Meeting Cost Calculator — Calculate the True Cost of Meetings
Calculate exactly how much your meetings cost. Add attendees by role, set frequency, and see the true annual impact of your meeting habits. All calculations happen locally — nothing leaves your browser.
How to Use the Meeting Cost Calculator
- Add attendee roles — select roles with built-in salary estimates, or enter a flat hourly rate.
- Set meeting frequency — see the true annual cost of recurring meetings.
- Enter duration and prep time — be honest about how long it actually runs.
- Use the savings calculator — see how much you'd save by shortening the meeting.
- Export or share — copy a text summary or download a CSV for your team.
Why Meeting Cost Awareness Matters
Most companies have no idea what their meetings actually cost. A "quick" 30-minute standup with 8 engineers earning $150k/year costs over $400 — every single day. That's $100k/year just for that one meeting.
When you can point to a dollar amount, the conversation shifts from "we should have fewer meetings" to "this meeting costs $2,000/week — is it worth it?" That's the kind of data-driven decision-making that separates high-performing teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a mixed team, use $50-75/hour as a baseline. For engineering-heavy meetings, $75-120 is more realistic. The formula is: annual salary ÷ 2,080 (working hours per year). A $100k salary ≈ $48/hour; a $150k salary ≈ $72/hour.
Yes — if they're there, they're incurring cost. But this tool also makes a case for being selective: if you remove 3 "optional" attendees from a weekly meeting, you save thousands per quarter.
It's a rough estimate — real costs also include opportunity cost, meeting room overhead, and context-switching time. Studies suggest the true cost is 2-3x the salary-only estimate. Think of this as the floor, not the ceiling.
Three things: (1) Audit your recurring meetings — kill or shorten the expensive ones, (2) Reduce invite lists — only include people who actively contribute, (3) Share this data with leadership — nothing drives change like numbers.
Use Cases
True Meeting Cost
Calculate the actual dollar cost of team meetings including salaries and preparation time.
Justifying Meeting-Free Days
Use cost data to justify implementing meeting-free days and improve team productivity.
Meeting vs Email Efficiency
Compare the cost of meetings versus email communication to optimize collaboration methods.
Budgeting Client Consultations
Estimate the cost of client meetings and consultations for accurate project budgeting.
Tracking Meeting Overhead
Monitor and reduce meeting overhead costs across your organization over time.