Should I compare total compensation or base salary?

Compare base to market base first. Then add expected bonus using a conservative attainment, and treat equity as uncertain. A higher total-rewards slide often includes money you might not see. The occupation charts on Pay by Role are closest to gross base, not to a best-case package.

How do I compare offers in two different cities?

Keep the job family constant, convert both packages to one currency, then run take-home for each employment country and subtract realistic rent. Use COL-adjusted pay as a second lens, not as the cash an employer pays. See salary vs cost of living if a move is involved.

One offer has more equity. How should I count it?

Count cash first. Then haircut equity for vesting, dilution, and the chance it is worth little. Get grant type, size, and vest in writing. Do not convert last year’s stock peak into salary and then pick the “richer” offer. If the grant is complex, get professional advice before you sign.

What if the job titles are not the same?

Map each offer to the closest covered occupation on Pay by Role instead of forcing both onto one fashionable title. If they are truly different careers, compare old vs new occupation in the same city first. Mixing a career change with a city change hides which variable moved pay.

Should I tell each company about the other offer?

Only if the competing offer is real. Share comparable pieces — base, bonus target, geo — not every perk. Inventing a second offer is a trust problem. Market percentiles can support an ask even when you have only one written offer.

What if the packages are almost equal after tax?

Stop squeezing the spreadsheet. Choose on scope, manager, hours, visa, and whether the level is honest. A 2% net gap is usually inside the noise of bonus and rent. Write the non-money reason down so you do not reopen the comparison every night.

Pay by Role editorial · Updated August 25, 2026 · 13 min read

Comparing two job offers: cash, tax, and risk

Most people compare offers by scanning two totals and picking the bigger number. That works only if the jobs are the same level, in the same city, with the same mix of cash and bonus. They almost never are.

This is a practical workflow for comparing two job offers on Pay by Role — cash first, risk second — so you do not mix seniority or pretend equity is salary.

How do you compare two offers without mixing variables?

Write both packages into a small table: base, target bonus, signing bonus, equity (type and vest), location or geo band, and hours or on-call. Compare cash to cash before you invent a story about culture.

Open the same occupation in the same country first. If the titles differ, pick the closest covered job family for each offer rather than forcing both onto a fashionable title that sources do not measure. See changing careers and pay if the roles are truly different occupations.

How should you put both offers on a market map?

Look up each role’s local median and 25th–75th band. An offer at the 40th percentile with strong benefits can beat an offer at the 70th percentile with weak healthcare and no leave — but you cannot see that until both are placed on the same chart. How to read a salary range is the legend.

If one employer is in an observed metro and the other is not, widen your confidence interval on the modeled city. Do not treat a pay-index estimate as precise as a metro percentile set (how we source salary data).

How do you convert both packages to real monthly life?

Run each base (plus a conservative bonus assumption) through the tax calculator for the country of employment.
Ignore display-currency tricks until both nets are in the same unit.
Divide net by twelve, then subtract realistic housing. Use the cost-of-living calculator if a move is involved; replace modeled rent with listings you would actually accept.
If one offer is contractor or hourly, annualise at a realistic hour assumption — not 2,080 hours if you will be unpaid between contracts.

How should you price risk separately from cash?

Assign equity, uncapped commission, and “high-growth” titles a haircut you can live with if they pay zero this year. Then compare the remaining cash.
A signing bonus can close a year-one gap without fixing a low band. Ask whether year two resets to the low base.
Visa sponsorship, notice periods, and probation belong in the table. A slightly lower cash offer with a stable work-authorisation path can be the better package.

For splitting bonus and equity, see bonus, overtime, and total compensation. Unusual equity or cross-border work is a reason to use a lawyer or tax professional.

What rule should you write before the second offer lands?

Write a walk-away net and a preferred lever order (base, then signing, then remote days). Comparing under time pressure without a rule is how people accept the louder recruiter.

If the two packages are close after tax and housing, pick on work you can describe in a year: scope, manager, and whether the level is honest. Market data settles the money argument; it does not pick your next three years.

Key takeaways

Lock level and geo, then compare base to base on one occupation chart.
Convert both to take-home and realistic rent before you trust a “total package” slide.
Haircut equity and OTE; a signing bonus can mask a weak ongoing band.
Observed city pages beat modeled ones when the two jobs are in different metros.
Write walk-away net before the second offer arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Should I compare total compensation or base salary?: Compare base to market base first. Then add expected bonus using a conservative attainment, and treat equity as uncertain. A higher total-rewards slide often includes money you might not see. The occupation charts on Pay by Role are closest to gross base, not to a best-case package.
How do I compare offers in two different cities?: Keep the job family constant, convert both packages to one currency, then run take-home for each employment country and subtract realistic rent. Use COL-adjusted pay as a second lens, not as the cash an employer pays. See salary vs cost of living if a move is involved.
One offer has more equity. How should I count it?: Count cash first. Then haircut equity for vesting, dilution, and the chance it is worth little. Get grant type, size, and vest in writing. Do not convert last year’s stock peak into salary and then pick the “richer” offer. If the grant is complex, get professional advice before you sign.
What if the job titles are not the same?: Map each offer to the closest covered occupation on Pay by Role instead of forcing both onto one fashionable title. If they are truly different careers, compare old vs new occupation in the same city first. Mixing a career change with a city change hides which variable moved pay.
Should I tell each company about the other offer?: Only if the competing offer is real. Share comparable pieces — base, bonus target, geo — not every perk. Inventing a second offer is a trust problem. Market percentiles can support an ask even when you have only one written offer.
What if the packages are almost equal after tax?: Stop squeezing the spreadsheet. Choose on scope, manager, hours, visa, and whether the level is honest. A 2% net gap is usually inside the noise of bonus and rent. Write the non-money reason down so you do not reopen the comparison every night.

Next step

Two offers become comparable when you freeze level, convert cash, and name the risk. Do that once, write the winner’s reason, then negotiate or decline — do not keep remixing the inputs.

Separate base from bonus, overtime, and equity →

Then run both grosses through the tax calculator.