What is this?
The Meeting Cost Calculator computes the true salary expense of a meeting by multiplying attendee count, hourly rates, and meeting duration — including optional preparation time — and projects annual costs for recurring meetings to make the time investment visible.How to use
Enter meeting duration, number of attendees, and salary details (average, tiers, or individual). Optionally add preparation time per person. Select meeting frequency to see single-meeting cost, annual cost, and the percentage of the team's total working hours this meeting consumes.Tips
- Every additional attendee multiplies meeting cost linearly but rarely multiplies output — limit invites to essential decision-makers only.
- Shorten default calendar blocks: set meetings to 25 or 50 minutes instead of 30 or 60 to build in transition time.
- A written agenda sent 24 hours before eliminates the 5–10 minute catch-up phase and keeps discussion on track.
- Audit all recurring meetings quarterly and cancel any where the original purpose no longer clearly applies.
- Async alternatives (Loom video updates, shared docs, Slack threads) deliver most recurring-meeting value at 10–20% of the time cost.
- Stand-up meetings capped at 15 minutes reduce cognitive overhead and force prioritization compared to seated discussions.
- Record key decisions and action items in a shared doc immediately after each meeting to prevent follow-up clarification meetings.
- Weekly all-hands with 30+ people at $75k average salary easily costs $50k–$100k per year — calculate and share this figure with leadership.
