Job Offer Comparison Calculator

What the Job Offer Comparison Calculator does

Recruiters compare offers in CTC because it is a single, flattering number. It hides four things that decide how the year actually goes: how much of the package is conditional, how much tax the structure attracts, what the city costs to live in, and what you forfeit by leaving now.

This tool applies all four. It discounts variable pay by the share you realistically expect, strips out employer PF and the gratuity provision, applies FY 2026-27 tax, deducts rent and commuting, and treats a joining bonus as a year-one effect only — because that is exactly what it is.

How to use this tool

1. Label each offer so the comparison is readable, then enter the CTC exactly as quoted.
2. Enter the variable percentage for each. The offer letter usually states it as a performance bonus or a target incentive.
3. Pick the city for each offer and enter the rent you would actually pay. City defaults are rough starting values — replace them with real listing prices.
4. Add joining bonuses, and any bonus you would forfeit at your current employer by leaving now.
5. Set your variable-pay confidence. If your prospective employer has paid 60% of target for three years, do not assume 100%.
6. Read the disposable income row. That is the comparison that matters; everything above it is working.

Formula and method

Both offers are run through identical assumptions — 40% basic, PF on the statutory ceiling, and the same tax regime — so the comparison isolates the differences you entered rather than mixing in structural noise.

Worked example

What your result means

The monthly difference is the practical output. A gap under about ₹3,000 a month is noise: role, manager, learning and stability will matter far more over two years.

The year-one caveat matters. If one offer wins only because of a joining bonus, mentally re-run it without that row. A one-time payment should not decide a multi-year commitment.

Variable pay is where offers are won on paper and lost in practice. Ask what percentage of target was actually paid in each of the last two years, then set the confidence field to that.

Important considerations

• Rent is the single biggest swing factor and the one most often guessed. Look up three real listings in the neighbourhood you would live in before entering a number.
• Ask for the salary structure annexure, not just the CTC. Two offers with identical CTC can differ by thousands a month depending on basic percentage and PF treatment.
• Non-salary benefits — health cover for parents, an employee stock plan, a genuine work-from-home policy, a shorter commute — are real value this calculator cannot price. Note them separately.
• Notice period buyout at your current employer is a real cost of switching. Work it out with the notice period calculator and treat it like a forfeited bonus.
• A counter-offer from your current employer changes the comparison. Re-run it with the counter as Offer A before responding.

Limitations of this tool

• It assumes a standard salary structure (40% basic, PF on the statutory ceiling) for both offers, because most offer letters are not detailed enough to model precisely at the comparison stage.
• Equity, ESOPs and RSUs are not modelled. Their value depends on vesting, valuation and liquidity, and putting a single number on them would be misleading.
• City rent defaults are editable starting values, not survey data. City figures are editable starting values, not survey data. Replace them with real quotes for the locality and flat size you are actually considering — within one city, rent can differ by 2–3× between neighbourhoods.