Meeting Cost Calculator.
See the real dollar cost of any meeting — per session, per minute, per week, and per year. Enter attendee count, average hourly rate, and duration for an instant breakdown.
Hours
Minutes
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Annualized View
Enter how many times per week this meeting recurs. The calculator projects weekly and annual cost — making the total financial impact of a recurring meeting visible. A $300 weekly meeting costs $15,000 per year.
Person-Hours Metric
Person-hours shows the total productive time consumed: 8 people × 1 hour = 8 person-hours. That is an entire workday of combined output converted into a single meeting. Teams often find this metric more visceral than the dollar figure.
Meeting Cost Calculation Methodology.
The Calculation Branch
Industrial Standards.
The cost is computed as a direct payroll cost: number of attendees multiplied by the average hourly rate multiplied by the duration in decimal hours. The cost per minute divides the total by total meeting minutes. Annual projections use 50 working weeks (accounting for 2 weeks of holidays/vacation). The person-hours metric multiplies attendee count by duration to show aggregate time consumed.
In-Depth Analysis & Reference Data
The average hourly salary input should reflect the blended rate of attendees. For a team with a mix of junior ($40/hr) and senior ($100/hr) staff, a reasonable blended estimate might be $65–$75/hr. For executive meetings, the effective rate can easily exceed $200/hr per person. Note: this calculator shows only base salary cost. To estimate total cost including benefits and overhead, multiply the result by 1.25–1.5 (typical fully-loaded cost multiplier).
Registry Questions & FAQ.
Should I show this calculator to my team?
Yes — with context. Framing it as a blame tool backfires. Framing it as a resource allocation insight works. Amazon, Shopify, and other companies publish internal meeting cost data to help teams self-regulate. The goal is not to eliminate meetings but to ensure the cost is justified by the output.
Does this include the cost of preparing for the meeting?
No. This calculator only measures the direct time cost of the meeting itself. Research suggests prep time adds another 30–60% on top of the meeting duration for most participants. A 1-hour meeting with 30 minutes of preparation effectively costs 1.5× what this calculator shows.
Estimates for planning. Always confirm against an authoritative source.