and produces a single "total annual value" figure so you can see at a glance which offer is genuinely better for you, instead of being dazzled by a bigger base number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: I'm a freelancer or contractor — is this tool useful for me?

This calculator is designed for comparing two full-time job offers. If you're a freelancer, you can still use it by entering your estimated annual contract income as "salary," and adjusting the PTO and commute fields to match your actual working pattern.

Q2: How should I estimate the value of stock options?

A reasonable approach is to multiply the recent share price by the number of shares granted, then divide by the vesting period to get an annualized cash-equivalent value. For illiquid startup equity, it's safer to be conservative or enter 0, treating it purely as a bonus comparison reference rather than guaranteed value.

Q3: Why does commute time count as work time?

Commuting is time you're forced to spend because of the job, with no extra pay for it. Ignoring it would make a job with a much longer commute look more attractive than it really is. Treating commute time as part of your total time invested is the only way to fairly compare how two offers actually affect your quality of life and time budget.