Counteroffer Calculator
A counteroffer changes two numbers at once: what you would be paid, and what it costs the employer to say yes. This calculator takes your current offer and your proposed ask on base salary, signing bonus and equity, then shows the exact first-year and four-year dollar difference between them, plus which lever moves the employer's cost the most. It states no odds of acceptance and promises no outcome.
Key takeaways
- A base-salary ask compounds: held flat with no raises, each $1,000 you ask for costs the employer roughly $4,000 over four years.
- A signing bonus or an equity grant is treated as a one-time cost, even though equity vests over time — the same-size ask costs the employer about a quarter as much as the same-size base increase.
- This page shows arithmetic only. It does not estimate whether an employer will agree to any specific ask.
- Every formula and assumption used in the result is printed below it, so nothing here is a hidden calculation.
Your inputs
Your result
This is arithmetic, not a prediction
| Lever | Current offer | Your ask | Delta | 4-year employer cost of this ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $120,000 | $130,000 | $10,000 | $40,000 |
| Signing bonus | $10,000 | $15,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Equity (4-year total) | $80,000 | $100,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
First-year total delta: $20,000$10,000 base + $5,000 signing bonus + $5,000 equity ($20,000 ÷ 4 yrs) = $20,000
Four-year total delta: $65,000($10,000 base × 4 yrs) + $5,000 signing bonus + $20,000 equity = $65,000
Base salary moves the employer's four-year cost the most for this ask: $40,000 over four years.
Deciding whether — and how — to send this ask is a separate question from the arithmetic above. See this exact ask set against your full offer before your deadline.
How this result is calculated
Formulas
- Base salary delta (annual)
Proposed base − current base- Signing bonus delta (one-time)
Proposed signing bonus − current signing bonus- Equity delta (4-year total)
Proposed 4-year equity total − current 4-year equity total- First-year total delta
Base delta + signing bonus delta + (equity delta ÷ 4)- Four-year total delta
(Base delta × 4) + signing bonus delta + equity delta- Employer 4-year cost of the base ask
Base delta × 4 — it recurs every year- Employer 4-year cost of the signing-bonus ask
Signing bonus delta × 1 — paid once- Employer 4-year cost of the equity ask
Equity delta × 1 — a fixed grant pool
Assumptions
- Base salary across all 4 years:Held flat — no raises assumed
- Signing bonus timing:Paid once, in year one
- Equity vesting:Assumed even — 25% per year
- Taxes and withholding:Not included
- Probability the employer accepts this ask:Not estimated — this tool states none
This tool computes entirely in your browser. Your figures are never sent to our servers, and nothing about this result is saved to storage or a cookie.
Get this Counteroffer Calculator result emailed to you
We only send the result and, occasionally, OfferMettle updates. See how we handle your data.
This calculator holds base salary flat across all four years and treats a signing bonus as a one-time payment before withholding. A real signing bonus is typically taxed as a supplemental wage at a flat 22% federal rate, so the deposited amount is smaller than the number you enter. IRS Publication 15 (2026), Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide — supplemental wages
When this answer changes
- Your equity is not scheduled to vest evenly — a real vesting schedule (Standard/Amazon/Google or a custom one) changes the four-year equity-ask cost; run the full grant through the job offer comparison tool once you know it.
- The role has a fixed leveling band with no room on base — a base-salary ask may not be the lever with room to move at all, even though this calculator will still show what it would cost.
- You are also asking for a later start date, a signing bonus paid over more than one paycheck, or a relocation allowance — this calculator treats each lever as independent and does not combine multiple simultaneous asks.
- A raise or refresh grant is on the table for a future year — this calculator holds base flat across all four years by design and does not model a scheduled increase.
See how the formulas and assumptions above are sourced and dated , and use the corrections page to flag anything on this calculator that's wrong .
Frequently asked questions
- Does this calculator tell me whether my counteroffer will be accepted?
- No. It shows the dollar and employer-cost arithmetic of a specific ask. Whether an employer agrees depends on budget, role and internal equity — factors this calculator does not see and does not estimate.
- Why does asking for more base salary cost the employer more than the same amount in a signing bonus or equity?
- Base salary recurs every year with no assumed end date, so this calculator multiplies a base-salary ask by four years. A signing bonus and an equity grant are each treated as a one-time cost, even when the equity vests over time.
- How is the four-year equity figure calculated?
- The four-year equity total you enter is assumed to vest evenly, 25% a year, unless you know your real schedule differs. Enter the four-year grant value you were told, not a single year of vesting.
- What happens to the numbers I enter here?
- Nothing. The calculation runs in your browser only — no figure you enter is sent to our servers or saved to your browser's storage.