Job Offer Comparison Calculator
Compare two offers on total value, not just salary, including bonus and benefits.
Two offers rarely differ only in salary. A bonus, a pension contribution, health cover or a commuting allowance can outweigh a pay gap, and the offer with the higher headline number is not always the better one.
Enter both packages and this calculator totals the annual value of each, the difference, and what it means month by month.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Offer A: base salary, Offer A: annual bonus, Offer A: employer pension or retirement contribution, Offer A: other benefits, Offer B: base salary, Offer B: annual bonus, Offer B: employer pension or retirement contribution, Offer B: other benefits
- What you get
- Offer A total annual value, Offer B total annual value, Offer B minus offer A per year, That is, per month
- Formula shown
- Yes - every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only - always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Job Offer Comparison Calculator
- 1 Enter Offer A: base salary
- 2 Enter Offer A: annual bonus
- 3 Enter Offer A: employer pension or retirement contribution
- 4 Enter Offer A: other benefits - Health cover, car allowance, commuting, insurance.
- 5 Enter Offer B: base salary
- 6 Enter Offer B: annual bonus
- 7 Enter Offer B: employer pension or retirement contribution
- 8 Enter Offer B: other benefits
- 9 Press Calculate. You get Offer A total annual value, Offer B total annual value, Offer B minus offer A per year, That is, per month, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 10 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result - that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A higher salary against a richer package
Offer B pays more in salary but gives up bonus, pension and benefits.
You enter
- Offer A: base salary
- $60,000.00
- Offer A: annual bonus
- $5,000.00
- Offer A: employer pension or retirement contribution
- $3,000.00
- Offer A: other benefits
- $2,000.00
- Offer B: base salary
- $66,000.00
- Offer B: annual bonus
- $0.00
- Offer B: employer pension or retirement contribution
- $1,500.00
- Offer B: other benefits
- $1,000.00
You get
- Offer A total annual value
- $70,000.00
- Offer B total annual value
- $68,500.00
- Offer B minus offer A per year
- -$1,500.00
- That is, per month
- -$125.00
Offer B is $6,000 ahead on salary alone, but it gives up $5,000 of bonus and $2,500 of pension and benefits. Offer A totals $70,000 and offer B $68,500, so offer A is worth $1,500 more a year, about $125 a month, even though its headline salary is the lower one.
A lower salary with a stronger pension and bonus
Offer B trades $3,000 of salary for a bigger bonus, pension and benefits.
You enter
- Offer A: base salary
- $85,000.00
- Offer A: annual bonus
- $12,000.00
- Offer A: employer pension or retirement contribution
- $5,100.00
- Offer A: other benefits
- $4,000.00
- Offer B: base salary
- $82,000.00
- Offer B: annual bonus
- $15,000.00
- Offer B: employer pension or retirement contribution
- $8,200.00
- Offer B: other benefits
- $6,500.00
You get
- Offer A total annual value
- $106,100.00
- Offer B total annual value
- $111,700.00
- Offer B minus offer A per year
- $5,600.00
- That is, per month
- $466.67
Offer A totals $106,100 and offer B totals $111,700. The $5,600 gap is about $467 a month in favour of offer B, which is the opposite of what the base salaries suggest, since offer B pays $3,000 less.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I count employer pension contributions as part of the offer?
Yes. The employer pays them on top of your salary and they are real money over time, so enter the annual amount the employer contributes rather than anything taken from your own pay. If the employer matches what you put in, use the contribution you expect in a normal year.
Check the scheme rules before you rely on the figure. Contributions often vest over a period of service, so leaving after a year can take part of the money away, and a long vesting period makes the headline contribution worth less to you.
Does the comparison include tax or the cost of living?
No. Both totals are gross annual value before income tax and social contributions, and nothing is adjusted for what life costs where the job is based. A $5,000 gap does not survive a city where rent is $400 a month higher.
If the two jobs are in different places, compare rent, commuting and everyday prices first. The cost of living calculator is the quick way to see how much salary the more expensive city needs for you to be level.
How do I value benefits such as health cover or a car allowance?
Use what the benefit is worth in cash to you: the premium you would otherwise pay for equivalent cover, or the allowance as paid. A car allowance of $6,000 a year is $6,000 of value, and employer health cover is worth roughly the annual premium for a similar policy you would buy yourself.
Value both offers on the same basis. If you count a subsidised canteen for offer A, count the equivalent for offer B, and leave out anything you cannot put a yearly number on, such as a shorter commute, so you can weigh it separately.
What if one of the bonuses is not guaranteed?
A bonus based on performance or company results is rarely contractual, so treat the amount as an expectation. Enter the figure you consider most likely, and remember that a bonus paid at the employer's discretion can be zero in a poor year.
A useful second run is to enter only the bonus you can rely on for both offers, or zero for both, and compare again. The difference in fixed pay is the part of the decision you can count on before anything is awarded.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.