Common questions about meeting.cash, from data privacy to calculating costs. Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us at [email protected] or @meetingcash.

Privacy & Data

Is my meeting data saved or sent to your servers?

No. All meeting data stays exclusively in your browser's localStorage. We never receive, store, or have access to your meeting details, attendee counts, hourly rates, or any calculations you perform. The calculator works entirely client-side, meaning your data never leaves your device. You can verify this by opening your browser's network inspector—no meeting data is transmitted.

Do you store my meeting data anywhere?

No. We operate on a privacy-first principle. Your meeting data is stored only in your browser's localStorage, which is fully under your control. Clearing your browser data will erase your meeting history. We don't maintain any database of user meetings or costs. The only data we collect is aggregate, anonymous analytics through Google Analytics (page views, general usage patterns) and AdSense cookies for ad serving. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Can I export my data?

Your meeting history is stored in your browser's localStorage and can be accessed through browser developer tools. However, we don't currently offer a built-in export feature. If this is important to you, let us know and we'll consider adding it. For now, you can screenshot or manually copy meeting summaries when you use the Share button.

Using the Calculator

How accurate are the cost calculations?

The calculations are mathematically precise based on the hourly rates you input. Accuracy depends entirely on using realistic hourly rates. We calculate cost per minute by dividing hourly rates by 60, multiply by number of attendees, and track elapsed time to the second. The math is simple and transparent: if you enter accurate rates, you'll get accurate costs. However, "true cost" includes overhead (benefits, equipment, office space) that you should factor into your hourly rates.

How do I calculate hourly rates from annual salaries?

Divide the annual salary by 2,080 hours (the standard number of working hours per year: 40 hours/week × 52 weeks). For example, $104,000/year ÷ 2,080 = $50/hour. For a more accurate total cost to the company, multiply the base hourly rate by 1.4 to 1.5 to account for benefits, taxes, equipment, and overhead. So that $50/hour person actually costs the company $70-75/hour in reality.

Can I use this for my team?

Absolutely. meeting.cash is completely free for teams of any size. There's no paid tier, no per-user licensing, no limits. Use it for your entire organization if you want. Many teams keep the calculator open during meetings on a shared screen to maintain time awareness, or individual team members track meetings they attend. Share results via the Share button to post costs to Slack or email.

Presets & Rates

What are the presets based on?

Our presets are based on industry salary averages plus overhead multipliers. Engineering ($125/hour for 5 people) reflects typical senior engineer compensation at tech companies. Executive ($225/hour for 4 people) represents director and VP-level leadership. Sales ($85/hour for 4 people) reflects mid-level sales representatives. These are approximations—actual rates vary widely by location, company size, and experience level. Use them as quick starting points, but customize rates to match your specific team.

Should I include benefits and overhead in hourly rates?

We strongly recommend it. Base salary is only part of what an employee costs. Factor in health insurance, 401k matching, payroll taxes, equipment, office space, software licenses, and general overhead. A common rule of thumb is to multiply base salary by 1.4x to 1.5x to get the true cost to the company. This gives you a more accurate picture of what meeting time actually costs. Our presets already include estimated overhead.

What's included in the meeting cost calculations?

The calculator shows direct time costs only—what you're paying people to sit in the meeting. This doesn't include opportunity cost (what else they could be doing), preparation time, meeting room costs, or follow-up time. It's the baseline cost. To get total impact, consider tracking preparation time as a separate "meeting" and noting opportunity cost qualitatively.

Features & Functionality

How do I share meeting cost results?

Click the Share button in the calculator. On mobile devices, this triggers your phone's native share menu, letting you send the summary via Slack, email, messages, etc. On desktop, it copies a formatted summary to your clipboard that you can paste anywhere. The summary includes total cost, duration, number of attendees, and a breakdown by attendee group. Use this to transparently communicate meeting costs to your team.

Can I track recurring meetings?

meeting.cash doesn't have automated recurring meeting tracking, but manual tracking is straightforward. Track one instance of your recurring meeting to establish the per-meeting cost. Then multiply by frequency to get annual cost. For example, a weekly meeting that costs $150 per session costs $7,800 annually (52 weeks × $150). Keep a simple spreadsheet or note with recurring meeting costs, or create a reminder to track one instance per month to verify costs haven't changed.

Can I integrate this with my calendar?

Not yet. Calendar integration is something we're considering for the future, but currently meeting.cash is a standalone calculator. You manually start tracking when a meeting begins. This simplicity is intentional—no OAuth permissions, no calendar access, no complexity. Just open the page and track. If calendar integration is important to you, let us know and we'll prioritize it.

Business Model & Future

Is there a team or enterprise version?

No. meeting.cash is free for everyone, from individuals to Fortune 500 companies. There's no paid tier and we don't plan to create one. We believe meeting cost visibility should be universally accessible. Use it for your entire organization without worrying about licenses, seat counts, or pricing.

How do you make money?

We use Google AdSense to display occasional ads on the site. This keeps the calculator completely free while covering hosting costs. We're transparent about this: ads help us keep the lights on, and in exchange, you get a powerful meeting cost calculator with no signup, no paywalls, and no feature restrictions. We don't sell your data (we don't even have your data to sell), and we'll never put the core calculator behind a paywall.

Who built this and why?

meeting.cash was built by a small team frustrated with wasteful meeting culture in knowledge work. After realizing that most organizations have no idea what their meetings actually cost, we built the simplest possible tool to make those costs visible. Read our full story on the About page, including what we've learned from tracking over 2,000 meetings.

Still Have Questions?

Can't find what you're looking for? Check out our How It Works guide for a detailed walkthrough of the calculator, or visit our About page to learn more about our mission and values. For questions or feedback, email us at [email protected] or reach out at @meetingcash.