💰

Meeting Cost Calculator

Calculate the true cost of meetings

Number of Attendees

Meeting Duration (minutes)

Average Hourly Rate ($/hr)

Tip: Use salary ÷ 2000 for hourly rate

This Meeting Costs

$375

5.0 person-hours

Per Minute

$6.25

Per Attendee

$75

Opportunity Cost

$563

If This Meeting Happens Weekly...

Monthly

$1,500

Quarterly

$4,875

Annually

$19,500

Meeting ROI Check

?Will this meeting generate more than $375 in value?

?Could the decision be made async instead?

?Does everyone invited need to be there?

?Could this be a 45-minute meeting instead?

Meeting Efficiency Tips

✓Default to 25 or 50 minutes instead of 30/60

✓Require an agenda before the meeting

✓Only invite decision-makers

✓End with clear action items and owners

✓Cancel if no agenda or clear purpose

What is Meeting Cost Calculator?

A meeting cost calculator computes the financial cost of a meeting by multiplying the duration by the number of attendees and their hourly compensation (salary + benefits). It reveals the true cost of the time spent in meetings, including the opportunity cost of work not being done.

How to use this calculator

1Enter the duration of the meeting in minutes.
2Add each attendee's approximate hourly compensation: salary plus benefits, divided by 2,000 working hours per year.
3Review the total cost of the meeting in dollars.
4Compare the meeting cost against the expected value of the outcome: decision made, problem solved, relationship built.
5Use the recurring meeting calculator to see the annual cost of standing meetings and decide which ones to cut or shorten.

Why this matters for founders

The average employee spends 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings. For startups, where every hour counts and team sizes are small, unnecessary meetings are one of the most expensive and least-recognized drains on productivity and morale.

How to read the results

•A 1-hour meeting with 6 people at $75/hour effective cost is a $450 investment -- ask whether the meeting generates at least $450 in value.
•Recurring meetings compound: a weekly 1-hour meeting with 5 people at $75/hour costs nearly $20,000 per year.
•The cost of a meeting is not just salary -- context switching costs add 15-25 minutes of lost productivity before and after each meeting.
•Before scheduling any meeting, ask: could this be an email, a Slack message, or a Loom video instead?

Industry benchmarks

Studies show 15-50% of meeting time is wasted. Startups with fewer than 20 people should rarely need meetings longer than 30 minutes. The optimal meeting size for decision-making is 3-5 people. Amazon's 'two-pizza rule' suggests no meeting should have more people than two pizzas can feed.