Original comparison tool
Compare hourly and salary offers on the same basis
Convert both offers into annual cash, total stated compensation, and effective hourly value. The tool keeps paid weeks, expected time, bonus, and employer-paid benefits separate so one assumption cannot hide inside another.
Hourly offer
Salary offer
Normalized comparison
| Measure | Hourly offer | Salary offer |
|---|---|---|
| Annual base cash | ||
| Cash plus stated bonus | ||
| Cash plus stated benefits | ||
| Effective cash/hour |
What “benefits” means here
Enter only an employer-paid value you can reasonably document, such as an employer retirement contribution or the employer share of health coverage. Do not enter the sticker price of vacation separately if paid leave is already reflected in paid weeks or salary; that would count the same value twice. Non-cash benefits are shown in total stated compensation but excluded from effective cash per hour.
How to compare responsibly
- Use expected normal hours, including recurring unpaid extra time, rather than the minimum schedule in an offer letter.
- Discount a discretionary bonus if it is not dependable; this tool displays it separately for that reason.
- Compare commute cost, schedule control, job stability, overtime eligibility, and growth outside the dollar total.
- Use gross cash for comparison and actual net pay for household budgeting.
- Save the assumptions you used and revise them when the employer clarifies a benefit or schedule.
Calculation method
Hourly annual cash equals rate × paid hours × paid weeks. Salary annual cash is the stated salary. Effective cash per hour divides cash plus stated bonus by the expected annual hours for that offer. Benefits are added only to the total-compensation row. All figures are gross estimates and remain in your browser.
Review the complete wage conversion methodology and our editorial standards.
Last reviewed August 14, 2026.
Why the bigger annual offer can pay less per working hour
Consider an invented $28/hour offer at 40 hours for 50 paid working weeks: $56,000 gross for 2,000 hours. A $60,000 salary requiring 45 hours over the same 50 weeks is $26.67 per working hour for 2,250 hours. The salary pays $4,000 more cash, but requires 250 more working hours. This arithmetic does not establish whether the salary job is exempt from overtime.
Do not add a stated benefits value to spendable monthly income. Health coverage, retirement contributions and paid leave may matter, but they are not interchangeable with cash. Compare eligibility dates, employee contributions and actual usefulness separately. A discretionary bonus belongs in a second scenario, not the guaranteed-income baseline.
Before accepting a comparison
- Use the same paid-week assumption for both offers.
- Include required meetings and predictable extra hours in the time estimate.
- Confirm whether paid leave is already included in salary so it is not added twice.
- Compare commuting cost separately; it is an expense rather than negative gross wages.
Use the scenario planner to model a low-hours week and an overtime week. Keep the assumptions with the result when discussing an offer.