Meeting Cost Calculator

What formula produces the meeting cost?

Minutes ÷ 60 × attendees × average hourly rate. A 60-minute meeting with 8 people at $50 an hour gives 1 × 8 × 50 = $400.00. Cost per person is that total divided by the number of attendees, and the weekly figure multiplies the single-meeting cost by the number of similar meetings you enter.

Which hourly rate should I enter?

Whatever you type is used exactly as entered. The calculator adds no overhead multiplier for benefits, equipment or office space, so decide first whether you want a pay-only figure or a fully loaded one and enter that. For a mixed group, add up each person’s hourly rate and divide by the headcount; the group cost per hour is then the same as summing the individuals.

How are the monthly and annual figures worked out?

Annual cost is the weekly cost × 52, and monthly cost is the weekly cost × 52 ÷ 12, about 4.33 weeks. With the default inputs the weekly cost is $1200.00, so the monthly figure is $5200.00 and the annual figure $62400.00. The 52-week assumption means holidays and cancelled sessions are not subtracted.

What does “productive hours lost per meeting” mean?

It is attendee-hours: meeting length in hours multiplied by the number of attendees. Eight people in a 60-minute meeting is 8.0 hours. The label says “lost”, but the calculation cannot tell whether the time was useful; it only totals time spent. The annual version multiplies by meetings per week and 52, rounded to whole hours.

Does the cost include preparation, travel or follow-up?

No. Only the scheduled length of the meeting is counted. If people spend 15 minutes preparing, add that to the duration or run a second calculation, because the tool has no separate field for it. The same applies to the time people need to settle back into their work afterwards.

Can I model a meeting that is not weekly?

Yes, by using a fraction in the “meetings per week” field, since the value is multiplied directly. A meeting held every second week is 0.5 per week, and a monthly meeting is about 0.23. The annual figure then follows the same 52-week arithmetic.

What happens if I clear a field or enter a negative number?

A cleared box becomes 0 on the page, and zero and negative entries are all treated as zero. With zero attendees the cost per person is shown as $0.00 rather than an error, so check that all four fields are filled in if a result looks too small.

Does a high number mean the meeting is a waste?

No. The figure measures the price of the time slot, not what the meeting produced. A $400 meeting that settles a decision is a different thing from a $400 meeting that repeats last week’s updates, and only you can judge which one you are looking at.