How to Compare Two Job Offers: A Data-Driven Decision Framework

Most people default to picking the higher base salary. That's often the wrong move. A £5,000 difference in base pay can be completely offset by a longer commute, a weaker bonus structure, or equity that vests over five years instead of four. According to ONS ASHE 2024 data, the difference between p25 and p75 earnings for mid-level roles in the UK frequently exceeds 35% — meaning two offers with the same job title can represent fundamentally different market positions. Here's how to compare two job offers systematically, so you're not leaving money or career progression on the table.

Step 1: Convert both offers to total annual compensation

Base salary is one number. Total compensation is the number that matters.

For each offer, calculate:

• Base salary (annual gross)
• Target bonus — express as a percentage of base and note whether it's discretionary or contractual
• Equity — if stock options or RSUs, calculate the annualised value based on vesting schedule and current valuation
• Pension or retirement contributions — employer contributions are direct compensation; a 5% employer match on a £60,000 salary is worth £3,000 per year
• Other cash benefits — car allowance, London weighting, signing bonus (amortised across expected tenure)

A typical example: Offer A pays £75,000 base with a 10% discretionary bonus, no equity, and 4% employer pension. Offer B pays £68,000 base with a 20% target bonus, RSUs worth £10,000 per year vesting over four years, and 6% employer pension. At face value, Offer A looks better. Total comp tells a different story — Offer B could be worth £92,080 versus Offer A's £85,000, assuming the bonus pays out and the equity holds its value.

Be conservative with equity in private companies. Apply a meaningful discount — 50% or more — unless you have strong evidence of a near-term liquidity event.

Step 2: Benchmark each offer against market data independently

Before you compare the two offers against each other, check where each one sits relative to actual market rates. Two offers can both be below market. Or both can be strong. Knowing this changes your negotiating position considerably.

Official salary data sources by country:

• UK: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — published annually, covers earnings by occupation (SOC code), region, and percentile
• US: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — median and percentile wages by occupation and metropolitan area
• Germany: Destatis Earnings Structure Survey — gross monthly earnings by occupation and region
• France: INSEE earnings statistics — covers private sector by sector and occupation
• Netherlands: CBS Labour Accounts — hourly and annual earnings by occupation category
• Australia: ABS Employee Earnings and Hours Survey — state-level and occupation-level data

For example, according to ONS ASHE 2024 data, software engineers in London at the median earn around £72,000 in gross annual pay, with p75 sitting near £92,000 and p90 approaching £115,000. A £68,000 offer for a mid-level software engineer in London is below the median — that's useful information to have before you even start comparing it to the other offer on the table.

CompVerdict — instant job offer checker runs this benchmarking automatically. Enter the role, location, experience level, and offer details and it returns a verdict — Strong offer, Fair offer, Slightly below market, Below market, or Significantly below market — in under 30 seconds, using the same official government datasets listed above.

For more on what goes into that verdict, see how CompVerdict benchmarks offers.

Step 3: Adjust for location and cost of living

A £90,000 salary in Manchester does not have the same purchasing power as £90,000 in London — and it's actually worth considerably more after housing costs. ONS regional earnings data consistently shows London p50 salaries running 20–30% above equivalent roles in the North West, East Midlands, or Wales. But London rents at the median are roughly 2.5× higher than Manchester, according to ONS private rental statistics.

When you compare two job offers across different cities, do the following:

1. Check the market rate for that role in each specific location — don't compare a London salary to a Manchester salary as if they're on the same scale
2. Calculate your estimated take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance (or the equivalent in your country)
3. Subtract your realistic fixed costs — rent or mortgage, commuting, childcare if relevant
4. Compare the residual — what you actually have to live on and save

A £65,000 offer in Leeds with remote flexibility and a 20-minute commute may produce more disposable income than an £80,000 offer requiring five days a week in London with a 90-minute commute each way. The commuting cost alone — both financial and in time — can consume the entire salary difference.

BLS data for US roles shows similar dynamics: median software developer pay in San Francisco sits around $165,000 according to OEWS 2024, versus roughly $115,000 in Austin. But California state income tax and Bay Area housing costs erode that gap significantly for most salary bands.

How to compare two job offers on career trajectory

Compensation at the point of hire is a snapshot. The more consequential question is where each role positions you in 24–36 months.

Factors that determine career trajectory value:

• Title and scope: A senior engineer title at a mid-size company often unlocks better opportunities than a mid-level title at a FAANG, depending on what you want next
• Learning curve: Roles where you'll be stretched tend to compound in value faster than roles where you're already proficient at 90% of the work
• Brand and network: Certain employers carry signal value that accelerates future hiring processes
• Promotion cycle: Some companies have defined annual review cycles with salary band increases of 5–8%; others are ad hoc and promote slowly
• Equity upside: If Offer B is at a Series B startup with strong product-market fit, the equity discount you applied in Step 1 might be too aggressive — or not aggressive enough. This requires genuine judgment.

One useful proxy: look at where alumni of each company end up, using LinkedIn. If the last 10 people who left Company A went on to director or VP roles within two years, that's a data point. If they mostly lateralled to equivalent roles, that's also a data point.

For a broader framework on evaluating non-salary factors, see how to evaluate a job offer.

Frequently asked questions

How do I compare two job offers when one includes equity and the other doesn't?

Annualise the equity and add it to total compensation, then apply a discount based on company stage. Public company RSUs: discount 0–15% to account for vesting risk and share price movement. Late-stage private (Series D+, clear path to IPO): discount 30–50%. Early-stage private (Series A/B): discount 60–80% or more. Once you have an adjusted annual equity figure, add it to base and bonus for a like-for-like comparison. If the equity-heavy offer still wins after discounting, that's a meaningful signal.

Should I tell each employer about the other offer?

Generally yes — once you have a written offer in hand from one party. Sharing that you have a competing offer is standard practice and often accelerates timelines and improves terms. Be factual: state the competing total compensation without exaggerating it. Fabricating or inflating a competing offer is a bad idea; recruiters talk, and it damages your credibility. For more on this, see how to negotiate your offer.

What if I genuinely prefer the lower-paying offer?

That's a legitimate outcome. If the lower-paying role offers better progression, a team you want to work with, meaningful work, or a location that suits your life, those factors have real value. The framework here is designed to make sure you're making that choice knowingly — not because you failed to notice a £15,000 compensation gap or didn't realise both offers were below market. Know the numbers, then make the call.

How reliable is official government salary data?

Official sources like ONS ASHE, BLS OEWS, and Destatis are the most methodologically rigorous salary data available — they're based on mandatory employer reporting, not self-reported crowdsourced surveys. Their main limitations: they lag by 12–18 months (typically published annually), and they use broad occupational categories that may not map precisely to your specific role. For niche or emerging roles, treat official data as a floor — actual market rates for in-demand specialisations often run above published medians. Always check for job offer red flags that might indicate an employer is knowingly underpaying.

Comparing two job offers properly takes about an hour if you work through the steps above. The most common mistake is skipping the independent benchmarking — if you only compare the offers to each other, you miss the possibility that both are below market, which changes your entire negotiating position. Run both offers through CompVerdict before you respond to either employer. It's free, requires no account, and gives you a market-calibrated verdict in under 30 seconds using official government salary data for the UK, US, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and nine other countries. Go in knowing what you're worth.