Introduction

Ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “Well, that could’ve been an email”?

You’re not alone. And here’s the kicker that hour-long meeting didn’t just waste time. It cost your company real money. Money that adds up faster than most people realize.

Let me break it down for you.

How Much Does a Meeting Cost, Really?

Here’s a quick scenario. You’ve got 5 people in a room for 60 minutes. Each person earns around $50 an hour. That’s $250 gone, just like that.

Do this weekly? You’re looking at $13,000 per year on a single recurring meeting.

Now multiply that across your entire organization. Suddenly, meetings aren’t just time-blockers on your calendar. They’re one of your biggest hidden expenses.

That’s exactly why I built the Meeting Cost Calculator  a simple tool that shows you the real cost of meetings, broken down by day, month, and year.

Why Most Companies Have No Clue About Meeting Costs

Think about it. We track almost every business expense software subscriptions, travel costs, office supplies. But meetings? They fly completely under the radar.

And yet, most professionals spend roughly 23 hours per week in meetings. That’s more than half a standard workweek just… meeting.

The problem isn’t meetings themselves. It’s unproductive meetings, the ones with no clear agenda, too many attendees, or no actionable outcome.

“The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings.” Thomas Sowell

The Real Cost of Meetings Per Year (This Might Shock You)

Let’s put some numbers on the table.

Meeting Setup	Per Meeting	Weekly	Monthly	Annual
5 people, 1 hour, $50/hr	$250	$250	$1,083	$13,000
8 people, 1 hour, $60/hr	$480	$480	$2,080	$24,960
10 people, 2 hours, $75/hr	$1,500	$1,500	$6,500	$78,000

Look at that last row. A bi-weekly leadership meeting with senior employees can quietly drain $78,000 from your budget annually. And this is just one meeting.Across mid-size companies, unproductive meetings cost somewhere between $25,000 to $50,000 per employee per year. According to Harvard Business Review, executives rate more than 67% of meetings as failures. For larger enterprises, we’re talking millions.

How to Calculate Meeting Cost for Your Company

Calculating meeting costs isn’t complicated. You just need three things:

1. Number of attendees
2. Duration of the meeting
3. Average hourly rate of participants

Here’s the basic formula:

Meeting Cost = Number of Attendees × Duration (in hours) × Average Hourly Rate

Simple enough, right?

But here’s where it gets interesting. When you factor in meeting frequency like one-time, weekly, daily, monthly, you start seeing the cumulative damage.

That’s the whole point of using a meeting time cost calculator. It gives you visibility into something that’s usually invisible.

What Makes Our Meeting Cost Calculator Different

There are plenty of calculators out there. So what’s special about this one?

1. Instant Results
No complex setups. Just enter your numbers and see costs per meeting, per day, per month, and annually all in one glance.

2. Frequency Options
Weekly? Monthly? One-time? You pick. The calculator adjusts everything automatically.

3. Clean, No-Nonsense Interface
No clutter. No ads. Just the information you need.

4. Works for Any Team Size
From a 3-person standup to a 50-person all-hands it scales.

When Should You Use a Meeting Cost Calculator?

Good question. Here are some real-world scenarios:

• Before scheduling a large meeting — Is this expense worth it?
• During quarterly reviews — How much are meetings costing each department?
• When advocating for async communication — Hard numbers speak louder than opinions.
• For leadership presentations — Want to pitch “meeting-free afternoons”? Show them the ROI.

I’ve seen managers use this tool to justify cutting their weekly meetings from 5 to 2. The result? Teams got more done, and the company saved thousands.

The Unproductive Meetings Problem (And How to Fix It)

Let’s be honest not all meetings are bad. Some are essential. The problem is when meetings become the default response to everything.

Here’s what unproductive meetings usually look like:

• No agenda or clear purpose
• Way too many people invited “just in case”
• Runs over time, every single time
• Ends with “let’s schedule another meeting to discuss this”

Sound familiar?

Tips to Run Better Meetings

1. Set a strict agenda — and stick to it
2. Invite only essential people — everyone else can get notes
3. Time-box ruthlessly — 30 minutes should mean 30 minutes
4. End with action items — who’s doing what, and by when?
5. Ask yourself first — could this be a Slack message or email instead?

Pro tip: Before every meeting, calculate its cost. You’d be surprised how that number alone changes behavior.

Real Talk: Meetings Aren’t Going Away

I’m not here to tell you meetings are evil. They’re not. Collaboration matters. But collaboration without cost awareness is just… expensive chaos.

When you know exactly what a meeting costs, you make smarter decisions:

• Do we really need 12 people in this room?
• Can we solve this in 30 minutes instead of 60?
• Is everyone here contributing, or just attending?

Visibility changes behavior. That’s the entire point.

Who Should Use This Tool?

Honestly? Anyone who values their time.

• Startup founders juggling tight budgets
• Team leads trying to protect their team’s focus time
• HR and ops managers optimizing company-wide productivity
• Freelancers and consultants pricing their meeting time into proposals
• Remote teams deciding between sync and async communication

If you’ve ever felt like meetings were eating your day, this tool is for you.

Try the Meeting Cost Calculator Today

Stop guessing. Start knowing.

Use the Meeting Cost Calculator to see exactly how much your meetings cost and make smarter decisions about how you spend your team’s most valuable resource: time.

Whether you’re running a small startup or a large enterprise, understanding the cost of meetings per year can genuinely transform how your organization operates.

Because the truth is, time is money. And meetings? They’re spending both.

Quick Recap

What You Learned	Key Takeaway
How much does a meeting cost	Meeting cost = Attendees × Hours × Hourly Rate
Unproductive meetings cost	Can drain $25K-$50K per employee annually
Meeting cost calculator benefits	Visibility, accountability, smarter scheduling
How to fix bad meetings	Agendas, time limits, fewer attendees

Ready to find out what your meetings really cost?
Give the Meeting Cost Calculator a spin. Your calendar (and your budget) will thank you.

Have questions or feedback? Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear how you’re using this tool to take control of your meeting culture.