Your pay slip divides your pay by your paid hours. But work often takes more time than it pays for, and it can cost money too: commuting, unpaid overtime, getting ready, tools, travel or clothing. This calculator adds that time and subtracts those costs to estimate what an hour of your working life is actually worth.
How the calculation works
The calculator turns everything into yearly figures first, so different pay and cost periods can be combined.
Annual pay = pay × 12 (monthly), × 52 (weekly) or × 1 (yearly).
Annual paid hours = paid hours per pay period × the same factor: 12, 52 or 1.
Annual extra work time = (unpaid overtime per week + commuting time per workday × workdays per week + preparation time per week) × 52
Annual work costs = work-related costs × 12 (monthly), × 52 (weekly) or × 1 (yearly).
Then it calculates three hourly figures:
- Ordinary hourly wage = annual pay ÷ annual paid hours
- After extra time = annual pay ÷ (annual paid hours + annual extra work time)
- True hourly wage = (annual pay − annual work costs) ÷ (annual paid hours + annual extra work time)
It also shows the total work time, paid and unpaid, per week, per month and per year.
"Paid hours per pay period" means the hours your pay covers. If you choose a monthly pay period, enter your paid hours per month, for example 160. You can use gross or net pay, but use the same kind consistently and enter work costs on the same basis.
Worked examples
Example 1 – monthly salary with a commute. Pay 4,000 per month for 160 paid hours. 5 workdays per week, 2 hours unpaid overtime per week, 1 hour commuting per workday, 1 hour preparation per week. Work-related costs 150 per month.
Annual pay = 4,000 × 12 = 48,000. Paid hours = 160 × 12 = 1,920.
Extra time = (2 + 1 × 5 + 1) × 52 = 8 × 52 = 416 hours. Total work time = 2,336 hours a year, about 44.9 hours a week.
Work costs = 150 × 12 = 1,800.
Ordinary hourly wage = 48,000 ÷ 1,920 = 25.00. After extra time = 48,000 ÷ 2,336 ≈ 20.55. True hourly wage = 46,200 ÷ 2,336 ≈ 19.78.
Example 2 – weekly pay with a longer commute. Pay 900 per week for 37.5 paid hours. 5 workdays, no unpaid overtime, 1.5 hours commuting per workday, 0.5 hours preparation per week. Work costs 40 per week.
Annual pay = 900 × 52 = 46,800. Paid hours = 37.5 × 52 = 1,950.
Extra time = (0 + 1.5 × 5 + 0.5) × 52 = 8 × 52 = 416 hours. Total = 2,366 hours, 45.5 hours a week.
Work costs = 40 × 52 = 2,080.
Ordinary hourly wage = 46,800 ÷ 1,950 = 24.00. After extra time ≈ 19.78. True hourly wage = 44,720 ÷ 2,366 ≈ 18.90.
Example 3 – yearly salary, working from home. Pay 52,000 per year for 1,800 paid hours. 5 workdays, 3 hours unpaid overtime per week, no commute, no preparation. Work costs 600 per year.
Extra time = 3 × 52 = 156 hours. Total = 1,956 hours, about 37.6 hours a week.
Ordinary hourly wage = 52,000 ÷ 1,800 ≈ 28.89. After extra time = 52,000 ÷ 1,956 ≈ 26.58. True hourly wage = 51,400 ÷ 1,956 ≈ 26.28.
The first two examples add exactly the same 416 hours of extra time a year, but they arrive there differently: one through overtime and a short commute, the other almost entirely through a longer commute. The third shows that unpaid overtime counts, even when there is no commute at all.
Important limitations
The calculator does not work out tax, benefits, pension value, overtime entitlements or employment-law rules. Every week of the year is counted the same way, so holidays and leave are not modelled separately. It is a personal-finance estimate based on the inputs you choose, not tax, legal or payroll advice.
An observation
Commuting is the extra time that is easiest to stop noticing, because it is part of the daily routine rather than the job itself. Writing it down as working time can feel strange at first. The calculator does not say whether a long commute is worth it. Some people value the walk, the podcast or the quiet. It only shows what that time does to the hourly figure, so the trade-off can be weighed with open eyes.