Employee cost calculator: cost per hour and the cost of idle time
Enter a salary and other monthly costs to see what one paid hour really costs, then see how much idle time costs a person and a whole team. Works in any currency; nothing you type leaves your browser.
How the calculation works
- Total monthly cost = monthly salary + other monthly costs (benefits, tools, internet, equipment).
- Cost per working day = total monthly cost ÷ working days per month.
- Cost per paid hour = cost per working day ÷ paid hours per day.
- Idle hours = working days × paid hours × idle share.
- Cost of idle time = total monthly cost × idle share, then multiplied by team size and by 12 for a year.
What idle share should you use?
Idle time is paid time with no keyboard or mouse activity on the work computer. Some of it is normal: calls, meetings, reading and short breaks. The useful question is not whether there is idle time, but whether it is far above what the role needs.
If you don't know your team's idle share, try a few values to see the range. To measure it, a time tracker that splits each hour into active and idle time gives you the real figure per person and per day.
Using the result fairly
Use the cost of idle time to decide where to look, not to cut pay. Long idle stretches often point to unclear tasks, waiting on others, slow tools or too little work, all problems a manager can fix.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate an employee's cost per hour?+
Add the monthly salary and other monthly costs per person, divide by working days per month, then divide by paid hours per day. The calculator above does this for you.
What costs should I include besides salary?+
Include anything you pay every month for that person: benefits, allowances, software licences, internet, equipment and office or co-working costs.
What is idle time?+
Paid time with no keyboard or mouse activity on the work computer. Some idle time is normal; very high idle time is a signal worth a conversation.
Does this calculator store my numbers?+
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to us.
How can I measure my team's real idle time?+
Use a time tracker that records active and idle time per hour. ECOMHUTSY Team Monitoring does this for $3 per user per month.
Measure real active and idle time
ECOMHUTSY Team Monitoring shows active and idle time for every tracked hour. $3 per user per month, 1-month free trial.
