Meeting Cost Calculator
Calculate the real cost of a meeting based on attendees, salaries, hourly rates, and meeting length.
Blended rate across all attendees
Cost Per Meeting
$440.00
8.0 person-hours — 8 people × 1.00h
Monthly Cost
$1,906.67
Annual Cost
$22,880.00
Annual Meetings
52
Annual Person-Hours
416h
These results are estimates for informational purposes only. Actual costs may vary.
What this calculator tells you
Every meeting has a cost in employee time. Enter the number of attendees, their average hourly rate or salary, and the meeting length to estimate the real dollar cost of the meeting.
Issues With calculators are deterministic tools, not AI guesses. Your result is calculated from the numbers you enter using the formula shown below, and the inputs stay in your browser.
How this calculator works
Enter the number of attendees, their blended average hourly rate (salary ÷ 2,080 work hours per year gives a reasonable estimate), and the meeting duration in minutes. Select how often the meeting recurs.
The calculator shows the cost per meeting in combined salary time, and extrapolates monthly, annual, and total person-hours. Use this when evaluating whether to schedule a meeting, cut its duration, reduce attendance, or replace it with an async update.
The formula
Meeting Hours = Duration in Minutes ÷ 60
Cost per Meeting = Attendees × Hourly Rate × Meeting Hours
Person-Hours per Meeting = Attendees × Meeting Hours
Annual Meetings: Once=1, Daily=260, Weekly=52, Monthly=12
Annual Cost = Cost per Meeting × Annual Meetings
Monthly Cost = Annual Cost ÷ 12
Annual Person-Hours = Person-Hours per Meeting × Annual Meetings
Example
A weekly 1-hour status meeting with 8 people at an average $55/hr:
- Cost per meeting: 8 × $55 × 1h = $440
- Person-hours: 8 hours consumed per meeting
- Annual meetings: 52
- Annual cost: $22,880
- Annual person-hours: 416 hours
Cutting this meeting from 60 minutes to 30 minutes saves ~$11,440/year in combined salary time.
Frequently asked questions
What hourly rate should I use? +
Divide annual salary by 2,080 (standard work hours per year) for a baseline. For a blended rate across different attendees, use the average. Some organizations use fully-loaded cost (salary + benefits + overhead), which is typically 1.25–1.5× base salary.
Are all meetings wasteful? +
No — meetings generate real value through alignment, decision-making, and relationship-building. The question is whether the value exceeds the cost. This calculator helps make that question concrete rather than abstract.
What's the best way to reduce meeting cost? +
In order of typical impact: cut duration (half-hour meetings instead of one-hour), reduce attendee count (only decision-makers attend), reduce frequency (weekly → biweekly), or replace with async communication. Each has a different effect on the calculated cost.
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