How do I work out what a meeting costs?

Multiply the meeting’s length in hours by the number of people in it, then by a cost per hour per person. The cost per hour is yearly salary, plus any employer on-costs, divided by working hours a year. Do it for every recurring meeting and add them up.

Which recurring meetings should I cut first?

Start with the ones where people mostly listen to updates that could be written down. Pause one for two weeks and see whether anyone misses it.

Does the calculator include the cost of interruptions?

No. It counts time in the room only. Time lost switching in and out of meetings is real but hard to measure, so the result is a floor, not a ceiling.

Is anything I type saved or sent?

No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere, and the page forgets everything when you close it.

Test 12 · New managers

Meeting Tax

A meeting nobody would miss is the most expensive thing on your calendar.

LiveCalculator

Use the calculator

The short answer

Meeting Tax is a free calculator for your team’s recurring meetings. Enter each meeting’s length, attendees and frequency, plus an average salary in your own currency. You get the cost per week and per year, in hours and money, the number of working weeks it adds up to, and which meeting costs most.

Drafted with AI for Jay Sampat, Chief Mirror Holder · coach review pending

Who it’s for: Managers whose team calendar is full of standing meetings and who want a clear number before cutting any.
What you get: Your meeting bill per week and per year, in hours and money, and your most expensive meeting.

The calculator

What your team’s recurring meetings cost

Your team

Currency

Average salary a year

An example figure. Put in your own.

Employer on-costs

Tax, pension, benefits. Leave at 0 to count salary only.

Working hours a year

Working weeks a year

Recurring meetings

Three examples to start. Change them, delete them, add your own.

Meeting 1
Minutes
People
How often
Meeting 2
Minutes
People
How often
Meeting 3
Minutes
People
How often

Your meeting tax

Every week: $967; 21.8 person-hours
Every year: $44,467; 1,001 person-hours
In working weeks: 25.6; full weeks of one person’s time a year

The most expensive is Daily stand-up: $20,444 a year, 46% of the total. Ask whether anyone would miss it if it stopped for two weeks.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.

The weekly meeting nobody would miss.

Try a question now

I protect my team’s time from meetings they don’t need.

A question from The 42 Test that touches this topic.

Meeting Tax

Why work out the cost of meetings?

Because a number changes the conversation. “We have too many meetings” is easy to agree with and easy to ignore. A bill in hours and money makes it obvious which meetings earn their place. That bill is what we call the meeting tax.

Recurring meetings are the sneaky ones. Each looks small on its own, but they repeat every week, and nobody remembers agreeing to the total.

How does the calculator work it out?

Cost per hour is the average yearly salary, plus employer on-costs if you add them, divided by working hours a year (1,800 by default).
Hours per week for each meeting is its length × the number of people × how often it runs a week. A monthly meeting counts as 12 ÷ 52 of a week.
Weekly cost is the total hours × the cost per hour. Yearly cost is the weekly cost × working weeks a year (46 by default, to allow for holidays).
Working weeks is the yearly hours divided by the length of one working week (hours a year ÷ weeks a year).

The salary that appears first is an example, not a benchmark. Put in your own. The result counts time in the room only, so treat it as the least your meetings cost.

What should I do with the number?

Pick the most expensive meeting and ask one question: would anyone miss it if it stopped for two weeks? This guide to what recurring meetings cost walks through the same sum by hand, with an example. Protecting your team’s time is part of the Shield side of The 42 Test.

Drafted with AI · coach review pending

Sources

Coach42: How much do recurring meetings cost my team?

Questions people ask

How do I work out what a meeting costs?: Multiply the meeting’s length in hours by the number of people in it, then by a cost per hour per person. The cost per hour is yearly salary, plus any employer on-costs, divided by working hours a year. Do it for every recurring meeting and add them up.
Which recurring meetings should I cut first?: Start with the ones where people mostly listen to updates that could be written down. Pause one for two weeks and see whether anyone misses it.
Does the calculator include the cost of interruptions?: No. It counts time in the room only. Time lost switching in and out of meetings is real but hard to measure, so the result is a floor, not a ceiling.
Is anything I type saved or sent?: No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere, and the page forgets everything when you close it.

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09Delegation DetoxLiveNew managers · What you hold on to that you should hand over
101:1 Health CheckLiveNew managers · How useful your one-on-ones really are
11Hard ConversationsLiveNew managers · How you handle conflict and tough feedback

New managers: all six tests and posts

From the Question Library

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After a meeting, people know exactly what I expect from them next.

Drafted with AI · coach review pending