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.