Meeting Cost Calculator —Watch Your Meeting Burn Money in Real Time
Enter the number of attendees and their average salary, hit Start, and watch the cost tick up every second. Nothing shortens a meeting like watching it burn cash.
The most expensive hour of your week
Think about your last team sync. Eight people in a room (or on a video call), each earning a decent salary, talking for an hour about things that could have been an email. That meeting didn't just cost time —it cost real money. And nobody noticed, because the cost is invisible.
The Meeting Cost Calculator estimates salary-equivalent time cost from attendee count, average monthly salary and elapsed time. It is a planning estimate, not a measurement of invoices, productivity or whether a meeting was worthwhile.
How the math works
The calculation is straightforward:
- Hourly rate = monthly salary ÷ assumed monthly hours. This tool uses 174 for CNY, 173 for USD/EUR/GBP and 176 for INR; these are calculator assumptions, not universal labor standards.
- Cost per second = Attendees × Hourly rate ÷ 3600
- Total cost = Cost per second × Elapsed seconds
For example, 8 attendees each averaging ¥50,000/month with the 174-hour assumption give a combined hourly cost of about ¥2,298.85, or ¥38.31 per minute. At 52 one-hour meetings, the annual estimate is ¥119,540.23 using the unrounded rate.
Track meeting costs AND stay on schedule with our free countdown timer with audio alert.
Features
- Live display —
requestAnimationFramerefreshes the view when the browser schedules a frame. Refresh rate varies; cost is based on elapsed time rather than a guaranteed number of frames. - Multi-currency labels — CNY, USD, EUR, GBP and INR use the stated monthly-hours assumptions. Switching currency does not fetch exchange rates.
- Salary presets —One-click presets from Intern (¥3k) to C-Suite (¥200k).
- Share the shock —One click copies a ready-to-paste message with the current burn total.
- Local calculation — salary and attendee inputs are calculated in the browser, not sent to a calculation API. Ordinary site analytics and resource requests are separate.
Why this tool exists
Most online tools help you do something. This one helps you stop doing something. It's a productivity tool that works by making waste visible.
A visible time-cost estimate can start a discussion about attendance, agenda and meeting length. It cannot measure collaboration benefits or replace the judgment needed to decide which meetings matter.
Screen-share the counter during your next standup. Drop the share message in Slack. Watch how quickly people start asking "do we really need this meeting?"
Before burning meeting cash, use our webcam and microphone tester so everyone joins ready.
FAQ
How is the meeting cost calculated?
The estimate is average monthly salary divided by assumed monthly hours, multiplied by attendees and elapsed time. Assumptions are 174 hours for CNY, 173 for USD/EUR/GBP and 176 for INR. Browser scheduling controls display refresh; the estimate is not a fixed-frame counter.
Is the salary data sent to any server?
The calculator processes salary and attendee inputs locally, without uploading them to a calculation service. Page assets and ordinary website analytics can still make network requests.
What currencies are supported?
CNY (¥), USD ($), EUR (€), GBP (£) and INR (₹). The selected currency chooses a stated monthly-hours assumption, not a verified rule for every worker or an exchange-rate conversion.
Can I share the meeting cost?
Yes. Click the Share button to copy a ready-to-paste message with the current burn total and a link to the tool. You can paste it in Slack, Teams, WeChat, or any chat app.