Meeting Cost Calculator
Calculate the real salary cost of any meeting. Enter attendees, average salary, and duration to see the true dollar cost of your next meeting.
Studies estimate that $37 billion is wasted annually in unnecessary meetings in the US alone. The average manager spends 35–50% of their time in meetings. Most attendees admit to multitasking during them. The meeting is broken — and this calculator shows you exactly how much it costs.
The Salary Math
When you put 10 people in a room for an hour, you're not spending one person-hour. You're spending 10 person-hours. At an average salary of $75,000/year ($36/hr), a 10-person, 1-hour meeting costs $360. A daily 30-minute standup with 8 people costs $87,000 per year. These numbers are real, but almost no one calculates them.
The Meeting Epidemic
- 62 meetings/month: The average office worker's monthly meeting count
- Half are unnecessary: Most professionals say at least 50% of meetings they attend could be emails or async updates
- Recovery cost: It takes 23 minutes to fully regain focus after a meeting interruption
- The cascade effect: One poorly-timed meeting can destroy a 4-hour deep work session for every attendee
Running Meetings That Earn Their Cost
Before scheduling, ask: "Is the value of this meeting worth its salary cost?" A decision that saves $50,000 justifies a $2,000 executive meeting. A status update that could be a Slack message does not justify $500 in salary time. Every meeting should earn its cost — or it shouldn't exist.