Developer cost calculator: the real first-year cost
Pick the role, level and location. The calculator starts from the market range, or from the salary you have in mind, and adds what the advertised salary leaves out: employer costs, recruiting, and the months without the skill.
Real first-year cost
- Annual base salary (market range)$102,000 – $132,000
- Fully loaded salary$132,600 – $171,600
- Recruiting cost$20,400 – $26,400
- Median time-to-hire2–4 months
- Cost of delay (months without the skill)$22,100 – $57,200
- First-year total$175,100 – $255,200
The calculation uses the market range for this profile.
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Analyze my job adHow the calculation works
Market pay comes from the tensionscore benchmark, dated and sourced (BLS OEWS, Robert Half), adjusted for the job location.
First-year total = fully loaded salary + recruiting cost + cost of delay. The cost of delay values each month without the skill at the monthly loaded salary. Coefficients and sources are detailed in the methodology.
To compare roles and levels at a glance, see 2026 salaries by role.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between base salary and employer cost?
Employer cost adds benefits and employer taxes on top of base salary. The calculator applies the benchmark’s employer-cost coefficient, then adds what most calculators leave out: the cost of recruiting and of the months without the skill.
Why count a “cost of delay”?
Because an open role does not cost zero: the project waits, the team compensates, customers are kept waiting. The calculator values each month of search at the monthly loaded salary, a conservative estimate of what the role should have produced.
Does the calculator store my data?
No. The calculation runs in your browser from tensionscore’s public benchmark; nothing is sent or stored.