Job Offer Comparison Calculator
The highest salary isn't always the best offer, and 'best overall' isn't just whichever number looks biggest — it's whichever offer actually fits the numbers and priorities you put in. This tool separates what's guaranteed from what's probable, spreads one-time bonuses over the time you'd actually be there, and keeps commute cost (dollars) and commute time (hours) as two different things instead of quietly merging them into one.
What are you trying to decide?
Methodology
Salary vs. total compensation
Base salary is just the start. This tool builds an 'effective economic value' figure that adds guaranteed cash, a probability-weighted bonus (not the full target — see below), equity, and employer retirement/HSA contributions, then subtracts your share of health premiums and any commute cash cost. That single number is what should actually be compared, not the base salary line.
Why bonuses aren't counted at face value
A target bonus is not guaranteed pay. If you tell us it's 70% likely you'll hit it, we count 70% of it toward expected compensation — not the full amount, and not zero. If your offer includes a guaranteed bonus instead, mark it as such and it's counted in full.
Signing bonuses aren't permanent salary
A one-time signing bonus gets spread across your stated comparison horizon (how many years you expect to be in the role) rather than added as if it repeats every year. A $20,000 signing bonus looks very different compared over 1 year versus 5.
Commute: cost and time are tracked separately
Commute cash cost (mileage plus parking/tolls) is counted in your effective economic value. Commute TIME is never converted to a dollar figure — instead it feeds into a separate Work-Life Fit score alongside your expected weekly hours. This avoids penalizing a long commute twice.
Why there's no separate 'benefits' score
Retirement match and employer HSA contributions are dollar amounts, so they're priced directly into effective economic value — putting them in a second 'benefits' score as well would count them twice. Paid time off is treated differently: a PTO day isn't extra income, so it gets its own narrow score instead of being folded into the dollar figure.
What this calculator does not do
It does not fetch real company risk data, does not predict future equity value, and does not model tax brackets or relocation costs. Career growth and job stability are based entirely on your own rating of each offer — not external data — because we have no reliable way to know that about a specific employer, and pretending otherwise would be worse than asking you directly.
How Miser Score works here
Miser Score weights six things: effective economic value (the largest factor by default), career growth, job stability/risk, work-life fit (hours plus commute time), flexibility (remote/hybrid, schedule control, travel), and paid time off. Financial value is compared against a fixed realistic salary range, not just against the other offer — so a $1,000 difference and a $50,000 difference are treated as genuinely different in scale, never collapsed to the same score gap.
How Decision Confidence works here
Decision Confidence reflects how much of your comparison rests on guaranteed numbers (base salary, stated PTO) versus estimates (bonus achievement, equity value, your own growth/stability ratings). A close result built mostly on guaranteed pay shows higher confidence than an equally close result that depends heavily on optimistic bonus and equity assumptions.
Examples
Higher salary, longer commute
An offer paying $15,000 more but requiring a daily 45-minute commute five days a week can end up behind a fully remote offer once commute cash cost is subtracted and the time burden pulls down Work-Life Fit — especially if you rank flexibility highly.
Startup equity vs. established retirement match
A large equity grant carries real uncertainty (it's discounted accordingly in Decision Confidence), while a strong 401(k) match is a known, guaranteed dollar figure. Both get counted, but the calculator won't pretend the equity is as certain as the match.
Short-tenure signing bonus vs. long-tenure base
A big signing bonus looks great on a 1-year horizon and much less decisive on a 5-year one — set your comparison horizon honestly rather than whatever makes an offer look best.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the lower-salary offer win?
Usually because retirement match, PTO, remote flexibility, or a materially shorter commute added up to more than the salary gap once everything was priced in — or because you weighted those things highly in your priorities. The score breakdown shows exactly which factors drove it.
How should I estimate my bonus probability?
Use your honest best guess based on the company's recent track record of paying out target bonuses, if you know it. If you're unsure, 100% (fully guaranteed) is not a safe default — treat an unknown bonus conservatively.
What if I don't know how long I'll stay?
Use your best realistic estimate for the comparison horizon. It mainly affects how a signing bonus gets spread out — a longer horizon dilutes a one-time bonus's apparent annual value.
Does this tool know anything about the actual companies I'm comparing?
No. Career growth and stability are entirely your own input. We don't scrape company reviews or financial data, so treat those two fields as your honest assessment, not a verified fact.
Why does it say 'too close to call'?
Because the calculated difference is small relative to the uncertainty involved, and manufacturing a confident recommendation in that situation would be misleading rather than helpful.
This tool provides estimates for informational purposes and is not financial or career advice. Career growth and stability ratings are entirely your own input, not verified external data.