Burnrate – Meeting Cost Calculator

BurnRate – Free Meeting Cost Calculator | See What Every Meeting Really Costs
What Is BurnRate

A Meeting Cost Calculator That Works in Real Time

BurnRate is a free browser-based tool that turns meeting time into a dollar amount. You set the number of attendees, the meeting duration, and the average annual salary. BurnRate does the math and shows you the total cost, cost per person, cost per minute, and a live ticker that ticks up as your meeting runs.

Most teams track software costs, travel budgets, and office expenses. Meetings get ignored. A 1-hour meeting with 10 people at $80K average salary costs around $385 in salary time. Run that meeting weekly and you spend over $20,000 a year on one recurring slot.

BurnRate makes that number visible. When people see the cost, meetings get shorter, leaner, and more focused. For more productivity tips and tool guides, visit the Opinohive Blog.

$399B
wasted on unnecessary meetings in the US in 2019
Source: Doodle State of Meetings 2019 via Inc.
18hrs
average hours per week that employees spend in meetings, with 6 of those being unproductive
Source: Otter.ai / UNC Charlotte via CBS News
71%
of senior managers say meetings are unproductive and inefficient
Source: Microsoft survey via Lucid Meetings
How It Works

Three Inputs. One Clear Number.

BurnRate keeps the setup fast. You do not need an account. You do not need to connect a calendar. Open it, set three values, and read the result.

1

Set the number of attendees

Drag the slider from 2 to 50 people. The badge updates instantly so you always see the current count.

2

Set the meeting duration

Drag the slider or tap a preset: 15m, 30m, 45m, 1h, 1.5h, or 2h. BurnRate covers meetings up to 8 hours.

3

Enter the average annual salary

Type the average salary for the room. Pick your currency from the dropdown. BurnRate converts everything automatically.

4

Read the result and share it

See the total cost, cost per person, cost per minute, and a live cost ticker. Copy a shareable summary with one tap.

Need a detailed walkthrough for any of our tools? Visit the Opinohive Tool Guides for step-by-step documentation.

Why Use BurnRate

Benefits for Teams, Managers, and Solo Builders

BurnRate works for anyone who sits in meetings and wants to understand what they cost. Here is what it gives you.

💸

Real cost in real time

The live ticker starts counting from the moment you load the page. It shows the cost ticking up second by second at your current rate.

📈

Annual impact projection

See what this meeting costs per year if you hold it daily, weekly, or monthly. One number often changes how often a recurring meeting gets scheduled.

🌍

Multi-currency support

BurnRate supports USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, and JPY. Useful for distributed teams who pay salaries in different currencies.

📋

Shareable summary

Tap one button and copy a formatted meeting cost report. Paste it into Slack, email, or a retro to start a real conversation about meeting time.

⚡

No signup. No friction.

Open the URL and it works. No account, no login, no extension to install. Everything runs in your browser with no data sent anywhere.

📱

Works on any device

BurnRate is fully responsive. Use it on a laptop during a meeting, or on your phone while waiting for one to start.

BurnRate is part of the free tool collection at Opinohive Tools. All tools run in your browser with no signup required.

FAQ

Questions People Ask About BurnRate

BurnRate divides the average annual salary by 2,080, which is the standard number of working hours in a year. That gives the hourly rate. It then multiplies hourly rate by attendees by duration in hours. For example, a 1-hour meeting with 8 people at $75,000 average salary costs (75,000 / 2,080) × 8 × 1 = $288.46.
Yes, completely free. No account required. No premium tier. No ads. Open it and use it.
BurnRate supports six currencies: US Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Australian Dollar (AUD), and Japanese Yen (JPY). Select your currency from the dropdown and all values update instantly.
No. All calculations happen in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server. Your salary figures, attendee counts, and meeting results stay on your device.
BurnRate shows this badge when the meeting cost crosses $100 and the meeting is either short (30 minutes or under) or has three or fewer attendees. It is a nudge, not a judgment. Some short, small meetings are necessary. But seeing the cost often prompts teams to ask whether the meeting was the right format.
Use the Annual Impact section in BurnRate. Set the meeting parameters, then choose how often the meeting repeats: daily (250 working days), weekly (52 weeks), or monthly (12 months). BurnRate multiplies the single-meeting cost by the frequency and shows the yearly total.
BurnRate calculates the base salary cost. It does not include employer taxes, benefits overhead, or lost opportunity cost, which would make the real number higher. The calculation uses 2,080 working hours per year as the standard assumption. For a more conservative estimate, some companies use 1,800 hours to account for time off and holidays.
Yes. Tap the "Copy Shareable Summary" button. BurnRate generates a plain-text message with the meeting cost, cost per minute, and projected annual cost if the meeting repeats weekly. Paste it into any chat or email.