What this measures
Every person sitting in a meeting is being paid for that time instead of doing something else. This calculator turns attendees and salaries into an hourly rate, multiplies it by how long the meeting runs, and shows you the real number behind something that usually feels free.
The formula
Each attendee's annual salary is divided by 2,080 hours (a standard 40 hour week across 52 weeks) to get an hourly rate. If you turn on loaded-cost overhead, that percentage is added on top to account for benefits, taxes and facilities, since a salary alone understates what someone actually costs an employer.
A quick example
Six people earning $80,000 a year work out to about $38.46 an hour each, or roughly $231 an hour combined. A 30 minute meeting at that rate costs about $115. Held every week, that's close to $6,000 a year for a single recurring meeting.
Frequently asked questions
Why divide salary by 2,080 hours?
It's the standard assumption of a 40 hour work week across 52 weeks, which is the most common way to turn an annual salary into an hourly figure. It doesn't subtract holidays or time off, so treat the result as a reasonable planning estimate rather than an exact payroll number.
Should I include the loaded-cost overhead?
It's optional, but including it gives a more honest number. Salary alone leaves out payroll taxes, benefits and the office or software costs behind each seat, which is exactly what our Employee Cost Calculator breaks down in more detail if you want the full picture for one role.
What does the live ticker actually measure?
Once you hit start, it counts real elapsed time at your combined hourly rate. It runs independently of the duration field above, so if the meeting overruns, the ticker keeps counting honestly instead of stopping at your original estimate.
Why does the annual cost disappear when I pick "just this once"?
A one-off meeting doesn't really have an annual cost, only a one-time one, so we only show a yearly projection once you tell us the meeting actually repeats.
Is this exact?
No, and it isn't trying to be. It leaves out prep time, follow-up work and the harder-to-measure cost of interrupting someone's focus. Treat it as a conservative estimate that's still useful for deciding whether a meeting is worth its cost.