Compare two pay packages with different splits.

Offer A is 60,000 base plus 40,000 on-target commission. Offer B is 80,000 base plus 20,000 on-target. At 100% attainment they tie at 100,000. At 70% attainment, Offer A pays 88,000, Offer B pays 94,000. The high-base offer is safer at lower attainment; high-commission rewards over-achievers.

What the result means

Expected total comp for each offer at your attainment. The better offer at your assumption is shown as positive. Run the math at 50%, 80% and 120% attainment to see how the offers diverge.

This is base plus variable only. Equity, benefits, accelerators above 100%, and floor minimums are out of scope — model those separately.

Run it with sensible defaults

Using offer a base of 60,000, offer a on-target commission of 40,000, offer b base of 80,000, offer b on-target commission of 20,000, the calculation works out to 6,000.00. Nudge the inputs toward your own situation and the output recalculates instantly. The defaults are meant as a starting point, not a recommendation.

The levers in this calculation

The inputs — Offer A Base, Offer A On-Target Commission, Offer B Base, Offer B On-Target Commission, and Expected Attainment — do not pull with equal force. Two inputs usually tip the answer one way or the other. Identify which ones matter most by flipping each value past a round threshold and watching whether the winning option changes.

How the math works

Each offer's expected total is its base plus its on-target commission times the attainment decimal. The difference in expected totals shows which offer is better at the supplied attainment. The working is transparent — you can verify every step yourself in the formula section below. No black box, no opaque "proprietary model".

Why small rate shifts add up

A 3% pay rise looks modest. Apply it over a 30-year career with modest promotions and the lifetime difference runs to six figures. This calculator makes that invisible compounding visible in a way spreadsheets usually don't.

What this doesn't capture

Tax bands, pension contributions, student-loan deductions, and benefits-in-kind sit outside this calculation. The figure is the headline; your actual position depends on local tax rules and personal circumstances. Pair with a dedicated take-home calculator for the full picture.