Equity Package Comparison Calculator

Comparing offers when the equity is not equal risk

Two job offers rarely line up cleanly. One leads with cash, the other dangles a big equity number, and the equity at a private startup is worth nothing until a liquidity event that may never come. This calculator puts both offers on the same annualized footing. It takes base salary plus bonus, adds the grant value spread evenly across the vesting period, and for the second offer multiplies that equity by an expected-outcome multiple you set. A multiple of 1.0 means you trust the listed value, appropriate for public-company restricted stock units. A multiple of 0.5 says you believe there is roughly an even chance the equity reaches the figure on paper.

The tool is for anyone choosing between offers, especially a candidate deciding between an established employer paying mostly cash and a startup waving a large option grant. The point is not to tell you cash always wins. It is to make the apples-to-oranges comparison explicit so you decide with eyes open.

When the bigger grant loses

Offer A pays $180,000 base, a $20,000 bonus, and $200,000 of equity vesting over 4 years. Offer B pays $160,000 base, a $15,000 bonus, and $400,000 of equity, double the grant. At first glance B looks richer. But B is a startup, so you assign a 0.5 expected-outcome multiple. Offer A annualizes to $180,000 plus $20,000 plus $50,000 of equity per year, which is $250,000. Offer B annualizes to $160,000 plus $15,000 plus the risk-adjusted $200,000 spread over 4 years, which is $50,000, for $225,000. Offer A wins by $25,000 a year once you price the risk. Set the multiple back to 1.0 and B leaps ahead at $275,000, which is exactly the judgment call the tool surfaces.

What the annualized number leaves out

Treat the output as a starting frame, not a verdict, because a clean per-year figure hides several things that matter. Dilution is the big one: as a startup raises later rounds, your ownership percentage shrinks unless you have anti-dilution protection, which employees rarely do. A grant pitched at $400,000 today can be worth meaningfully less after a Series C. Vesting cliffs matter too, since most grants vest nothing in the first year, so leaving before month 13 means zero equity regardless of the annualized math. And the tool ignores taxes, which fall very differently on RSUs taxed as ordinary income at vesting versus incentive stock options that can trigger the alternative minimum tax.

Negotiate the part you can actually count

A practical tip from sitting on both sides of these conversations: negotiate the component you can verify. Base salary is real cash you can count on. Private-company equity is a lottery ticket with good odds at best, so weight it accordingly and never accept a pay cut in cash for equity you cannot value. If you do take the equity-heavy offer, ask for the most recent 409A valuation and the company's total share count so you can estimate your actual ownership percentage rather than trusting a dollar figure. Ask too whether options carry a post-termination exercise window of only 90 days, which can force a large tax bill the moment you leave, or a longer extended window that some companies now offer.

Equity offer questions, answered

What expected-outcome multiple should I use for a startup?

There is no precise answer, which is the honest answer. Public-company RSUs justify 1.0 because the shares are liquid and priced by the market. For an early-stage startup, many people use something between 0.1 and 0.5 to reflect that most startups do not reach the valuation implied by their last round. A late-stage company with revenue and a likely near-term exit might warrant 0.6 or higher. Run the calculator at a few multiples to see how sensitive the decision is.

Should I include the signing bonus in this comparison?

A one-time signing bonus does not belong in the annual bonus field, because spreading a single payment across every year of the comparison overstates ongoing comp. If you want to account for it, divide the signing bonus by the number of years you expect to stay and add that to the first year only, or simply treat it as a separate sweetener once the recurring comparison is settled.

Why should equity value be risk-adjusted when comparing offers?

Startup equity is worth exactly $0 if the company fails, and something resembling a lottery ticket at best if it succeeds. Public company RSUs, by contrast, are priced by liquid markets every day and are much closer to cash. Applying a 50% probability multiplier to a startup equity grant reflects a reasonable base-rate outcome for most private companies that do not reach their last-round valuation at exit. The right comparison is expected value against expected value, not face value against face value.

What offer components are commonly left out of comparisons that matter?

Several real-money items get ignored in headline TC comparisons. Signing bonuses often carry clawback clauses requiring repayment if you leave within 12 to 24 months. A 401k match may vest on a separate cliff schedule that differs from your equity cliff. Health insurance premium differences add up fast: a $2,000 annual premium gap is $167 per month in take-home pay. PTO policies affect how many paid working hours you actually keep, and remote work arrangements can shift commuting or relocation costs by thousands per year in either direction.

How do I evaluate refresh grants and the ongoing equity pipeline?

The initial grant you see in an offer letter is only part of the story. Top-tier tech companies issue refresh equity annually to retain employees, and those grants can rival or exceed the original offer over a multi-year tenure. Ask the recruiter about the typical refresh grant size at your level and the timing, and whether refresh equity vests on its own schedule or layers onto your existing vesting cliff. This ongoing run-rate is what makes total compensation compound over a career at a public tech company, and it is rarely visible in the headline offer number.