Raise vs Promotion Calculator

5% raise (3,000 on 60k) over 20 years with 3% annual growth: 80,600 cumulative. Promotion jumping to 75,000 salary (15,000 lift): 403,100 cumulative. Promotions beat raises on cash alone, but with responsibility and risk attached.

Quick example

With current salary of 60,000 and raise amount of 3,000 (plus promotion lift of 15,000 and years remaining of 20), the result is 322,444.49.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Current Salary, Raise Amount, Promotion Lift, Years Remaining, and Annual Growth.

What's happening under the hood

Growing annuity for each lift scenario.

Why small rate shifts add up

A 3% pay rise looks modest. Apply it over a 30-year career with modest promotions and the lifetime difference runs to six figures. This calculator makes that invisible compounding visible in a way spreadsheets usually don't.

What this doesn't capture

Tax bands, pension contributions, payroll deductions, and non-cash benefits sit outside this calculation. The figure is the headline; your actual position depends on local tax rules and personal circumstances. A dedicated take-home calculator covers the full picture.

Where to go next

This calculation rarely sits alone in a planning exercise. If you're running these numbers, related tools include the raise negotiation calculator, the career earnings peak calculator, and the notice period value calculator — each one answers a different question in the same territory.

Why the gap compounds

A raise and a promotion look similar in the month they land and diverge sharply over a career, because both are applied to every future year and then grown again. The calculator compounds the lift at the annual growth rate you enter, so the figure it returns is the gap between two salary paths rather than a single year's difference. At the defaults, a 3,000 raise on a 60,000 salary accumulates to roughly 80,600 over twenty years at 3% growth, while a 15,000 promotion lift reaches about 403,100. The 322,400 difference is not five times the headline gap by accident: the larger base is what subsequent percentage rises are calculated against.

What the comparison leaves out

Two things sit outside the model. It assumes the growth rate applies equally to both paths, when promotions often move someone onto a different band with its own progression. It also ignores everything that is not salary, so a promotion carrying longer hours, relocation, or a bonus structure is not captured. Shortening the years-remaining input is the quickest way to see how much of the advantage depends on time rather than on the size of the step.