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Salary Comparison Tool

Business SpecialtyCareer and Interview Tools
The two offers
Hours worked

Used for hourly offers and the hourly equivalents.

52 if paid holidays are included.

Cost of living

Any index where the same basket costs proportionally more; keep 100 for both if the jobs are in one city.

Offer B minus offer A, per year —
Higher-paying offer
—
Difference versus offer A
—
Offer A per year
—
Offer B per year (nominal)
—
Offer B in offer A's prices
—
Offer A per hour
—
Offer B per hour (adjusted)
—
Gap per month
—
Yearly pay of the two offers
The chart appears with your result

To compare two salaries, convert both to a yearly figure first. An hourly rate of $20 at 40 hours for 52 weeks is $41,600 a year, so a $45,000 salary is $3,400 (8.2%) higher. If the jobs are in different cities, divide by each city's cost-of-living index before comparing.

About this tool

Job offers rarely arrive in the same units. One recruiter quotes an hourly rate, another a biweekly paycheque, a third a monthly figure. This calculator turns each offer into a yearly amount, then shows the difference in dollars, as a percentage of offer A, per month and per hour worked. Two optional cost-of-living indexes let you restate offer B in offer A's prices, which matters when a move to a dearer city eats the raise. The bar chart puts both yearly figures side by side. The comparison is of gross pay only: it does not model tax, retirement matching, health cover, bonuses or equity, and those can outweigh a gap of a few percent.

How to use it

  1. Enter both offers

    Type each amount and pick its pay period from the menu inside the field: hour, week, two weeks, half-month, month or year.

  2. Set the schedule

    Paid hours per week and paid weeks per year turn hourly rates into yearly pay and give the hourly equivalents.

  3. Adjust for living costs

    Move the two index sliders if the jobs are in places with different prices; leave both at 100 for the same city.

  4. Read the gap

    The headline is offer B minus offer A per year; the stats and chart show each offer's yearly and hourly pay.

Examples

$20 an hour vs $45,000 a year

Offer A pay
20
Offer A period
per hour
Offer B pay
45000
Offer B period
per year
Paid hours per week
40
Paid weeks per year
52
Cost-of-living index, offer A
100
Cost-of-living index, offer B
100

Result Offer B minus offer A, per year: $3,400.00
Higher-paying offer: Offer B
Difference versus offer A: 8.2%
Offer A per year: $41,600.00
Offer B per year (nominal): $45,000.00
Offer B in offer A's prices: $45,000.00
Offer A per hour: $20.00
Offer B per hour (adjusted): $21.63
Gap per month: $283.33

  1. Offer A: 20 per hour → 41600 a year
  2. Offer B: 45000 per year → 45000 a year
  3. Difference = 45000 − 41600 = 3400 (8.2%)

At 40 hours for 52 weeks the hourly job pays $41,600, so the salaried offer is ahead by $3,400 a year.

$4,000 a month vs $1,900 every two weeks

Offer A pay
4000
Offer A period
per month
Offer B pay
1900
Offer B period
every 2 weeks
Paid hours per week
40
Paid weeks per year
52
Cost-of-living index, offer A
100
Cost-of-living index, offer B
100

Result Offer B minus offer A, per year: $1,400.00
Higher-paying offer: Offer B
Difference versus offer A: 2.9%
Offer A per year: $48,000.00
Offer B per year (nominal): $49,400.00
Offer B in offer A's prices: $49,400.00
Offer A per hour: $23.08
Offer B per hour (adjusted): $23.75
Gap per month: $116.67

  1. Offer A: 4000 per month → 48000 a year
  2. Offer B: 1900 per two weeks → 49400 a year
  3. Difference = 49400 − 48000 = 1400 (2.9%)

Twenty-six biweekly cheques make $49,400 against $48,000 from twelve monthly ones, a gap under 3%.

$60,000 vs $75,000 where living costs 30% more

Offer A pay
60000
Offer A period
per year
Offer B pay
75000
Offer B period
per year
Paid hours per week
40
Paid weeks per year
52
Cost-of-living index, offer A
100
Cost-of-living index, offer B
130

Result Offer B minus offer A, per year: -$2,307.69
Higher-paying offer: Offer A
Difference versus offer A: -3.8%
Offer A per year: $60,000.00
Offer B per year (nominal): $75,000.00
Offer B in offer A's prices: $57,692.31
Offer A per hour: $28.85
Offer B per hour (adjusted): $27.74
Gap per month: -$192.31

  1. Offer A: 60000 per year → 60000 a year
  2. Offer B: 75000 per year → 75000 a year
  3. B in A's prices = 75000 × 100 ÷ 130 = 57692.31
  4. Difference = 57692.31 − 60000 = -2307.69 (-3.8%)

75,000 × 100 ÷ 130 is $57,692 in offer A's prices, so the bigger nominal salary buys less.

How it is calculated

Annual = pay × periods per year (hourly: rate × hours × weeks); B adjusted = B × index A ÷ index B; gap = B adjusted − A

periods per year
52 weekly, 26 biweekly, 24 semimonthly, 12 monthly, 1 yearly
hours × weeks
paid hours in a year, 2,080 for a standard full-time year
index A, index B
cost-of-living index for each location on the same scale

Each offer is annualised by multiplying by its number of pay periods in a year. Biweekly pay has 26 periods and semimonthly 24, which is why $2,000 biweekly is $52,000 but $2,000 twice a month is $48,000. Offer B is then expressed in offer A's prices by scaling with the ratio of the two indexes, and the gap is shown in dollars and as a share of offer A.

When not to use it

  • Comparing take-home pay after tax, which depends on jurisdiction and filing status.
  • Offers where bonus, commission or equity make up a large share of pay.
  • Contract roles with unpaid gaps between engagements unless you lower the weeks per year.

Common mistakes

  • Treating biweekly pay as twice monthly; 26 cheques a year is 2 more than 24.
  • Leaving 52 paid weeks for an hourly job with unpaid holidays.
  • Mixing cost-of-living indexes from different publishers, whose scales do not match.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours are in a full-time work year?

The common US convention is 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours, which is the default here. Some employers use 2,087 to average leap years, and part-time roles or unpaid leave mean fewer; change the hours and weeks fields to match the actual contract.

Why is biweekly pay worth more than twice-monthly pay of the same amount?

Biweekly pay arrives every 14 days, giving 26 paycheques a year. Semimonthly pay arrives on two fixed dates each month, giving 24. With $2,000 per cheque, that is $52,000 against $48,000.

What cost-of-living index should I enter?

Any index where both cities are measured on the same scale, such as a published city price index or regional price parities. Enter the figure for each location; only their ratio matters, so 100 and 130 give the same result as 50 and 65.

Does the result include taxes?

No. Both offers are compared as gross pay. Income tax, payroll deductions and benefit premiums differ by place and plan, so a higher gross salary in a high-tax state can take home less.

What does the percentage difference measure?

It is the yearly gap divided by offer A's yearly pay. A result of 8.2% means offer B, after any cost-of-living adjustment, pays 8.2% more than offer A; a negative figure means it pays less.

How should I compare a salaried job with paid overtime against one without?

Estimate the overtime as extra yearly pay and add it to that offer's amount, or raise its hours per week if the offer is hourly. Keep in mind the hourly equivalent then reflects the longer week.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 17). Salary Comparison Tool. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 26, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/business-specialty/career-and-interview-tools/salary-comparison-tool/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Salary Comparison Tool.” Tools Directory, 17 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/business-specialty/career-and-interview-tools/salary-comparison-tool/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Salary Comparison Tool.” Tools Directory. Last modified October 17, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/business-specialty/career-and-interview-tools/salary-comparison-tool/.

Link<a href="https://tools.milunir.com/business-specialty/career-and-interview-tools/salary-comparison-tool/">Salary Comparison Tool – Tools Directory</a>