What discount should I use?

There is no correct answer, which is why the tool makes you choose. Consider how long the shares are likely to stay illiquid, whether the company runs tender offers, and what would happen to your finances if they were worth nothing. Try a range rather than one number.

Is a higher total always the better offer?

No, and this tool deliberately does not declare a winner. Two numbers can be equal while carrying completely different risk, and equity value is a scenario rather than a fact. It is arithmetic to inform your judgment, not a recommendation.

Should I include the whole grant or one year of it?

Enter the total grant and its vesting length; the tool annualises it. Comparing a four-year grant against an annual salary is the most common way these comparisons go wrong.

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Private vs public offer, in real dollars per year

A startup offer and a public-company offer aren't denominated in the same units. This annualises both, with an illiquidity discount you control on the private side, so you can look at them side by side.

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Educational estimate, never advice

The private-company offer

Base salary (USD/yr)Equity grant (share count)Your estimate of the per-share value (USD)Private shares have no public price. Enter your own estimate (409A, last round, or a secondary quote you trust).Options (not RSUs)Illiquidity discount: 30%Private equity can't always be sold. How much you discount it is your judgment, so it's a slider.Vesting years

The public-company offer

Base salary + bonus (USD/yr)Stock compensation (USD/yr)Annual RSU value from the offer letter, at today's public share price.

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How this is calculated

Both offers are reduced to dollars per year: salary, plus bonus, plus the annual value of the equity grant. That last part is where the two stop being comparable — public-company stock can usually be sold shortly after it vests, and private-company stock usually cannot.

The illiquidity discount is how you price that difference, and it is deliberately yours to set rather than ours. A discount of zero treats private shares as cash-equivalent; a heavy discount treats them as close to a lottery ticket. Most people sit somewhere in between, and the honest answer is that nobody knows the right number.

Nothing here models tax, refresh grants, or what either company does next.

Questions people ask

What discount should I use?: There is no correct answer, which is why the tool makes you choose. Consider how long the shares are likely to stay illiquid, whether the company runs tender offers, and what would happen to your finances if they were worth nothing. Try a range rather than one number.
Is a higher total always the better offer?: No, and this tool deliberately does not declare a winner. Two numbers can be equal while carrying completely different risk, and equity value is a scenario rather than a fact. It is arithmetic to inform your judgment, not a recommendation.
Should I include the whole grant or one year of it?: Enter the total grant and its vesting length; the tool annualises it. Comparing a four-year grant against an annual salary is the most common way these comparisons go wrong.

Stop retyping your grant into calculators

ExitCue keeps your grants, vesting, and deadlines in one place and attaches the latest estimated share price for your company — with the date it was observed. Free, and the price is never behind a paywall.

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Keep going

Behind this calculation: Where your estimated share price comes from.

Other free calculators: Option exercise cost, Vesting schedule, Post-termination deadline.

Looking for a specific employer? The company directory has estimated share prices for around 2,000 private companies.