What inputs does the Meeting Cost Calculator need?

It takes 5 inputs: attendees, avg_hourly_rate, duration_minutes, meetings_per_week (default 1), frequency. Outputs returned: costPerMeeting, costPerMinute, weeklyCost, monthlyCost, yearlyCost.

Can I verify the Meeting Cost Calculator with a worked example?

Yes. With attendees = 8, avg_hourly_rate = $100, duration_minutes = 60, meetings_per_week = 2. the tool returns costPerMeeting = $800, costPerMinute = $13.33, weeklyCost = $1,600, monthlyCost = $6,928, yearlyCost = $83,200.

Where does the Meeting Cost Calculator get its benchmark data?

Reference data is sourced from: US BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) (as of 2024).

What can the Meeting Cost Calculator not tell me?

Known limitations: Salary alone understates true meeting cost; context-switch and opportunity-cost estimates vary widely in the academic literature and are not bundled. Does not discount for meetings that genuinely create value — the tool reports cost, not net value.

Methodology: Meeting Cost Calculator

1. Scope

Computes the direct salary cost of a meeting from attendee count, loaded hourly rate, duration, and frequency. It does not quantify opportunity cost, context-switch cost, or decision quality.

2. Inputs and outputs

Inputs

attendees number
avg_hourly_rate number (currency)

Fully loaded per-attendee hourly rate.
duration_minutes number
meetings_per_week number default: 1
frequency enum

UI cadence selector; the yearly figure always annualises the weekly cost over 52 weeks.

Outputs

costPerMeeting

attendees × avg_hourly_rate × duration_minutes / 60.
costPerMinute

costPerMeeting / duration_minutes.
weeklyCost

costPerMeeting × meetings_per_week.
monthlyCost

weeklyCost × 4.33.
yearlyCost

weeklyCost × 52.

Engine source: src/lib/meeting-cost-calculator/engine.ts

3. Formula / scoring logic

cost_per_meeting = attendees * avg_hourly_rate * duration_minutes / 60
weekly_cost      = cost_per_meeting * meetings_per_week
monthly_cost     = weekly_cost * 4.33
yearly_cost      = weekly_cost * 52

4. Assumptions

Hourly rate is fully loaded (salary + benefits + overhead ÷ working hours).
Annualisation uses a fixed 52 weeks (and 4.33 weeks/month) — there is no configurable weeks-per-year input.
Prep and follow-up time are out of scope — add them manually if material.

5. Data sources

US BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) as of 2024

6. Known limitations

Salary alone understates true meeting cost; context-switch and opportunity-cost estimates vary widely in the academic literature and are not bundled.
Does not discount for meetings that genuinely create value — the tool reports cost, not net value.

7. Reproducibility

Input
attendees = 8, avg_hourly_rate = $100, duration_minutes = 60, meetings_per_week = 2.

Expected output
costPerMeeting = $800, costPerMinute = $13.33, weeklyCost = $1,600, monthlyCost = $6,928, yearlyCost = $83,200.

8. Change log

2026-04-24 methodology page first published.

Worked example

Run live against the same engine this site ships (/engines/meeting-cost-calculator.js). The inputs and outputs below are recomputed on every build and independently re-verified in CI — they are never hand-authored.

Input

tool: meeting_cost_calculator
frequency: weekly
meetings_per_week: 0
attendees: 6
avg_hourly_rate: 75
duration_minutes: 60

Output

costPerMeeting: 450
costPerMinute: 7.5
weeklyCost: 450
monthlyCost: 1948.5
yearlyCost: 23400

Frequently asked questions

What does the Meeting Cost Calculator calculate?: Computes the direct salary cost of a meeting from attendee count, loaded hourly rate, duration, and frequency. It does not quantify opportunity cost, context-switch cost, or decision quality.
What inputs does the Meeting Cost Calculator need?: It takes 5 inputs: attendees, avg_hourly_rate, duration_minutes, meetings_per_week (default 1), frequency. Outputs returned: costPerMeeting, costPerMinute, weeklyCost, monthlyCost, yearlyCost.
What formula does the Meeting Cost Calculator use?: The exact computation is: cost_per_meeting = attendees * avg_hourly_rate * duration_minutes / 60; weekly_cost = cost_per_meeting * meetings_per_week; monthly_cost = weekly_cost * 4.33; yearly_cost = weekly_cost * 52
Can I verify the Meeting Cost Calculator with a worked example?: Yes. With attendees = 8, avg_hourly_rate = $100, duration_minutes = 60, meetings_per_week = 2. the tool returns costPerMeeting = $800, costPerMinute = $13.33, weeklyCost = $1,600, monthlyCost = $6,928, yearlyCost = $83,200.
Where does the Meeting Cost Calculator get its benchmark data?: Reference data is sourced from: US BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) (as of 2024).
What can the Meeting Cost Calculator not tell me?: Known limitations: Salary alone understates true meeting cost; context-switch and opportunity-cost estimates vary widely in the academic literature and are not bundled. Does not discount for meetings that genuinely create value — the tool reports cost, not net value.