Offer Comparison Calculator

Comparing job offers the right way means looking at total compensation, not just base salary. A higher base in a high-tax state with expensive housing can leave you with less spending power than a lower base elsewhere. Use this total compensation calculator to run both offers with your real numbers.

• Base salary isn't everything. Bonus, equity, 401k match, and benefits can add 20–50%+ to your real comp. A $150k base with a 10% bonus and $60k RSUs over 4 years is very different from $150k cash-only.
• Equity timing matters. RSUs that vest over 4 years hit your taxable income each year. A front-loaded vest can mean higher taxes early; a back-loaded one shifts value (and risk) to later. Our RSU Tax Calculator shows tax at vest.
• Taxes reduce real value. Federal income tax (marginal brackets plus standard deduction), state income tax (0% in Texas/Florida/Washington to 13%+ in California), and FICA (7.65% up to the wage base, then Medicare on the rest) can take 25–45% of gross. On the same $150,000 salary, California often nets about $102,000 after federal, state, and FICA while Texas nets about $114,000—roughly $12,000 more per year with no state income tax. After-tax job offer comparison is what you should optimize for.
• Cost of living changes everything. A $180,000 offer in San Francisco may be worth less than $150,000 in Austin after taxes and housing costs. Use our Relocation Salary Calculator to compare cities.

Real example: At identical $150,000 cash pay, California take-home is about $102k and Texas about $114k after federal, state, and FICA. Layer on San Francisco’s cost-of-living index (~165 vs Austin ~98) and the purchasing-power gap widens further. Run both offers in the calculator above with your filing status, health costs, and city COL to see your exact 4-year total compensation comparison.

A job offer evaluation checklist should include every element that affects your wallet. Tech and finance roles often mix base, bonus, and equity—so a tech job offer comparison, RSU offer comparison, or RSU vs salary comparison needs all of these in one place.

• Base salary: Guaranteed cash; taxed as ordinary income. Use a state paycheck calculator for a single offer.
• Bonus: Often taxed at a flat supplemental rate. Use our Bonus Tax Calculator to see net bonus.
• RSUs / equity: Usually vest over 4 years; taxed as income when they vest. Include the full 4-year grant value in this tool and use Equity Vesting Calculator for schedule.
• 401k match: Part of total comp but tax-deferred; it doesn't show up in take-home. Still valuable—model it in the calculator.
• PTO value: Each vacation day is worth roughly your daily salary (annual base ÷ 260 working days). An offer with 25 PTO days vs 15 days at $150k adds ~$5,760 in annual value. Enter PTO days for each offer—we compute this automatically.
• Commute cost: Gas, transit passes, and parking can easily run $3,000–$8,000/year. A fully-remote offer vs. one requiring 5 days/week in office can differ by $12,000–$32,000 over 4 years—real money that never shows up in the offer letter. Enter your annual commute cost; we subtract it from total comp.
• Health premium: Your out-of-pocket cost (employee share of premiums). A $3k/year difference is $12k over 4 years. We also model HSA and commuter benefits.

Gross numbers are misleading. Two offers that look similar on paper—e.g. $160k base + $80k equity—can diverge by $8k–$15k per year in take-home once you apply federal tax, state tax, and FICA. This offer comparison calculator does an after-tax job offer comparison for you: it uses 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, state tax by state, and your filing status to estimate net pay each year and over 4 years.

What actually moves the needle:

• State: 0% in no-tax states vs 6–10%+ effective in high-tax states on six-figure income.
• Filing status: Married filing jointly typically has a lower effective rate than single at the same income.
• Bonus vs salary: Supplemental pay (bonus, sign-on) is often withheld at a flat 22% federal (or 37% above $1M); it's still taxed as ordinary income at year-end.
• Equity vests: RSUs are taxed as ordinary income when they vest (W-2 income), not as capital gains—so they stack on top of salary and can push you into a higher bracket that year.

Run both offers in the tool above to see side-by-side take-home and break-even year.

Comparing job offers in different states is one of the highest-impact uses of a job offer comparison tool. State income tax ranges from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada, etc.) to over 13% top rate in California (effective rates on $150k are often 6–8% in CA). On a $150k salary, that's often $9k–$12k more in your pocket per year in a no-tax state—and the gap grows with bonus and equity.

Set each offer's state in the calculator to see the difference. For cost-of-living by city (rent, groceries, etc.), use our Relocation Salary Calculator so you factor in both tax and COL.

Tech offers often quote equity as a 4-year grant. A 4-year total compensation comparison sums base + bonus + vested equity + 401k match (and other benefits you value) over four years, then applies taxes year by year. That tells you which offer actually puts more money in your pocket over the typical vest period.

Our total compensation calculator assumes 25% vest per year (standard 4-year schedule). Each year's vest is added to your taxable income, so your effective tax rate can rise in high-vest years. You can add equity growth (e.g. 0% for conservative, 5–10% for optimistic). Break-even is the first year when one offer's cumulative take-home passes the other—useful when one offer has more equity back-loaded.

Use this offer comparison calculator to run scenarios before and during negotiation. When you have numbers, you negotiate from strength: if one offer has lower base but no state tax, show the take-home comparison—sometimes the "lower" offer already wins, and you can ask the other side to close the gap. If equity vests slowly, use the break-even view to ask for a higher sign-on or more RSUs upfront.

• Ask for more base, more equity, or a sign-on to close the gap you see in the 4-year total.
• Use our Bonus Tax Calculator to see the net value of a sign-on so you can compare it to extra salary (sign-on is often taxed at 22% federal withholding).
• If you're comparing job offers in different states, get the other side to acknowledge COL and tax—then ask for a bump or remote flexibility.

A few slip-ups can make the wrong offer look better. Avoid these when you run your job offer comparison:

• Ignoring state tax. A $10k difference in state tax is $10k less in your pocket every year—and that compounds over 4 years.
• Comparing only base salary. Total comp includes bonus, RSUs, and 401k match. Use a total compensation calculator so nothing is left off the table.
• Treating RSUs as guaranteed. Stock can go down. Model with 0% growth for a conservative view; add growth only for upside scenarios.
• Skipping cost of living. Use the calculator's COL field and the Relocation Salary Calculator so you compare real purchasing power, not just dollar take-home.
• Forgetting health premium. A $3k/year difference in out-of-pocket cost is $12k over 4 years—real money that doesn't show up in the offer letter.
• Ignoring PTO days. An extra 10 vacation days at a $150k salary is worth ~$5,760/year in value. Over a 4-year period that's $23k. Enter PTO days for each offer—the calculator converts them to dollar value automatically.
• Overlooking commute costs. Five days/week in office at $20/day round-trip is $5,200/year. A fully-remote offer vs. in-office can differ by $20k+ over 4 years before you factor in time. Enter annual commute cost to subtract it from real take-home.