Is there a standard percentage to counter with?

Between seven and twelve percent above the offer is the band most hiring managers can approve without going back upstairs. Below seven and you've left money on the table for no reason. Above twenty and you're asking them to rebuild the role's budget, which is when offers start to stall. Where you land inside that band depends on how badly they need you.

What if I don't have a walk-away number yet?

Then find one before the call, not during it. Take your current base, add what a move actually costs you — commute, notice period, lost bonus — and write down the figure below which you'd rather stay put. It doesn't have to be defensible to anyone else. It just has to be real enough that you won't quietly abandon it under pressure.

Does this work for internal promotions too?

Yes, with one adjustment. Internally, budget cycles are slower and your manager rarely controls the number alone, so the credible ask sits at the lower end of the range and the timing matters more than the figure. Put the number in writing before the review, not in the room.

What if they say the offer is final?

“Final” usually means final on base, not final on everything. Ask what else is movable — signing bonus, review date, title, holiday, remote days. And ask it as a genuine question rather than a challenge: “If the base is fixed, where is there flexibility?” That single sentence reopens most conversations.

Should I give the exact number or a range?

Give one number and a reason. Ranges get heard as the bottom of the range, every time. Use the range this calculator gives you privately — open at the top, know where you'll settle — but say only the single figure out loud.

Free tool

You have a number. Here is what to counter with.

Answer four questions. Get a target range and the opening line to say it.

Their offer

Base salary only — leave bonus and equity out of it for now.

Your walk-away number

The lowest base you would still say yes to. Nobody sees this but you.

How badly do they need you?5

How urgent their hiring is — a long-open role and a fast process both mean high.

They have other candidatesYou're the only fit

How badly do you need this?5

How much leverage you're negotiating from — other options make you harder to squeeze.

I have other optionsI need this role

Enter their offer above and your number appears here.

Want the exact words to say this out loud?

The script builder turns your number into the sentences you'll actually use — the opening line, the justification, and an answer for whatever they push back with. Two minutes, written for your role and your situation.

Rehearse this out loud →

How to use this calculator

1
Enter their offer
Base salary only, in the currency and frequency you were quoted. Leave bonus and equity out for now.
2
Set your walk-away number
The lowest base you would still accept. It stays on your device — nobody else sees it.
3
Weigh the leverage
Say how urgently they need you and how much you need the role. That balance decides how far above the offer you can credibly go.
4
Take the number into the room
You get an opening figure and a floor, plus one line explaining why that number holds up.

You have a number. Here is what to counter with.

Want the exact words to say this out loud?

How to use this calculator

Enter their offer

Set your walk-away number

Weigh the leverage

Take the number into the room

Questions about countering

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