What is this Tool?
The Meeting Cost Calculator reveals the true financial cost of workplace meetings. Most organisations dramatically underestimate how much meetings cost in terms of collective employee time. When you multiply the hourly cost of each attendee by the meeting duration, the numbers are often shocking — a one-hour meeting with 10 senior employees can easily cost ₹10,000-₹20,000 or more.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Harvard Business Review meeting cost calculator?
Harvard Business Review popularised the concept of calculating the true cost of meetings by multiplying attendee salaries by meeting duration. This free meeting cost calculator does exactly that — enter the number of attendees, their average salary and the meeting duration to see the real cost in rupees or any currency. It's a powerful tool for reducing unnecessary meetings.
How do I calculate the cost of a meeting?
Meeting cost = number of attendees × average hourly salary × meeting length in hours. This calculator works out the hourly rate from annual salary (÷ 52 weeks ÷ 40 hours). For example, 8 people earning ₹6,00,000 a year in a 1-hour meeting costs about ₹2,308 in salary time.
How many meetings are unproductive?
In a survey of 182 senior managers published in Harvard Business Review in 2017, 71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient, and 65% said meetings keep them from completing their own work. Your own team's experience may differ, so use the calculator to see the cost of your meetings.
What is a better alternative to meetings?
Async tools like Slack, Notion, Loom video messages, and email can handle most meeting topics. Reserve live meetings for decisions requiring real-time discussion and relationship building.
How long should a meeting be?
As short as the goal allows. Setting a clear agenda and ending once the decision is made keeps most meetings under 30 minutes. For longer sessions, build in breaks.
What makes a meeting worth its cost?
A meeting is worth its cost when: a clear decision is made, a problem is solved collaboratively, or relationships are meaningfully built — outcomes that genuinely require real-time human interaction.
Does the meeting cost include overheads?
No — it counts salary time only. The real cost is higher once you add benefits, office costs and the work people couldn't do during the meeting.
How can I reduce meeting costs?
Invite only the people needed for the decision, share an agenda in advance, keep meetings short, and move status updates to email or chat.
How do I calculate the annual cost of a recurring meeting?
Enter how many times it happens per week. The calculator multiplies the cost of one meeting by the weekly frequency and by 52 weeks.
Can I use a monthly salary in this calculator?
The calculator expects annual salary. Multiply a monthly salary by 12 first — for example, ₹50,000 a month is ₹6,00,000 a year.
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