A product manager at a SaaS company runs a weekly standup with 6 engineers earning $120,000 each. The combined hourly cost is $346.15. A 30-minute standup costs $173.08. Over a year of weekly standups, that is $9,000 spent on status updates. The calculator shows this in real time as the meeting runs.
A startup founder pitches to 3 investors and brings 2 co-founders and a lawyer to the meeting. The lawyer bills $400/hour, the co-founders take $80,000 salaries. The 90-minute meeting costs $1,050 before anyone has said a word about the product.
An engineering team lead notices their 1-hour design review has 12 attendees, most of whom only need to hear the outcome. The calculator shows $576 for the hour. They split the meeting into a 15-minute decision review for all 12 and a 45-minute deep dive for 4 people, cutting the cost from $576 to $234.
A consultant bills a client for a 2-hour workshop with 5 participants at $200/hour each. The calculator confirms the meeting cost is $2,000, which matches the invoice line item for workshop facilitation.
Each attendee has an hourly rate. If you enter an annual salary, the calculator converts it to hourly by dividing by the total annual hours (hours per week times weeks per year). The default is 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year, giving 2,080 annual hours. A $100,000 salary becomes $48.08 per hour.
The combined hourly rate is the sum of all attendees' hourly rates. For 3 people earning $50, $60, and $70 per hour, the combined rate is $180 per hour. The cost per second is $180 divided by 3,600, or $0.05.
In timer mode, the calculator updates every 100 milliseconds, multiplying the cost per second by elapsed time. In manual mode, you enter hours and minutes directly. The total cost is cost per second times duration in seconds.
The cost per minute and cost per hour stats help you compare. A meeting costing $300 per hour is more expensive than a $200/hour conference room rental. If the meeting produces less value than its cost, it should be shorter, smaller, or replaced by an email.
Input
3 attendees: $120k, $95k, $80k annual. 1 hour meeting.
Output
Combined: $141.83/hr. Total cost: $141.83. Per minute: $2.36
Standard engineering team meeting
Input
5 attendees at $50/hr each. 30 minute meeting.
Output
Combined: $250/hr. Total cost: $125.00. Per minute: $4.17
Contractor team standup
Input
2 attendees: $200k CEO, $150k VP. 2 hour strategy session.
Output
Combined: $168.27/hr. Total cost: $336.54. Per minute: $2.80
Executive strategy meeting
Input
12 attendees at $100k average. 1 hour all-hands.
Output
Combined: $576.92/hr. Total cost: $576.92. Per minute: $9.62
Large group meeting with high opportunity cost
Pitfalls to avoid
How is meeting cost calculated?
Each attendee's hourly rate is summed to get a combined cost per hour. The timer multiplies this by elapsed hours to get the total cost. For annual salaries, the hourly rate is calculated as annual salary divided by 2,080 (40 hours per week times 52 weeks).
Should I use hourly rate or annual salary?
Use whichever you know. If you enter an annual salary, the calculator converts it to an hourly rate by dividing by 2,080. You can adjust the hours per week and weeks per year in the settings if your team works a different schedule.
Can I use this for a meeting that already happened?
Yes. Switch to manual mode and enter the duration in hours and minutes instead of using the live timer. The cost is calculated the same way.
Does this include the cost of the meeting room or software?
No. This calculator only includes personnel costs based on attendee rates. To include overhead, add an extra attendee with the hourly cost of the room or software license.
Why does the timer update every 100 milliseconds?
Updating 10 times per second makes the cost counter feel live without overwhelming the browser. The cost per second is typically a few cents, so 100ms updates show visible movement in the dollar amount.
Should I use loaded or unloaded salary?
For a more realistic cost, use loaded salary (salary plus benefits and overhead). A common multiplier is 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary. For example, a $100,000 salary has a loaded cost of about $125,000 to $140,000.
This calculator shows personnel costs based on the rates you enter. It does not include benefits, taxes, overhead, or the opportunity cost of what attendees could have been doing instead. For fully loaded costs, multiply salaries by 1.25 to 1.4 before entering them.