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Enter two offers and see total compensation and monthly take-home side by side, with the 401(k) match, vesting, health premium share, HSA deposit, paid time off and commute included.
Enter each offer. The lab adds the match, the premium share and the HSA deposit to pay, then runs both through the Paycheck lab's tax estimate. The values shown are samples.
+$327
This week: find the vesting schedule in each offer letter.
Same for both offers. The match only pays on what you contribute.
Sets how much of the match has vested.
| Yearly unless noted | Offer A | Offer B | B minus A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary, bonus and stipend | $68,000 | $79,900 | +$11,900 |
| Employer 401(k) match, in full | $2,040 | $2,280 | +$240 |
| Match vested after 2 years | $0 (0%) | $456 (20%) | +$456 |
| Employer share of health premium | $5,040 | $5,280 | +$240 |
| Employer HSA deposit | $0 | $500 | +$500 |
| Total compensation, match in full | $75,080 | $87,960 | +$12,880 |
| Total compensation, vested match only | $73,040 | $86,136 | +$13,096 |
| Take-home a month | $4,291 | $4,468 | +$177 |
| Take-home a month after commute | $4,141 | $4,468 | +$327 |
| Paid time off, valued at base pay | 15 days, $3,923 | 20 days, $5,846 | |
| Compensation per hour worked | $37 | $45 | +$8 |
Educational estimate for 2026. Take-home comes from the Paycheck lab's estimate: twelve equal pay months, the standard deduction, illustrative flat state rates, and a health premium taken before income and payroll tax. Vesting uses the cliff and graded schedules the IRS lists; plans can vest faster. Bonus, stipend and commute are simplified. Equity, retirement account growth and benefits not listed are not counted. An offer letter and plan documents control. IRS on vesting · IRS 2026 tax tables
Offer A pays $68,000 in Texas with a 50% match up to 6%, a 3-year cliff, a $600 monthly premium with the employer paying 70%, 15 days of paid time off and a $150 commute. Offer B pays $76,000 plus a $3,000 bonus in California with a 100% match up to 3%, a 6-year graded schedule, a $550 premium with the employer paying 80%, a $500 HSA deposit, 20 days off, a $75 monthly stipend and no commute. With a 6% contribution and two years of service, A's match is $2,040 and none of it has vested, while B's is $2,280 and 20% of it ($456) has. Total compensation is $75,080 for A and $87,960 for B, a $12,880 gap. Take-home is about $4,291 a month for A and $4,468 for B, a $177 gap. After A's $150 commute, B is ahead by about $327 a month. The gap in take-home is much smaller than the gap in compensation because California takes more tax, and because the match, the premium share and the HSA deposit never reach the paycheck.
Finance Quest is educational. It is not financial advice, and no calculator here knows your full situation.
A higher salary can come with a smaller match, a premium you pay more of, a longer vesting wait, or a commute. The reverse is also true: a lower salary can carry a larger match and an HSA deposit. Adding the match to pay without checking whether it vests counts money you may not keep. Comparing take-home after the commute, and total compensation counting only the vested match, answers a narrower and more honest question than comparing the numbers on the offer letters.
For every dollar you contribute, the employer adds 50 cents, but only on contributions up to 6% of your salary. On a $68,000 salary, 6% is $4,080, so the most the employer adds is $2,040. Contributing 3% earns half that amount.
Under cliff vesting you own none of the employer's contributions until a set date, often year 3, and then all of them. Under graded vesting you own a growing share each year, such as 20% a year starting in year 2. Your own contributions are always yours.
The lab counts it as compensation because it is money the employer puts toward your costs. It does not appear in your paycheck. The 2026 HSA limit for self-only coverage is $4,400, and employer and employee deposits share that limit.
Compensation includes things that never reach your paycheck, such as the employer's share of the premium, the match and an HSA deposit. Take-home also falls with higher tax, and a larger 401(k) deferral lowers it further.