Job Offer Comparison Calculator

Why one number is not enough

Most offer comparisons reduce to "which total is bigger", and that hides the two things that most often change the decision.

• A one-off payment wins the first year and nothing after it. A signing bonus counts once. An offer that is ahead in year one purely because of a signing bonus is behind every year after that, if its base is lower.
• Long equity can win the total while losing the first year. A grant spread over four years adds a quarter of its value to year one — but if the cliff is longer than a year, year one vests nothing at all, and the same offer that looks weak for twelve months looks strong over four years.

So this tool always reports three figures per offer, and says when they disagree. That disagreement is the useful part: it tells you which offer is better depending on how long you stay, which is a decision only you can make.

The cliff is often the most expensive date

Equity usually vests on a schedule with a cliff: a minimum period you must stay before anything vests. The common arrangement is a one-year cliff on a four-year schedule, which means:

• Leave in month 11: nothing vests and you receive none of the grant.
• Stay to month 12: a quarter of the grant vests at once.
• Each month after that: a further 1/48th of the grant.

That structure creates a sharp edge. Two offers can be identical in total value and differ enormously if you leave after eleven months. If you have any doubt about staying, the cliff date belongs in the comparison — not just the headline grant.

One consequence worth knowing: with a one-year cliff on a four-year schedule, the equity that vests in your first year is exactly the same as the average equity per year. Only a longer cliff, or a one-off payment, makes the first year tell a different story from the annual figure.

How to use the numbers

1. Fill in what you actually know. Leave blank anything the offer letter does not state; blanks count as zero rather than inventing a figure. If a bonus is written as a percentage of base, use the percentage field.
2. Set the period to how long you expect to stay — not to the vesting period. If you would probably move after two years, compare over two years. The default is four because that matches common vesting schedules, not because it is the right assumption for you.
3. Read all three lines, and the warning. If the first year and the annual value point at different offers, the cause is a one-off payment or a long cliff, and it will not repeat next year.
4. Then check what this tool does not know: whether the equity is in a public or a private company, how the pension actually vests, whether the role leads where you want to go, and the after-tax difference in your own situation.

What this calculator deliberately does not do

• No salary benchmarks. It will not tell you whether an offer is competitive for your market, because that needs reliable local data and we do not have a source we would be willing to cite.
• No tax estimates. Tax depends on where you live, how you file and how the pay is structured. A rough tax guess is worse than no tax guess, because it looks like a number you can rely on.
• No cost-of-living adjustment. Moving city changes what the figure is worth. That is real, but it is not arithmetic on the numbers in the offer letter.
• No currency conversion. Rates move, and a converted comparison can flip on a rate change. Convert both offers yourself with a rate you accept, and treat the result as approximate.
• No valuation of private equity. A grant in a private company is not worth its paper value until there is a buyer. Run the comparison again with a lower figure and see whether your decision survives.

Everything above is arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It is not financial advice.

Before you accept

1. Get the offer in writing, including the vesting schedule and the cliff. Verbal terms are not terms.
2. Work out your notice period before you accept anything, because you need the earliest date you can start. The notice period calculator does that date arithmetic, including month-end and weekend cases.
3. When you resign, the resignation letter templates cover what the letter must contain and what to leave out.
4. Keep the next application ready: start from the ATS-friendly resume template and check it with the free ATS check.
5. If the closing lines of your resume are the weak part, the summary examples page covers exactly that.

Common questions

How do I compare two job offers properly?

Compare them on three horizons, not one: what you receive in the first 12 months, what the role pays per year once one-off payments are behind you, and the total over the full period you expect to stay. A large signing bonus can win the first year while the job pays less every year afterwards, and a long equity cliff can lose the first year while winning the total. Any single number hides one of those effects.

Should I count equity at face value?

This calculator uses the value you enter, spread across the vesting period. That is arithmetic, not a valuation: private-company equity in particular may never be worth what the offer letter suggests. If the equity is in a private company, run the comparison again with a lower number for it and see whether the decision still holds.

What is a vesting cliff and why does it matter?

A cliff is a minimum period you must stay before any equity vests at all. The common arrangement is a one-year cliff on a four-year schedule: leave in month 11 and you get nothing; stay to month 12 and the first quarter vests at once. Because of that, the cliff date is often the most expensive date to leave, so it belongs in the comparison rather than just the headline grant.

How is the first year different from the annual value?

The first year includes one-off payments such as a signing bonus and the equity that vests in those 12 months. The annual figure excludes one-off payments and spreads equity across its vesting period. If a signing bonus flips which offer wins, you are looking at an effect that will not repeat next year.

Does this include tax?

No. Everything here is pre-tax. Tax depends on your country, how you file and how the pay is structured, and an approximate tax figure can invert the comparison. Compare the gross numbers here, then work out the after-tax difference for your own situation.

What if the two offers are in different currencies?

This calculator does not convert currencies, because exchange rates move and a converted comparison can flip on a rate change. Convert both offers into one currency yourself using a rate you are comfortable with, enter the converted figures, and treat the result as approximate.

Should I tell an employer that I have another offer?

You can, and it is normal to say you have another offer and a deadline. What this calculator gives you is your own numbers first, so that any negotiation is based on the actual gap rather than on whichever headline looks larger.