Total Compensation Calculator
Base Pay
Variable Pay
Health & Insurance Benefits
Retirement
Paid Time Off
Enter Your Compensation Details
Fill in your base salary and benefits on the left to see your full total compensation package value, component breakdown chart, and 4-year projection.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter Your Base Pay
Start with your annual salary or switch to hourly mode and enter your hourly rate and weekly hours. The calculator converts hourly to annual automatically. This is the foundation of your total compensation calculation.
Add Benefits and Variable Pay
Enter your performance bonus as a percentage of salary or a flat dollar amount. Add employer-paid monthly premiums for medical, dental, and vision insurance. Enter your 401(k) employer match percentage — the calculator shows the exact dollar match alongside the percentage.
Include Equity and Perks
Expand the Equity section to add RSU or stock grant values with your vesting schedule. Expand Perks to add wellness stipends, education allowances, home office budgets, and commuter benefits. Use the custom benefit rows for anything specific to your package.
Review and Compare
Review the total compensation headline, the hidden paycheck amount (how much your employer spends above your salary), and the visual component breakdown chart. Toggle to the 4-Year View to see projected cumulative value including equity vesting and annual raises. Export to CSV to save your full breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between base salary and total compensation?
Base salary is the fixed annual or hourly wage you receive, typically expressed as a single number in a job offer. Total compensation includes everything your employer pays on your behalf — base salary plus performance bonuses, employer-paid health insurance premiums, 401(k) matching contributions, FICA taxes paid by the employer, the dollar value of your paid time off, equity grants, and non-cash perks like education stipends and wellness benefits. The gap between base salary and total compensation is typically 30 to 60 percent of base for salaried employees with full benefits. Understanding this gap is critical for accurate job offer comparisons and salary negotiation.
How is the PTO (paid time off) value calculated?
The PTO dollar value is calculated by multiplying your total paid days off — including vacation days, paid holidays, and sick days — by your daily wage rate. Your daily wage is your annual salary divided by 260, which is the number of standard Monday-through-Friday working days in a year. For example, if you earn $75,000 per year, your daily wage is $288.46. If you receive 30 total paid days off per year (15 vacation + 10 holidays + 5 sick days), the PTO value is approximately $8,654. This is real compensation — it represents time you are paid without needing to work, and it should always be included when comparing job offers.
What is FICA and why is the employer contribution included?
FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which mandates that both employers and employees contribute to Social Security and Medicare. Employees pay 6.2% of wages for Social Security (up to the annual wage base, which is $168,600 for 2024) and 1.45% for Medicare, totaling 7.65%. Employers pay an equal 7.65% match on top of what the employee pays — this is a real employer cost that does not appear on your pay stub. For a $75,000 salary, the employer FICA contribution is approximately $5,738 per year. While you do not receive this as cash, it represents real money your employer spends specifically because they employ you, making it a legitimate component of total compensation analysis.
How does the 4-year compensation view work?
The 4-year view projects cumulative total compensation over four years — the standard vesting horizon for equity grants. Each year's compensation is calculated using your base salary compounded by the expected annual raise percentage, adjusted bonuses, the same health and perks benefits, and equity vested according to your chosen schedule. Under an equal-vesting schedule, 25% of your RSU grant vests each year; under a 4-year cliff, the entire grant vests at year four. The annual raise percentage (default 3%) compounds each year's base salary. This view is especially useful when comparing a higher-salary offer with no equity against a lower-salary offer with a significant RSU grant — the equity may make the second offer worth substantially more over four years.
What does 'benefits premium above salary' mean?
The benefits premium above salary — also called the "hidden paycheck" figure — shows the dollar amount and percentage by which your total compensation exceeds your base salary. It is calculated as (Total Compensation minus Base Salary) divided by Base Salary, expressed as a percentage. Industry benchmarks from sources like Salary.com suggest that benefits and non-wage compensation typically add 30 to 45 percent on top of base salary for full-time salaried employees in the United States. If your hidden paycheck is significantly below this range, it may indicate below-market benefits and could be a negotiation leverage point. If it is above 50%, you have an unusually generous benefits package worth preserving.
Can I use this calculator to compare two job offers?
Yes — the most powerful use of this calculator is comparing competing offers side by side. Run the calculator twice, once for each offer. Note the total annual compensation, the 4-year cumulative total (especially if one offer has equity and the other does not), and the effective daily wage. Pay particular attention to differences in health insurance: an offer with a $10,000 lower salary but employer-paid family medical coverage worth $12,000 per year is actually the more valuable offer on a total compensation basis. Save each calculation using the CSV export button, then compare the two spreadsheets. Consider also the signing bonus break-even point — if you need to stay at the company for the signing bonus to be worth the opportunity cost of not taking the other offer, factor in that timeline as well.