Meeting Cost Calculator
See the true cost of your meetings. Calculate the salary cost of every meeting to make better decisions about which ones are worth having.
Make every meeting count
Time is Money
Could this meeting be an email? Calculate the cost to make informed decisions.
Meeting Details
Estimate based on salary / 2,000 hours per year
Meeting Cost
This Meeting Costs
£200
4 people x 60 minutes
Cost Per Minute
£3.33
Every minute over runs at this rate
Cutting this meeting by 15 minutes would save £50.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about meeting costs and productivity
Understanding meeting costs helps you make better decisions about which meetings are necessary. A 1-hour meeting with 8 people earning an average of £50,000/year costs roughly £200 in salary alone. When you factor in preparation time, follow-up, and lost productivity (it takes 23 minutes on average to refocus after an interruption), meetings can cost significantly more than you'd expect. Calculating the true cost encourages more efficient meetings and better use of asynchronous communication.
There are several proven strategies to reduce meeting costs: 1) Cut the guest list - only invite essential participants; 2) Shorten the default meeting length - try 25 or 50-minute meetings instead of 30 or 60; 3) Always have a clear agenda and objectives; 4) Consider if an email or Slack message would suffice; 5) Start and end on time; 6) Designate a facilitator to keep discussions focused; 7) Use 'no meeting' days to protect deep work time.
The average meeting cost varies significantly based on attendees' salaries, meeting length, and number of participants. Research suggests the average UK business meeting costs between £100-£400. However, meetings with senior executives can easily cost £1,000+ per hour. Shopify famously calculated that a 30-minute meeting with 3 people cost $1,600 when factoring in salaries and opportunity costs. Their 'meeting cost calculator' reduced unnecessary meetings by 76%.
To calculate the true cost of a meeting: 1) Calculate each attendee's hourly rate (annual salary / 2,080 working hours, plus ~30% for employer costs like NI, pension, and benefits); 2) Multiply by meeting duration; 3) Sum for all attendees; 4) Add indirect costs like preparation time (typically 0.5-1x the meeting length) and lost productivity from context-switching. A 1-hour meeting often has a true cost of 2-3x the direct salary cost.
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