Total Compensation Analyzer

Most people compare offers on base salary. That's wrong, and it often flips the decision. Two offers that look $10,000 apart on base can be $40,000 apart on year-1 total comp, or $150,000 apart over 4 years.

Real example from a Senior Product Manager decision in Q4 2025. Offer A: $175,000 base + 15% target bonus + $200,000 RSUs/4 years + $20,000 sign-on. Offer B: $165,000 base + 20% target bonus + $320,000 RSUs/4 years + $30,000 sign-on + better health plan ($2,400/yr richer) + 6% 401(k) match ($9,900/yr) vs 3% match ($4,950/yr) at A.

Headline looks like A wins by $10k. Analyzer shows year-1 TC: A = $262,400, B = $308,200. B wins by $45,800 in year 1 alone and roughly $180,000 over 4 years. Without the analyzer, the candidate would have taken A and left real money on the table.

401(k) match. A 6% match on a $150,000 salary is $9,000/year. Dollar for dollar. Usually vests over 3-5 years but immediate vesting is common at candidate-friendly employers. Translate the match into pre-tax dollars and add it to base.

Employer health contribution. The full cost of a family health plan in 2026 is around $25,000/year. Employer typically pays 70-80% of that, so $7,500-9,000/yr comes off your paycheck comparison. If you're moving from a plan where you paid $4,800/yr in premiums to one where you pay $1,200/yr, that's $3,600/yr of free comp.

PTO value. Simple formula: (base / 260 working days) × days off per year. A $150k salary at 25 PTO days is worth about $14,400/yr in time. Unlimited PTO, use the effective-days number (~15), not the advertised number.

RSU vest rate. The headline "$200k RSUs" is not $200k/yr. It's $50k/yr if 4-year standard vest. Make sure you're modeling the vest rate, not the grant face value, unless you're also modeling the full 4-year total.

Sign-on. One-time, year 1 only. Don't model as recurring. If you leave within 12 months, most sign-ons are 100% clawback.

Private company offers often quote equity as a percentage of the company or as a number of shares without a clear current value. Both are incomplete.

Ask for four numbers: (1) total shares outstanding fully diluted, (2) last 409A valuation per share, (3) last preferred share price (from the latest round), (4) your strike price if options (not RSUs). With those four numbers you can model outcomes.

Example: 30,000 options at $2 strike, 409A at $4, last preferred at $12, 100M shares outstanding. That's 0.03% ownership. At the 409A, your options are worth $2/share × 30,000 = $60,000 of fair-value gain. At the last preferred price, $10/share × 30,000 = $300,000. At zero, obviously zero. Present all three. Do not headline on the $300,000.

Once you have the TC number, compare it to verified market data for your level and metro. If the TC is 10%+ below market, you have a negotiation opening. If it's at or above market, your negotiation leverage is more limited — you may want to push on non-cash dimensions (title, start date, remote flexibility, PTO).

A prepared candidate shows up with: "I've run the full TC calculation — at year 1, this comes to $X, which is below the 50th percentile for [level] at [peer companies] per [data source]. Specifically, I'd like to discuss base (target $Y) and sign-on (target $Z)." That's a substantive counter.

Pair the TC analyzer with the Salary Negotiation Checklist for the full counter-writing framework.

Year-1 TC includes the sign-on. Steady-state TC (year 2-4) is what you earn once the sign-on is gone. 4-year total is what you earn over the full equity vest window.

For short-tenure decisions (accepting a role you expect to stay at 1-2 years), year-1 TC is the relevant number. For long-tenure decisions, steady-state matters more. For negotiating against a competing offer with different structures, the 4-year total flattens the differences.

Report all three when comparing. Lead with the number that best represents your intent. If you're optimizing for a short-term move, lead with year-1. If you're making a career-stage bet, lead with 4-year.

This analyzer does not tax-adjust, because tax treatment varies by state and filing status. The pre-tax TC number is comparable across offers but not a direct substitute for take-home. Run the resulting base + bonus through the Take-Home Pay Calculator to see after-tax reality, and the RSU Calculator for vest-event tax.

The analyzer also assumes target bonus pays at 100%. Historically, target bonuses pay at 80-110% depending on company and cycle. If you're comparing a company with a history of paying 60% of target against one that pays 105%, adjust the bonus input before you compare.

Finally, the 4-year total assumes flat base — no raises. Real careers include raises, but modeling them requires assumptions about internal comp cycles that differ by employer. The flat-base number is the conservative comparison.

When you have two or three offers to compare: (1) run each through this analyzer to get year-1, steady-state, and 4-year totals. (2) Run each through the Take-Home Pay Calculator in the relevant state. (3) For equity-heavy offers, run 3 scenarios: pessimistic (equity flat or down), base (current price), optimistic (2x). (4) Put all numbers in one spreadsheet. (5) Apply any non-financial weights (location, team, growth) only at the very end, after you've seen the real financial picture.

Do not evaluate offers emotionally before you've seen the numbers. Do not evaluate them financially without considering the non-financial factors at the end. Both mistakes are common; the analyzer helps with the first.

This is not financial, tax, or legal advice. The analyzer uses simplified assumptions (flat bonus, straight-line vest, single-year benefits values). Actual outcomes depend on your specific offer terms, tax situation, employer-specific benefit designs, and equity market movement. For offers with equity at pre-IPO companies, complex vesting structures, or material tax considerations, consult a CPA or financial planner.