How to compare tech job offers
Base salary is only one piece of a modern tech compensation package. Total comp typically includes base, target bonus, an RSU grant with its own vesting schedule, a signing bonus, and benefits like a 401(k) match, health coverage, and access to a mega backdoor Roth. Two offers with the same base salary can look very different once equity vests.
The right comparison is expected total comp per year across the vesting period — not the headline base. A higher base with a small grant can lag a lower base with a large, front-loaded grant in the first two years, and the rankings can flip again in years three and four. Looking only at year one usually overweights the signing bonus and understates equity.
A useful exercise: write out base, bonus, signing, and the year-by-year RSU vest dollars for each offer, sum them, and divide by the number of years. That average becomes the apples-to-apples number to discuss alongside role, team, and growth trajectory.
Understanding RSU vesting schedules
Most tech RSU grants vest over four years, but the shape of vesting differs by company. An even schedule (25/25/25/25) delivers equal value each year. Front-loaded schedules push more shares into years one and two. Back-loaded schedules — Amazon's 5/15/40/40 is the classic example — pay less equity early and combine it with a large signing bonus to bridge the gap. Even at the same total grant value, the year-by-year cash you actually receive can vary significantly.
Refresher grants matter for the long picture. Most large tech employers issue additional RSU grants annually or at performance review, and these refreshers are what keep total comp steady (or growing) into years three, four, and beyond. An offer with a strong refresh policy can be worth more over five years than one with a larger initial grant but limited refreshers, even though year one looks smaller on paper.
Don't forget the variables behind the headline number
The RSU value in an offer letter is calculated using the stock price on the grant date, but what you actually receive depends on the share price at each vest. The grant value can rise or fall — sometimes dramatically — between grant and vest. Two offers with identical "$400,000 RSU" lines can land at very different real dollars, and comparing them as if equity were guaranteed cash overstates the certainty of the higher-equity offer.
Cost of living and state taxes also change take-home pay dramatically between locations. A higher headline offer in California or New York may yield less in hand than a lower offer in Texas or Washington once state income tax and housing differences are factored in. Benefits matter too — a strong 401(k) match, available mega backdoor Roth capacity, employer-paid health premiums, and ESPP discount can each add thousands of dollars per year that never show up in the headline number.
Comparing offers as a high earner
At senior and staff levels, equity often makes up half or more of total comp, so the vesting schedule, refresh policy, and tax treatment of RSUs matter more than small differences in base salary. A 10% higher base is dwarfed by a refresher grant cycle that adds six figures of equity each year — or by a back-loaded schedule that doesn't fully pay off until year four.
For high earners, it's also worth modeling the taxes on RSUs at each company. Default 22% federal withholding under-collects against a 32%–37% marginal bracket, so the after-tax delta between two offers can look different than the gross delta. The healthier comparison is gross total comp, after-tax total comp, and access to tax-advantaged accounts like the mega backdoor Roth side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare two job offers with different equity?
Project expected total comp — base, bonus, signing, and RSU vests — for each year of the vesting window, then average. The calculator above models this across up to four offers using each company's vesting schedule so you can see the year-by-year numbers, not just the headline.
Is base salary or total comp more important?
It depends on your risk tolerance and how much of the offer is equity. Base salary is guaranteed cash; RSUs carry price risk and depend on the stock holding its value through each vest. Most senior tech roles are scored on total comp, but a candidate prioritizing predictability may weight base more heavily.
How do RSU vesting schedules affect my offer?
Vesting schedules redistribute the same total grant across different years. A front-loaded schedule pays more in years one and two; a back-loaded schedule (like Amazon's 5/15/40/40) pays more in years three and four and pairs with larger signing bonuses early. Year-by-year cash differs significantly even when total grant value is identical.
How should I value RSUs that haven't vested?
A reasonable starting point is to value unvested RSUs at the current share price, then acknowledge price risk explicitly. The grant value at offer is calculated using the share price on the grant date, but what you actually receive depends on the price at each vest — which can rise or fall between now and then.
Does cost of living change which offer is better?
Yes. State income tax and cost of living can flip the ranking between two otherwise comparable offers. A higher offer in a high-tax, high-cost metro may leave you with less spending power than a lower offer in a no-income-tax state once housing, taxes, and daily expenses are accounted for.
What benefits should I factor in?
The biggest ones are 401(k) match (often 3%–6% of base, sometimes more), availability of a mega backdoor Roth, health premiums and quality of coverage, target bonus percentage, and ESPP discount. Together these can add the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars per year over the visible total comp number.
This calculator and its explanations are educational and give estimates only — not investment, tax or legal advice. Real returns, inflation and tax outcomes vary; talk to a qualified professional about your own situation.