Work out your raise, both ways
See the percentage — and what a target % is worth.
Got an offer or a promotion number and want to know what the raise actually is? Enter your current and new salary and Raise Calculator shows the exact percentage increase plus the extra money per year and per month. Negotiating and aiming for a specific bump? Enter a target percentage and it shows the salary that gets you there.
It's the quick sanity check for any comp conversation — knowing whether “a 12% raise” or “$8k more” is the better ask, and what each is really worth over a year. Instant, private, and it pairs with the free negotiation scripts for the actual conversation.
- ✓Current + new salary → exact raise %
- ✓Target % → the resulting salary
- ✓Extra pay shown per year and per month
- ✓Pairs with the free salary negotiation scripts
How percentage raises work with different starting salaries
A 10 percent raise is not the same amount of money if you start at £40,000 or £100,000. This is so obvious when stated directly that it seems like everyone should know it, yet most people negotiating a raise think about the percentage and not the pounds. A 10 percent raise on £40,000 is £4,000 per year or about £333 per month. The same percentage on £100,000 is £10,000 per year or £833 per month. Over a three-year period, the £100,000 earner banks an extra £30,000 from the same percentage bump. This is why two people can both negotiate a 10 percent raise and end up with dramatically different outcomes.
The mathematics also compounds. If your first raise is 8 percent and your second is 10 percent, you are not getting 18 percent total. You get 8 percent on the base, then 10 percent on the 8-percent-higher base, which is 18.8 percent over two years. The difference is small on a single raise but meaningful over a career. Someone who gets 5 percent every year for five years is up 27.6 percent, not 25 percent. The money starts working for you, compounding alongside the company's raises.
Where people get stuck is conflating percentage with purchasing power. A 3 percent raise when inflation is 4 percent is a real pay cut, even though the number went up. A 7 percent raise when inflation is 2 percent is a real gain of about 5 percent. Cost of living raises (which match inflation) and merit raises (which reward performance) are different conversations. A company offering cost of living is flatly saying you are not getting more valuable to them; merit means they think you are. Knowing the math means you can distinguish them in the conversation and ask for the right category.
When to negotiate a percentage versus a fixed amount
A recruiter or manager might offer you a percentage raise, a fixed amount, or neither—just telling you the new total salary. Each anchors the negotiation differently. If they say "we can do 5 percent," you are negotiating against that percentage. If you counter with "I was looking for 8 percent," you are having a percentage conversation that keeps both numbers in play. If instead you say "that works out to £2,000 per year, and I was hoping for £4,000," you have shifted to absolute numbers and broken the percentage anchor.
The recruiter prefers percentages because they are easier to justify as policy. Management gets 3, senior staff gets 5, executives get 8—it is a framework that scales across the company and feels consistent. Fixed amounts feel like individual negotiation, which exposes the fact that some people asked and others did not. A fixed amount is also harder to defend in writing later because it becomes a precedent: if you give one person a £4,000 raise, why not the next person asking for the same role?
In practice, you want to know what the fixed amount is either way. A 5 percent offer might be 5 percent of base salary, or it might include bonus or stock, which changes the actual pounds going into your bank account. Always ask "what does that work out to in terms of monthly salary?" and get that number in writing before you accept. Ranges complicate this further: if they offer "3 to 5 percent," they are signalling that the 3 percent is the likely number and the 5 is possible if you ask. Negotiating within that range is easier than pushing outside it.
Building a raise case with data and timing
The strongest raise cases have three pieces: your market rate (what someone with your skills and experience makes in your market), your performance (what you have actually delivered), and timing (why now). Market rate is the least personal and hardest to argue against. If the market for a senior engineer in London is £85,000 to £95,000 and you are at £70,000, that is a data point. You are not asking for more because you want more; you are asking to align with market. Glassdoor, levels.fyi, and industry surveys give you ranges. Use multiple sources because they disagree.
Performance is what you have shipped, fixed, or driven in the past year. Not that you showed up and did your job, but that you shipped a feature used by thousands, reduced a process from two weeks to two days, or led a team through a major refactor. Write three to five concrete examples with numbers if you have them: cost reduced, revenue generated, time saved, performance improved. Performance alone is not enough because a company in trouble might not have money even if they think you are great. Market rate plus performance means they have no excuse.
Timing matters because companies have cycles. Budget planning happens at predictable times, and raises are harder to justify outside the planning window. If your company does annual reviews in May, asking in April is smart; asking in July is asking to wait ten months. If someone new is coming in above you on the ladder, or you got an offer from somewhere else, that creates urgency. Do not threaten; simply state: "I have been here three years and am below market. I would prefer to stay, and I need the salary to reflect that." Give them time to say yes, but not infinite time. "I am thinking through my options and would like to move quickly" is direct without being hostile.
Frequently asked questions
How is a raise percentage actually calculated?
Take your current salary, multiply it by the percentage increase, and add the result to your current salary. If you earn £50,000 and get a 10 percent raise, that is £50,000 × 0.10 = £5,000, so your new salary is £55,000. The calculator does this instantly and also shows the monthly and annual difference so you can see what the change means in your paycheque.
What counts as a reasonable raise to ask for?
Market changes (inflation, demand for your skills) usually drive 3 to 5 percent annual. A promotion or significant responsibility change justifies 8 to 15 percent. Changing jobs entirely (same company, different team) might be 10 to 20 percent. If you have not had a raise in three years, you are probably 10 to 20 percent below market. Research your actual market rate using industry surveys and levels.fyi rather than guessing.
Should I negotiate a percentage or a fixed amount?
Percentages anchor the discussion around company policy and fairness. Fixed amounts anchor around your market value and keep things concrete. The best approach is to lead with market rate (fixed) and, if they counter with a percentage, translate it into pounds to make sure you understand what you are accepting.
How do signing bonuses change the calculation?
A signing bonus is one-time money, not recurring. A £5,000 signing bonus plus a 5 percent raise is worth more than just the 5 percent, but only this year. For total compensation over a multi-year period, focus on the salary increase since the bonus does not repeat. Some people trade lower salary increases for bigger bonuses; neither is automatically better.
What is the difference between a merit raise and a cost-of-living raise?
Cost of living keeps your purchasing power the same as inflation (roughly 2 to 4 percent yearly). Merit raise is additional, rewarding your performance or the market value of your role going up. A 3 percent cost-of-living raise means the company sees you as the same. A 7 percent raise probably includes both cost of living and merit. Always ask which you are getting.
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