How to use this calculator
- Enter each offer's pay: salary, any bonus you can realistically expect, and the yearly value of benefits such as an employer pension or retirement match.
- Enter the hours each job expects each week, including regular unpaid overtime.
- Enter the commute: how many days a year you'd travel, what each return trip costs and how long it takes.
- Compare the money left each year and, more tellingly, what each job pays for every hour of your time.
How it's calculated
Everything is before tax. Tax usually takes a bigger share of the higher offer, so the gap after tax is often smaller than shown here.
Worked example
Alex has two offers. Offer A is a fully remote job paying £50,000 for 37.5 hours a week. Offer B pays £55,000 plus a £5,000 bonus, but expects 45 hours a week and an office commute 200 days a year, costing £15 and taking 1.5 hours a day.
Offer B leaves Alex £7,000 more a year, but Offer A pays about £4.05 more for every hour of Alex's time, and gives back 690 hours a year.
Frequently asked questions
Why count commuting time?
Time spent travelling to work is time you can't use for anything else, even though it isn't paid. Counting it shows what each job really pays for the hours it takes from your week.
How do I value benefits like health insurance?
Use what the benefit would cost you to buy yourself, or what the employer says it pays for it. If you wouldn't use a benefit, leave it out.
Should I just take the offer that pays more per hour?
Not necessarily. This calculator compares money and time. The work itself, the people, job security, flexibility and chances to progress matter too, and only you can weigh those.