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Show HN: A better way to compare job offers than just salary
I built a small tool to compare job offers more completely than just looking at base salary.
When I was evaluating roles, I kept running into tradeoffs that were hard to reason about. One offer might have a higher salary, another better benefits, fewer working hours, or lower commute cost. Comparing them side by side was surprisingly messy.
So this tool breaks compensation down into a few groups:
- pay (salary, bonus, equity)
- time (working hours, vacation, holidays, commute time)
- benefits paid by the employer (pension, insurance, allowances, etc)
- costs you carry yourself (commute, other job-related costs)
You can also add your own custom line items if something is missing.
https://stayorqu.it/true-compensation https://stayorqu.it/true-compensation
It's still a simplification, but I've found it more useful than comparing salary alone.
Curious how others approach this. Do you try to quantify everything, or keep it more intuitive?
- xuchenglan 6mo agoInteresting angle. I’m curious how people weigh non‑salary factors when comparing offers — seems like everyone has a different internal model.
- jelmervnuss 6mo agoDefinitely! I got inspired by many friends just comparing base salary only, and maybe adjusting for hours per week too. But they often leave out the commute hours or secondary benefits in their calculations
- vunderba 6mo agoNice job. I wrote an article back in 2024 around my own personal set of factors (knowledge, meaning, people, compensation) when weighing prospective jobs called the "Conjoined Triangles of Work" you might find interesting. For me compensation (which includes monetary, vacation, benefits, etc) is only one aspect of the equation. https://mordenstar.com/blog/job-satisfaction https://mordenstar.com/blog/job-satisfaction
- jelmervnuss 6mo agoNice insights, these factors definitely weigh in as well here. I might expand the calculator to include factors other than compensation as well.