Free tool
Meeting cost calculator
- Time
- About 1 minute
- What you'll get
- The cost per meeting, per month and per year, with the working shown.
See what a meeting costs in people's time: per meeting, per month and per year. Free, with no sign-up.
The cost of a meeting is the number of people, times their hourly cost, times the length in hours. Multiply that by how often it happens to get the cost over a month or a year.
Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. The sums run in this browser tab.
Work out what your meeting costs
Start from the example figures and change them to yours.
A name for the printed sheet, such as “Monday team meeting”.
An average across the people there: pay plus employer costs such as tax and pension. An estimate is fine.
- Per meeting
- £180
- Per month
- £780
- Per year
- £9,360
That's 6 hours of people's time each meeting, and 312 hours a year.
6 people × £30 an hour × 1 hour = £180 a meeting.
Once a week, which is 52 a year: £180 × 52 = £9,360 a year, or £780 a month on average.
A year here is 52 weeks with no weeks off, so if the meeting stops over holidays, the yearly figure will be a little high. A month is a twelfth of the year.
Meeting cost
A meeting
- Per meeting
- £180
- Per month
- £780
- Per year
- £9,360
That's 6 hours of people's time each meeting, and 312 hours a year.
The working
6 people × £30 an hour × 1 hour = £180 a meeting.
Once a week, which is 52 a year: £180 × 52 = £9,360 a year, or £780 a month on average.
Time in the meeting only: preparation and the work that waits come on top. A year is 52 weeks with no weeks off.
Name Date
How to use the meeting cost calculator
- Pick one meeting. A regular one is the most useful, such as the Monday team meeting. Name it if you want it on the printed sheet.
- Count the people. Everyone who attends, including anyone who joins by call.
- Put in an average hourly cost. What an hour of their time costs the business. An estimate is fine.
- Set the length and how often. Use how long it really runs, not the slot in the diary.
- Copy or print the sheet. The figures and the working appear as a one-page sheet, ready to take to whoever runs the meeting.
How the meeting cost calculator works
It multiplies four things you give it: how many people are in the meeting, what an hour of their time costs, how long the meeting runs and how often it happens. It shows the working under the result, so you can check the sum.
Hourly cost means what an hour of someone's time costs the business, which is more than their hourly pay. A simple way to estimate it is the yearly cost of employing them (pay plus employer costs such as tax and pension) divided by the hours they work in a year. If the people in the meeting cost very different amounts, use an average.
A worked example
The boxes start with example figures: six people at £30 an hour, for an hour, once a week. That's 6 × £30 × 1 hour = £180 a meeting. Over 52 weeks it's £9,360 a year, or £780 a month, and 312 hours of people's time. Cut the same meeting to 45 minutes and it's £135 a meeting, or £7,020 a year. The figures are examples, not an average, so change them to yours.
What the number leaves out
The calculator counts the time in the room, or on the call, only. Preparation, travel between rooms and the work that waits while people are in the meeting all come on top of the figure here.
Common mistakes
- Using pay as the hourly cost. Employer costs come on top, so the real cost of an hour is higher than the hourly pay.
- Using the diary slot. A 30-minute meeting that always runs to 45 costs what 45 minutes costs.
- Judging a meeting on cost alone. A meeting that settles a decision can be worth every penny. The question is whether it earns its place.
What to do with the result
Use the number to check the meeting earns its place. Our guide to meetings that move the business forward has a short check for whether something should be a meeting at all. If it should, a clear meeting agenda and short meeting minutes help it end with decisions and owners.
Common questions
How do you calculate the cost of a meeting?
Multiply the number of people by their average hourly cost and by the length in hours. Multiply that by how many times it happens in a year for the yearly cost.
What hourly cost should I use?
What an hour of their time costs the business, which is more than their pay: the yearly cost of employing them, including employer costs such as tax and pension, divided by the hours they work in a year. Use an average across the people there.
Does it include preparation time?
No. It counts the time in the meeting only. Preparation, travel and the work that waits while people are in the room all come on top.
Can I use pounds, dollars or euros?
Yes. Pick the currency and type the hourly cost in that money. The sums work the same way in any of the three.
How do I bring the cost down?
Invite only the people who need to decide or do something, shorten the slot and check how often it needs to happen. Send an agenda first and end with decisions and owners. Some meetings work better as a written update.
More on meetings
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