Meeting Cost Calculator

How to use the Meeting Cost Calculator

1. Enter the number of people attending the meeting.
2. Set the average annual salary of the attendees.
3. Start the live timer to watch the cost accumulate in real time, or enter a meeting duration to see the estimated total cost.
4. Review the total cost and consider whether the meeting delivers enough value to justify the expense.

Why this number tends to surprise people

Salary-based meeting cost isn't just base pay. A fully-loaded cost (including benefits, overhead, and payroll taxes) typically runs 25–40% higher than salary alone, meaning the true cost of a meeting is usually higher than even the "surprising" number this kind of calculator shows using base salary. The point isn't to make every meeting feel wasteful. It's to make the tradeoff visible enough that a meeting that could've been a two-line message gets caught before it happens again, not after.

Frequently asked questions

Does it use gross salary or fully-loaded cost?

By default, it estimates from salary you enter directly; for a more accurate figure, add roughly 25–40% to reflect benefits and overhead if you want the fully-loaded cost rather than base pay alone.

Can I use it live, during an actual meeting?

Yes. Start the ticker at the beginning of the meeting and it counts up in real time based on the attendees and their rates you've entered.

What's a practical use for this beyond curiosity?

Some teams display the running total during recurring meetings specifically to keep discussions focused. Seeing the number climb is a surprisingly effective nudge against a meeting drifting off-topic.