About Employee Cost Calc

The free tool for finding the true, fully-loaded cost of an employee.

Why this tool exists

Employee Cost Calc was created by Thomas Pointer, a CNC machinist. Working in the trade, one question kept coming up that simple payroll math never answers honestly: what does an employee actually cost? The hourly wage is only the beginning. By the time you add the employer's share of payroll taxes, workers' compensation, benefits, paid time off, tools, and overhead, the real number is far higher than the wage on the offer letter — and getting it wrong leads to underpriced quotes and thin margins.

Most existing calculators only scratch the surface or hide the details. This one was built to be genuinely useful to the people who need it: employers, shop and small-business owners, freelancers comparing W-2 vs. 1099 work, and anyone who needs to turn a wage into a true, fully-loaded cost — and then into a billable rate.

What the calculator does

You enter a wage or salary, a state, and a profession, and the tool estimates:

The fully-loaded annual, monthly, and true hourly cost of the employee.
The burden multiplier (how much more than base pay the employee really costs).
A line-item cost breakdown across payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits, retirement, PTO, overhead, and one-time costs.
A recommended billable rate to charge clients to hit your target profit margin.
Team totals and a W-2 vs. 1099 comparison.

How the numbers are calculated

The calculator runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to or stored on our servers. Federal figures (Social Security and Medicare rates, the FUTA rate and wage base, the Social Security wage cap) use current published values. Per-state unemployment (SUTA) and workers' compensation figures are pre-filled with realistic editable estimates, because those rates are experience-rated, vary by employer and class code, and change each year. Every default can be overridden with your own real numbers from your accountant, carrier, or state agency to make the estimate as accurate as possible.

Important: Employee Cost Calc provides planning estimates only. It is not tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice. Rates vary by employer, state, and year — always confirm figures with a qualified professional before making decisions. See our Terms of Use for details.

Our commitment

The calculator is, and will remain, free to use with no sign-up required. The site is supported by advertising. We respect your privacy — read how we handle data in our Privacy Policy.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or feature ideas are always welcome. Visit our Contact page or email tpmachinist38@gmail.com.