Vocations · Professional Development · Job offers

8,000 options,
in dollars,
month by month.

Type the grant, the strike price, today’s value and the vesting schedule. The calculator shows what has vested, what it is worth and what the whole grant adds per year.

Value my grantWhat you get

The equity compensation calculator

The worked example is a new-hire option grant at a software startup. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
Shares vested, their value, the cost to exercise vested options, the full grant’s value and its value per year, with a vesting table. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
New graduates and early-career employees with equity in an offer, and anyone comparing offers that mix salary and stock.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Find the shares and strike in the grant agreement.
  2. Use the latest 409A value at a private company.
  3. Copy the vesting years and cliff.
  4. Type the months you have worked.
  5. Compare the value per year across offers.

Value my grant

How the grant is valued

Shares that have vested, times what each is worth to you.

The worked example: a startup’s new-hire option grantMonth 203,333 shares8,000 × 20 ÷ 48Per option$1.85$3.10 − $1.25Vested value$6,166on paperFull grant$14,800when all vestsThe worked example: a startup’s new-hire option grantMonth 203,333 shares8,000 × 20 ÷ 48Per option$1.85$3.10 − $1.25Vested value$6,166on paperFull grant$14,800when all vests
Shares vested so far times the value of each one; for options, value over the strike price.

Vesting

Most grants vest over four years with a one-year cliff: nothing until the first anniversary, then a quarter at once, then a little each month. Leave before the cliff and the grant is gone.

What a share is worth

An option is the right to buy a share at the strike price, so it is worth the gap between today’s value and the strike, and nothing if the value is lower. An RSU becomes a share at vesting and is worth the full value. At a private company that value is an appraisal, not a price you can sell at.

Sources

  1. Internal Revenue Service. Topic 427, Stock options (irs.gov).
  2. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income: restricted property and stock options (irs.gov).
  3. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. Employee stock options and equity compensation basics (investor.gov).
  4. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Employee stock options: what to know (finra.org).

This is an educational estimate, not tax or investment advice; the worked example’s grant and values are examples. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.