Free workplace calculator
Meeting cost calculator and live timer
Add your own participant costs, estimate the planned total, or start the live timer. No salary guesses or account.
Plan or time it live
Meeting cost calculator
Pay data stays in this page
No salary assumptions
No account. No signup.
Meeting cost guide
How to calculate the cost of a meeting
Use participant groups when several people share one hourly cost. The calculator totals those costs, applies optional overhead, and uses either your planned duration or the live timer.
Add participant groups
Enter an optional label, number of people, and hourly cost per person for each group.
Choose the duration
Set the expected hours and minutes to calculate a planned meeting cost.
Add overhead if needed
Use zero for direct participant cost, or add your own percentage for benefits and other employment costs.
Time the meeting
Start, pause, and resume the live timer. Reset it before editing the inputs for a new calculation.
The calculation is transparent
Meeting cost = combined hourly participant cost × meeting hours × (1 + overhead percentage). The live timer uses the same formula with the actual elapsed time.
Common questions
Meeting cost calculator FAQ
How is meeting cost calculated?
Each group's number of people is multiplied by its hourly cost. The groups are added together, optional overhead is applied, and that hourly total is multiplied by the meeting duration.
What hourly cost should I enter?
Use the figure that fits your purpose, such as an hourly wage, billing rate, or fully loaded hourly cost. The calculator does not guess salaries or rates.
What does the overhead percentage include?
It includes only what you decide to represent. Some users may use it for benefits or employment overhead; leaving it blank applies no overhead.
Does the timer keep working in a background tab?
Yes. Elapsed time comes from the browser's clock rather than counted timer ticks, so returning to the page updates the time and cost.
Are participant costs saved or uploaded?
Participant data is never uploaded by this tool. It is saved in browser storage only if you turn on Remember on this device, or included in a backup only when you download one.