Free tool · Meetings
Meeting cost calculator: what a meeting really costs
Enter how many people meet, their average pay and how long the meeting runs, and see what it costs each time and each year. Or start the live meter during a meeting and watch the cost grow by the second.
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Meetings never appear on an invoice, so their cost is easy to miss. A one-hour weekly meeting with eight people uses more than 400 person-hours a year. This meeting cost calculator turns people, pay and minutes into money, so you can decide which meetings are worth it.
How to use the meeting cost calculator
- Enter the People in the meeting.
- Enter the Average pay per person, either an hour or a year (salary).
- Enter the Length in minutes and How often the meeting happens: just once, every workday, every week, every two weeks or every month.
- Pick your Currency.
- Read the cost of Each meeting, Every year, and the People's hours a year.
The line under the totals shows what each minute costs, and what you would save by cutting the meeting in half.
The live meeting meter
For a meeting happening now, press Start the meeting meter. The cost and the elapsed time count up as the meeting goes on, using the people and pay you entered. Press Stop the meter at the end. Some teams share it on screen at the start of a long meeting; it tends to keep things short.
How the numbers work
| Part | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hourly pay from a salary | Salary ÷ 2,080 hours (40 hours a week, 52 weeks) |
| Cost of one meeting | People × hourly pay × minutes ÷ 60 |
| Meetings a year | Every workday 260, every week 52, every two weeks 26, every month 12 |
| Cost a year | Cost of one meeting × meetings a year |
| People's hours a year | People × minutes ÷ 60 × meetings a year |
A worked example: 6 people at US$50 an hour in a 30-minute weekly meeting cost US$150 each time, US$7,800 a year, and 156 people's hours a year. Make it 15 minutes and you save US$3,900 a year without dropping the meeting.
Which meetings to look at first
Recurring meetings cost the most, because they repeat whether they are needed or not. Here is what some common ones cost at an average of US$50 an hour:
| Meeting | People and length | Each time | Every year | People's hours a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily standup | 8 people, 15 minutes, every workday | US$100 | US$26,000 | 520 |
| Weekly team meeting | 8 people, 60 minutes | US$400 | US$20,800 | 416 |
| Weekly one-on-one | 2 people, 30 minutes | US$50 | US$2,600 | 52 |
| Monthly all-hands | 30 people, 60 minutes | US$1,500 | US$18,000 | 360 |
| Monthly review | 12 people, 90 minutes | US$900 | US$10,800 | 216 |
The standup looks small each day and turns out to be the most expensive line. That does not make it wrong: a short daily check-in can save many longer meetings. The point is to know the price, and to ask each quarter whether the meeting still pays for itself.
Make every meeting worth it
- Have a clear goal. If the meeting has no decision to make, an update in writing may do.
- Invite the people who decide. Others can read the notes.
- Shorten the default. 25 or 50 minutes instead of 30 or 60 leaves room between meetings.
- Write things down during the meeting. Decisions and action items in a note mean no follow-up meeting to remember them.
- Review recurring meetings each quarter. Cancel the ones that lost their purpose.
- Send the agenda the day before, so people come ready and the meeting can end early.
Meetings with Barside
Barside helps keep meetings short and useful, for free:
- Free video meetings for up to 6 people, peer to peer, with guests joining from a browser.
- A calendar next to your notes, with a meeting note for every event: see calendar and notes.
- Call transcription on your computer and meeting follow-up that turns a transcript into a summary, decisions, proposed tasks and a recap draft, with the AI you connect.
Barside runs on Windows, Linux and Mac. For the money that does show up on bills, try the subscription cost calculator.
FAQ
Questions and answers
How is the meeting cost calculated?
People × average hourly pay × length in hours. A yearly salary becomes an hourly rate by dividing it by 2,080, the hours in a year of 40-hour weeks. The yearly cost multiplies one meeting by how often it happens: 260 workdays, 52 weeks, 26 fortnights or 12 months.
Is the real cost higher than this?
Yes. The calculator counts pay only. Benefits, payroll taxes, office costs, the time to prepare and to get back into focus afterwards all add to it, so treat the result as the minimum.
What average pay should I use?
Use what the attendees roughly earn. If you do not know, use a typical salary for the roles in your area. The point is the order of magnitude: a weekly hour with 8 people adds up to hundreds of person-hours a year, whatever the exact pay.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser, and this page has no analytics. Close the page and the numbers are gone.
How do I run the live meter in a meeting?
Set the people and the pay, then press Start the meeting meter when the meeting starts. The cost and the time count up every moment; press Stop the meter when it ends. Share your screen to show it, if your team enjoys that kind of thing.
How can we make meetings cheaper?
Invite only the people who must decide, end on time, use a written update instead of a status meeting, and capture decisions and action items so nobody needs a second meeting. Barside's meeting follow-up turns a call transcript into a recap and tasks.