Offer vs Takehome Calculator
| Offer pair | A total | B total | What flips it |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70k+5k, 4% vs $72k+2k, 6% | $77,800 | $78,320 | the match, not the salary |
| $85k+10k, 0% vs $80k+4k, 5% | $95,000 | $88,000 | salary dominates until match caps rise |
| $60k+0, 6% vs $62k+0, 0% | $63,600 | $62,000 | $1,600 of employer money for $2k less salary |
Use this with two offers on the table: enter each offer's salary, target bonus and 401k match percentage. The calculator totals the annual value of each, names the winner by dollars per year and per month, and shows how much of the gap is the match doing silent work.
Gross salary is the number offers are quoted in, but it is rarely where the decision lives: a $2,000 salary gap flips sign the moment the losing offer matches 6% instead of 4%, and bonuses are worth less than their headline until they pay out. This comparison is the honest first pass - before taxes, before vesting haircuts, before commute math.
How to use
- Enter offer A: salary, target bonus, and the 401k match percentage the employer actually gives.
- Enter offer B the same way - use the match your salary level qualifies for, not the plan maximum.
- Read the per-year and per-month gap, then weigh the unmodeled lines: health premiums, PTO, vesting schedule and the manager.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare two job offers fairly?
Total the guaranteed-ish money first: salary plus realistic bonus plus employer 401k match. That is the comparison this tool runs. Then adjust in your head for what it does not see - health premium differences worth $1-3k a year, PTO days, commute cost, and the vesting clock on that match.
Is the 401k match really part of compensation?
Yes - it is employer money paid on top of salary into your account, and the BLS counts it in benefits, which run roughly a third of total compensation across the economy. The catch is vesting: many employers phase their match in over 2-4 years, so money you leave early never becomes yours.
Should I take a higher salary or a better match?
Run the numbers - that is this page. A 2-point match difference on a $70,000 salary is $1,400 a year of employer money; if the other offer pays $2,000 more in salary, salary wins on the math but loses some of it to income tax, while the match defers tax entirely. Close calls favor the match.
How do I count a bonus in the comparison?
At a discount. A sign-on bonus pays once; a target bonus is a maybe that history at that company prices better than the recruiter does. Counting last year's actual payout beats counting the target, and counting neither makes the comparison conservative in a useful way.
What about equity, health insurance and PTO?
This tool leaves them as a tie on purpose - they differ too much in kind. Equity needs a price and a vesting model; premium differences and PTO days convert to dollars cleanly once you have both offers' handbooks. Add those dollars to the totals here before you decide.