Meeting Cost Calculator (salaries, attendees & time)

Understanding the meeting cost calculator — concept and principle

This calculator estimates what a meeting costs in paid time: attendees, meeting length and preparation, multiplied by a loaded hourly cost that includes benefits, payroll taxes and overhead. It also gives the cost per minute, the person-hours used and the yearly cost and hours for a recurring meeting. Managers and team leads use it to decide which meetings are worth their time.

What one meeting really costs — with the default inputs: $283.42.

How it is calculated

Hourly pay = annual salary ÷ paid hours per year
Loaded hourly cost = hourly pay × (1 + load %)
Person-hours = attendees × (meeting minutes + preparation minutes) ÷ 60
Cost of one meeting = person-hours × loaded hourly cost
Cost per minute = meeting cost ÷ meeting minutes
Yearly cost = meeting cost × meetings per week × 52

The default of 2,087 paid hours is the divisor US federal payroll uses: the average number of working hours in a calendar year of 40-hour weeks, slightly more than 52 × 40 = 2,080.

The principle

A meeting uses the time of everyone in the room at the same moment, so its cost scales with the number of attendees, not just its length. Salary alone understates that time: employers also pay benefits and payroll taxes and carry overhead such as office space, which is what the load percentage adds. Preparation time counts too. Focus time lost before and after a meeting is real but not counted here.

Worked example

Defaults: 6 attendees, average salary 65,000, 2,087 hours, 30% load, 60-minute meeting, 10 minutes preparation, once a week.

Loaded hourly cost = 65,000 ÷ 2,087 × 1.30 = $40.49.
Person-hours = 6 × 70 ÷ 60 = 7.
Cost of one meeting = 7 × 40.49 = $283.42; per minute = $4.72.
Yearly cost = 283.42 × 52 = $14,738; person-hours per year = 364.

Each point is the calculator re-run with only “Paid hours per year” changed; the gold point is the default example. Change the inputs above and this chart follows your numbers.

Paid hours per year	Cost of one meeting
522	$1,133.68
1,044	$566.84
1,565	$377.89
2,087	$283.42
2,609	$226.74
3,130	$188.95
4,174	$141.71

How to read the result

Ask whether the meeting produces more value than its cost. A weekly one-hour meeting of six people uses 364 person-hours a year, about a fifth of one person's working year. Cutting it to 30 minutes or inviting only the people who need to decide something can save a lot. The per-minute figure is a useful reminder when meetings start late or run over.

Common mistakes

Counting only the meeting length and ignoring preparation.
Using salary without benefits and overhead.
Forgetting that a recurring meeting adds up over a year.
Assuming time saved is automatically money saved; it only pays off if used well.

Keep in mind: The cost is an estimate of time value, not a cash outflow. Some meetings are worth far more than they cost.

Frequently asked questions

Why 2,087 hours and not 2,080?

Over a long cycle of calendar years, a year with 40-hour weeks averages about 2,087 working hours; US federal payroll uses this divisor.

What should the load percentage include?

Employer benefits, payroll taxes and a share of overhead such as office and equipment; set 0 to use salary only.

How can I reduce meeting cost?

Fewer attendees, shorter meetings, a clear agenda and decisions made in writing where possible.

Sources: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Pay & Leave fact sheet "Computing Hourly Rates of Pay Using the 2,087-Hour Divisor" (5 U.S.C. 5504(b))

Checked 9 Nov 2026. Hourly rate from annual pay: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Pay & Leave fact sheet “Computing Hourly Rates of Pay Using the 2,087-Hour Divisor” (5 U.S.C. 5504(b)). Meeting cost = person-hours × loaded hourly cost (arithmetic).

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