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Salary Negotiation Calculator
Use this free salary negotiation calculator to compare a job offer against your current pay on equal terms. Enter salary, bonus, paid time off, and retirement match for both jobs, add a cost-of-living adjustment, and get a total compensation comparison plus a suggested counter-offer range.
Your current job
The offer
Cost-of-living change: how much more (or less, with a negative number) the new location costs than where you live now. Use 0 if the location is the same.
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Current total compensation | $83,134.62 |
| Offer total compensation | $95,010.77 |
| Offer total, cost-of-living adjusted | $90,486.45 |
| Counter range total compensation | $99,401.54 – $103,792.31 |
| Offer base vs current base | +$7,000.00 |
| Adjusted offer vs current total | +$7,351.83 |
How it works
Most people negotiate the salary number and forget the rest of the package. That is a mistake, because bonus, paid time off, and retirement matching can add thousands of dollars a year that never show up in the headline salary. This calculator adds up the whole package for your current job and for the offer, so you compare two complete numbers instead of two salaries.
Each part is valued in plain dollars. The bonus is the amount you expect to receive in a typical year. Paid time off is valued at your daily pay: your salary divided by 260 working days, multiplied by the number of paid days. At a $75,000 salary, one day off is worth about $288.46, so five extra days are worth about $1,442.31. The retirement match is the employer's contribution, calculated as a percentage of your salary — a 4 percent match on $82,000 is $3,280 a year of money you would otherwise have to save yourself.
Cost-of-living adjusted offer = offer total ÷ (1 + cost-of-living change %)
The cost-of-living adjustment is the part people forget most often. A bigger number in a more expensive city can be a pay cut once rent, food, and transport are counted. Dividing the offer total by one plus the cost difference converts it into your current city's dollars. A $95,010.77 package in a city that costs 5 percent more is worth $90,486.45 where you live now — still a raise in the example, but a smaller one than the headline suggests.
The counter range comes from the gap between the offer and your target. The low end is the midpoint of that gap; the high end is your target itself. With an $82,000 offer and a $90,000 target, the range is $86,000 to $90,000. Opening near the top of the range is normal — the employer expects to meet you partway — and the table shows what each end of the range is worth as a total package, so you can judge the trade-off between salary and benefits.
Worked example
You earn $75,000 with a $3,000 bonus, 10 paid days off, and a 3 percent retirement match. You receive an offer of $82,000 with a $5,000 bonus, 15 paid days off, and a 4 percent match, in a city that costs 5 percent more. Your target salary is $90,000.
Step 1: Current total — $75,000 + $3,000 + (10 × $75,000 ÷ 260 = $2,884.62) + (3% × $75,000 = $2,250) = $83,134.62.
Step 2: Offer total — $82,000 + $5,000 + (15 × $82,000 ÷ 260 = $4,730.77) + (4% × $82,000 = $3,280) = $95,010.77.
Step 3: Cost-of-living adjustment — $95,010.77 ÷ 1.05 = $90,486.45, which is $7,351.83 more than your current total.
Step 4: Counter range — the gap from $82,000 to $90,000 is $8,000, so the range runs from $82,000 + $4,000 = $86,000 up to $90,000.
Step 5: Counter totals — at $86,000 the package is worth $99,401.54; at $90,000 it is worth $103,792.31.
The tool gives a counter range of $86,000 – $90,000, with an adjusted offer total of $90,486.45 against a current total of $83,134.62. The offer is a genuine raise even after the higher cost of living, and there is still $8,000 of salary headroom to negotiate. A good move is to counter at $90,000, mention the stronger benefits you would be giving up, and let the employer meet you in the middle.
FAQ
How much should I counter-offer above the first offer?
A counter between the first offer and your target is a good starting point. This calculator suggests a range from the midpoint of the gap up to your target salary, so with an $82,000 offer and a $90,000 target the range is $86,000 to $90,000. Asking 10 to 20 percent above the first offer is common when the market supports it, but the number should be backed by your skills, the market rate, and the value of the benefits.
Should I compare salary or total compensation?
Compare total compensation: salary plus bonus, the value of paid time off, and the retirement match. A job with a slightly lower salary can be the better deal if it adds more paid days off or a bigger match. In the worked example, an $82,000 offer is worth $95,010.77 in total, while a $75,000 job with weaker benefits is worth $83,134.62.
How do I value paid time off?
Multiply your paid days off by your daily pay, which is your salary divided by 260 working days. At a $75,000 salary, one day is worth about $288.46, so 10 days are worth $2,884.62. Five extra days off at an $82,000 salary are worth about $1,576.92 a year, which is real money even though it never appears on a paycheck.
What if the new job is in a more expensive city?
Enter the cost-of-living difference as a percentage and the calculator converts the offer into your current city's dollars. A $95,010.77 total package in a city that costs 5 percent more is worth $90,486.45 in your current city's terms. If the adjusted figure is still above your current total, the move is a real raise; if it is below, you are being asked to take a pay cut in disguise.
Does asking for more risk losing the offer?
Very rarely. Employers expect candidates to negotiate, and a polite, evidence-based counter almost never causes an offer to be withdrawn. State your enthusiasm for the role, name a specific number with a reason, and keep the tone warm. The risk is much higher if you accept the first number without checking what the whole package is worth.