Free tool
Work hours calculator
See what something really costs: the hours of your own work it takes to pay for it. Your pay stays in your browser and nothing is saved.
The numbers below are an example. Change them to yours.
Your pay
The thing you want
Hours of your work
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Worth the hours? Sleep on it.
If the number made you pause, that is useful. Save the item to Favelist, give it a few days, and see whether it still feels worth that much of your time.
Money is stored working time
Hours of work = price / your hourly pay after tax. A $240 coat on $25 an hour is 9.6 hours, a little more than a full workday. A $4 coffee is under 10 minutes, and a $1,200 laptop is 48 hours, more than a work week.
The label under the number is a quick read: under an hour, less than a workday, days of work, or weeks of work. It is not a verdict. Plenty of things are worth every hour. The point is to decide with the real cost in front of you.
Three tips for a fair number
- Use pay after tax. It is the money you actually spend. If you only know your pay before tax, switch the setting and enter a rate.
- Think in workdays. Hours get abstract. The workdays line turns them into something you can picture, like "two days of work".
- Sleep on the big ones. If it costs more than a workday, give it a few days before you decide. Time is the cheapest way to find out how much you want it.
Questions
How do I work out how many hours I have to work to pay for something?
Divide the price by what you earn per hour after tax. A $240 coat on $25 an hour take-home pay is $240 / $25 = 9.6 hours of work. This calculator does it for you, and also shows the answer in workdays and work weeks.
How do I get my hourly pay from a yearly salary?
Divide your yearly pay by the hours you work in a year: hours per week times 52. A $52,000 salary at 40 hours a week is $52,000 / 2,080 = $25 an hour before tax. Pick "Yearly pay" in the calculator and it does this for you.
Should I use my pay before or after tax?
After tax. You pay for things with the money that lands in your account, so take-home pay gives the honest number. If you only know your pay before tax, choose "Before tax" and enter a tax rate. 22% is a rough starting point, but your own rate is better.
Is this the same as the "time cost" of money?
Yes. The idea is that money is stored working time, so a price can be read as hours of your life. It does not make a purchase good or bad. It just puts the price in a unit that is easy to feel, which helps when you are deciding whether something is worth it.
Does the calculator save or send my pay?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, with no account and nothing stored. The Share button makes a link with the item and its price only, never your pay, so whoever opens it enters their own.