A bigger salary doesn't always mean more money in your pocket. A longer commute quietly eats into it with gas, wear on your car, and hours of your week you don't get back — while a lower-paying remote job can come out ahead once you count what it saves you. This tool runs both offers through real 2026 tax brackets for your state, then adds in commute cost, commute time, 401(k) match, and PTO, so you're comparing what each job is actually worth, not just the number on the offer letter.
Already know which offer wins? Get the exact per-paycheck number with the full paycheck calculator.
Open paycheck calculatorEach job's take-home pay is calculated the same way a real paycheck would be: 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction for your filing status, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), and state income tax, after pre-tax health insurance and 401(k) come out. From there, an employer's 401(k) match is added as real value even though it's not cash in your paycheck today, and PTO days are converted to dollars using your daily pay rate. Commute cost is miles × days worked × weeks × your cost per mile, and any other monthly job costs (parking, tolls, a work wardrobe, extra lunches out) are added on top. Commute time is shown separately in hours per year, since time isn't really interchangeable with money — but if you put a dollar value on your time above, it gets folded into the comparison too.
State tax uses the same accuracy rules as the paycheck calculator: several big states (California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts) and every no-tax or flat-tax state use exact 2026 numbers, while the rest of the multi-bracket states use a simplified top-rate estimate, labeled as such in the results.
A remote or short-commute job can save thousands a year in gas, vehicle wear, and parking, and give back hundreds of hours — enough to outweigh a higher salary once you account for the real cost of getting to the higher-paying job.
The IRS standard mileage rate is built from real average costs of gas, maintenance, depreciation, and insurance combined, so it's a solid stand-in for "what does driving actually cost per mile" without having to track each expense separately. You can edit the rate if you want to use your own numbers.
That's up to you. Some people would happily pay to get 5 hours a week back; others don't mind a longer drive with a podcast. The calculator shows hours per year on their own so you can weigh it yourself, and lets you optionally assign a dollar value to your time if you want it folded into the total.
Yes, completely free, with no account or download needed.