This free pay raise calculator shows exactly what your salary increase is worth. Enter your current pay, your raise as a percentage, a new salary, or a flat amount, and instantly see your new salary, the increase in cash and percent terms, and the extra pay landing in every paycheck. Most importantly, it checks your raise against inflation so you know whether you are truly getting ahead or just keeping pace. Works with any currency. No signup required.
Used to check whether your raise keeps up with rising prices. Default is 3%.
Add your current pay and your raise to see your new salary, the extra pay, and whether it beats inflation.
Got a raise? Track your new income in Auritrack, update your budget in seconds, and make sure the extra money actually goes where you want it to.
Try Auritrack FreeSelect whether your current salary is quoted annually, monthly, or hourly. Hourly pay is annualized at 40 hours per week for 52 weeks so every result lines up on the same scale.
Type in what you earn today in the frequency you picked. Pick your currency from the selector in the top right — the calculator works with any currency in the world.
Choose how your raise is expressed: a percentage (like 5%), the new total salary offered, or a flat increase amount. The calculator converts between all three automatically.
Leave the default at 3% or enter the current inflation rate for your country. This is used to work out whether the raise actually grows your buying power.
See your new salary, the increase in cash and percent terms, the extra pay per year, per month, and per paycheck, and a clear verdict on whether the raise beats inflation.
A pay raise can be described three different ways, and they all point to the same result. The most common is a percentage: multiply your current salary by the raise percent to find the increase, then add it back. A 5% raise on a $60,000 salary is $60,000 × 0.05 = $3,000, giving a new salary of $63,000. The second way is a new total figure. If an offer letter simply states your new salary, subtract your current pay to find the increase, then divide by your current pay to recover the percentage. The third way is a flat amount, such as “a $3,000 raise” or “$2 more per hour,” which you convert to a percentage by dividing the increase by your current pay. This calculator accepts all three and keeps the math consistent no matter which one your employer uses.
Raise % = (New Salary − Old Salary) / Old Salary × 100
There is no single number that makes a raise “good,” because context matters more than the headline percentage. Standard annual merit increases in the United States have commonly landed in the 3% to 5% range in recent years, so anything in that band is roughly typical for staying in the same role. Raises tied to a promotion or a move to a new employer are usually much larger, often 10% to 20% or more, because you are being repriced for a bigger job rather than given a routine annual bump. The real test is what the raise does to your buying power. A 4% raise feels generous when inflation is 2%, but it barely moves the needle when inflation is 4%, and it is a step backward when inflation is 6%. Judge every raise against the cost of living, not against zero.
Inflation quietly erodes the value of every dollar you earn, so a raise that looks positive on paper can still leave you poorer in practice. The number that matters is the real raise, which strips out inflation to show how much your purchasing power actually changed. The formula is ((1 + raise) / (1 + inflation) − 1) × 100. A 5% raise against 3% inflation delivers roughly 1.94% of real growth, so you genuinely come out ahead. A 2% raise against 3% inflation produces about −0.97%, which means the extra dollars in your paycheck buy less than your old salary did. This is why accepting a below-inflation raise without pushing back can amount to a silent pay cut. To see how prices compound over several years, run the figures through our inflation calculator and check whether your salary is keeping up over the long term.
Not all raises are created for the same reason, and understanding the difference helps you set expectations. A cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is designed only to keep your pay in step with inflation. It is applied broadly, usually to everyone at a company or in a pay band, and it does not reward individual performance. A merit raise, by contrast, is meant to recognize your specific contribution, skills, and results, and it should sit on top of any cost-of-living adjustment rather than replace it. Problems arise when an employer labels a cost-of-living adjustment as a merit raise, because it lets them acknowledge your work without actually improving your real income. When you discuss a raise, it is worth separating the two: ask what portion reflects inflation and what portion reflects your performance. Remember too that a raise changes your take-home pay less than the headline figure suggests, because a higher salary can push part of your income into a higher tax bracket. Our tax estimator helps you see the after-tax value of a new salary.
Asking for a raise is far easier when you arrive with numbers instead of feelings. Start by researching the typical pay for your role, experience level, and location so you have a market benchmark to anchor to. Next, document your results: quantify the revenue you helped generate, the costs you saved, the projects you delivered, and any responsibilities you have taken on since your last review. Decide on a specific target figure rather than a vague range, because a concrete number gives the conversation a clear reference point. Use this calculator to translate that target into the annual, monthly, and per-paycheck impact, and to confirm it clears inflation with room to spare. If you receive a counter-offer, our salary negotiation calculator can help you weigh it. Time the request well, ideally after a clear win or during a scheduled review, and frame it around the value you deliver rather than personal need. Once a new number is agreed, put the extra income to work by updating your budget so the raise builds wealth instead of quietly inflating your spending. Our budget planner makes it easy to give every new dollar a job.
See how purchasing power changes over time. Calculate the real value of money across any year range.
Estimate your federal and state tax liability, see your effective tax rate, and use AI to find deductions you might be missing.
Describe your situation and let AI build a personalized monthly budget instantly. Or do it yourself with the 50/30/20 rule, custom ratios, or zero-based budgeting.
Work out time-and-a-half or double-time pay, your total weekly earnings, and your effective hourly rate once overtime is included.
Earn More, Keep More
A bigger paycheck only builds wealth if you tell it where to go. Auritrack tracks your income, updates your budget automatically, and shows you in real time whether your raise is growing your savings. Supports every currency with AI-powered live exchange rates. Free to start.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and may not reflect actual financial outcomes. Always consult a qualified financial professional before making financial decisions.
