Total Compensation Calculator

What this job is actually worth

📊 The full stack, side by side

🧾 Line-by-line breakdown

Good-to-know moves

• Match structure matters more than the headline. "100% of 3%" and "50% of 6%" both max out at 3% of salary, but the second one requires you to contribute twice as much to get it. The selector here models the tiers, not just the cap.
• Ask about 401(k) vesting. Some employers' match money isn't yours until you've stayed 2–6 years ("graded" or "cliff" vesting). If you might leave early, a big match with 5-year vesting can be worth far less than it looks. (Safe-harbor matches and the TSP's match vest immediately or fast.)
• A bonus is a promise, not a paycheck. Target bonuses get cut in bad years and prorated in year one. Enter what's realistic, and treat any offer that moves salary into "bonus potential" with suspicion.
• Health plans differ by way more than the premium. This tool values what the employer pays toward premiums, but a $2,000-deductible plan and a $9,000-out-of-pocket-max plan are not the same product. If you use healthcare heavily, compare the plan documents too.
• An HDHP + employer HSA seed can quietly beat a "richer" plan, the seed is real cash in an account you keep forever, triple-tax-free. It's one of the most under-valued benefits in any offer.
• RSUs are real but bumpy: a "$60k over 4 years" grant is ~$15k/yr if the stock goes sideways. It can be worth half or double that. Also check the vesting cliff (often nothing vests for year one).
• An ESPP with a 15% discount is close to free money, at 15%, every $850 you put in buys $1,000 of stock (sell immediately if you don't want the stock risk). Plans with a "lookback" are worth even more than this tool shows.
• Why employer Social Security/Medicare tax isn't in here: your employer does pay ~7.65% on top of your wages, but you never receive it as extra benefit, every employer pays it, so it cancels out of any comparison. This tool counts what lands in your pocket or accounts.
• Federal folks: the FERS button values the employer-funded share of your future pension at ~14% of salary (OPM's "normal cost" minus your 4.4% FERS-RAE contribution) plus the TSP's 1% automatic + 4% match. It's a fair annual-value estimate, not your annuity math, for the real retirement projection, that's fedretirecalc.com's department.
• Negotiate the parts that move. Match formulas, HSA seeds, and pension terms are plan-level (fixed); salary, signing bonus, equity, and sometimes PTO are person-level (negotiable). If total comp comes up short, that's where to push.
• Matches only apply to the first $360,000 of pay (2026 limit), already handled in the math here, relevant if you're fortunate enough to need it.