Meeting Cost Calculator
Work out the cost of a meeting from attendees and salaries or hourly rates, with employer overhead, a live counter and the yearly cost of a recurring meeting.
The interactive tool loads here when JavaScript runs.
About this toolWhat is the Meeting Cost Calculator?
Add the people in the meeting, either as groups with an annual salary or as individuals with an hourly rate, set the length, and see the cost per meeting, per hour and per minute. If the meeting repeats, enter how often it runs and the calculator gives the yearly cost and the person-hours it consumes.
The overhead multiplier turns pay into what an employee really costs the company. Wages are only part of it: employers also pay for health cover, pensions or 401(k) matches, payroll taxes and paid leave. A multiplier of 1 shows pay only; 1.3 to 1.4 is a fair middle estimate for many salaried staff in the US.
The live counter runs while the meeting happens and ticks up in real money. It is driven by the clock rather than by counting ticks, so it stays right even when the tab sits in the background. Inputs stay on this page and nothing is uploaded.
- Groups with annual salary or hourly pay
- Employer overhead multiplier and adjustable paid hours
- Cost per meeting, hour and minute, plus person-hours
- Yearly cost for recurring meetings
- Live running counter driven by the clock
- Copyable summary in your currency
How to use the Meeting Cost Calculator
- Add a group for each role or pay level, with the number of people and their pay. Choose Year for salaries or Hour for contractors and hourly staff.
- Set the meeting length in minutes.
- Set the overhead multiplier: 1 for pay only, around 1.3 to 1.4 to include benefits and payroll taxes.
- For a recurring meeting, enter how many times a week it runs and for how many weeks a year.
- Read the cost per meeting and per year, or press Start meeting to run the live counter during the call.
Worked examples
Six salaried staff for an hour
Input
6 people at $100,000 a year, 60 minutes, overhead 1, 2,080 hours
Output
$288.46 per meeting
$100,000 / 2,080 = $48.08 per hour each, times 6 people = $288.46 for the hour.
Weekly half-hour with overhead
Input
4 at $104,000 plus 2 contractors at $75/h, 30 min, overhead 1.3, weekly, 48 weeks
Output
$227.50 per meeting, $10,920 a year
$104,000 is $50/h. (4 x 50 + 2 x 75) x 1.3 = $455 per hour; half an hour is $227.50; 48 meetings cost $10,920 and 144 person-hours.
The default example
Input
4 engineers at $140,000, 2 managers at $175,000, 60 min, overhead 1.3, weekly for 48 weeks
Output
About $569 per meeting and about $27,300 a year
Engineers cost $67.31/h and managers $84.13/h before overhead; the room costs $437.50 an hour in pay and $568.75 loaded.
Background and insight
The maths is simple: cost = sum over attendees of loaded hourly rate x hours. A salary becomes an hourly rate by dividing by paid hours a year, conventionally 2,080 (52 weeks x 40 hours). That figure includes paid holidays and vacation, which is the right basis for cost because the company pays for those hours too. If you want the cost per hour actually worked, lower it to about 1,800 to 1,900.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Employer Costs for Employee Compensation every quarter. In recent releases wages and salaries make up about 70% of total compensation for civilian workers and benefits about 30%, which means total cost is roughly 1.4 times wages. Private industry is a little lower and state and local government higher. Use your own finance team's loaded rate if you have one; it may also include office space and equipment.
Cost is not the only measure. Person-hours show the time taken out of everyone's week: a 60-minute meeting of eight people uses eight hours of work, the length of a full working day for one person. Recurring meetings are where the totals grow, because a weekly hour for six people is about 290 person-hours a year at 48 weeks.
Common use cases
Trimming recurring meetings
Show the yearly cost of a standing status meeting to argue for a shorter slot or an async update.
Planning workshops and offsites
Add the cost of everyone's time to the venue and travel budget.
Consulting and agency work
Price internal meetings on a client project so they are covered by the estimate.
Making time visible
Run the live counter on a shared screen to keep a meeting to its agenda.
Tips and limitations
- Use loaded cost, not salary, when you compare a meeting with buying a tool or hiring help. Salary alone understates the cost by about a third.
- The cost of a meeting is mostly people x time. Removing two attendees or ten minutes often saves more than any other change.
- Do not over-read precision. Pay bands and overheads are estimates; the value is in comparing options, not in the cents.
- Remember the hidden costs the calculator does not include: preparation, travel between rooms and the time it takes to get back into focused work afterwards.
- Treat salary data with care. Use averages for a role rather than named individuals' pay when you share the result.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an annual salary into an hourly cost?
Divide by paid hours a year, usually 2,080 (52 x 40). A $100,000 salary is $48.08 an hour. Multiply by an overhead factor such as 1.3 to include benefits and employer taxes.
What overhead multiplier should I use?
Use your finance team's loaded rate if you have one. Otherwise 1.3 to 1.4 is reasonable for US salaried staff: BLS data puts benefits at roughly 30% of total compensation, so total cost is about 1.4 times wages.
How much does a weekly one-hour team meeting cost per year?
Multiply the hourly room cost by 48 or so working weeks. Six people averaging $50 an hour loaded cost $300 per meeting and about $14,400 a year.
Does the live timer keep running in a background tab?
Yes. It measures elapsed time from the clock, so the total is right when you come back even if the browser slowed the tab down.
What are person-hours?
Attendees multiplied by meeting length. A one-hour meeting with eight people uses eight person-hours, a full working day of one person.
Is salary information stored or shared?
No. The numbers stay in the page in your browser. Nothing is saved or uploaded.
Is there an in-depth guide to the Meeting Cost Calculator?
Yes. “How Much Does a Meeting Cost? Salaries, Overhead and Time” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
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