Job offer comparison: which one really pays more?

How it is calculated

The comparison tool runs two complete calculations with the modele-social engine, one per offer, then puts the results side by side. Each offer is first brought back to a gross annual figure: monthly amount paid × months paid, plus annual bonuses; that gross annual figure is divided by twelve to get the average monthly pay that goes into the engine with status, health cover and weekly hours. Employee contributions are applied band by band, exactly as in the gross-to-net converter.

Meal vouchers do not go through payroll: the tool estimates the share paid by the employer (voucher value × voucher days per month × employer share) and adds it to the offer's net pay on a separate line. The gap shown is always “B minus A”, in average net monthly, net annual and net hourly pay; the winning offer is the one whose net monthly pay plus meal vouchers is highest, unless they are within a euro of each other, in which case the tool calls it a tie.

What the result includes

So that two people get the same figure from the same gross pay, the site always calculates from the same baseline situation. Each line can be changed in the calculator's options where it matters.

• General social security scheme (régime général), rates as of 26 October 2026 (rules from modele-social, the engine behind URSSAF's simulator).
• Permanent full-time contract (CDI), 35 hours a week, i.e. 151.67 h a month, paid over 12 months.
• Non-cadre by default (cadre status is one button away), collective agreement set to the general rules (“droit commun”).
• Company health cover (mutuelle) of €40 a month, of which €20 is deducted from pay, URSSAF's default setting; zero is possible in the options.
• Outside Alsace-Moselle (option available), without meal vouchers or benefits in kind.
• Before income tax: tax withheld at source depends on your household and comes on top (see the “net after tax” tool).
• Minimum wage (SMIC) since 1 June 2026: €12.31 gross per hour (service-public.gouv.fr).
• Annual bonuses spread over twelve months and subject to contributions like salary; months paid converted into gross annual pay, then average monthly pay.
• Meal vouchers: estimated employer share, outside payroll, on a separate line and in the “including meal vouchers” gap.

Limits

A correct calculation for a typical situation is not your payslip. Here is what the tool does not know, so that you read the result as a reliable order of magnitude, not a promise.

• Collective agreement: sector minimums, seniority bonuses, compulsory thirteenth month and specific provident schemes are not taken into account (general rules only).
• Bonuses, variable pay, overtime, benefits in kind: left out, except in the tools that ask for them.
• Health cover and provident scheme: your actual contribution may be different; change it in the options.
• Alsace-Moselle: the option adds the local scheme's health contribution, without its other specifics.
• Public sector not covered: civil servants' pay scales and contributions follow other rules.
• Simplified tax: no tax reductions or credits, no exceptional income; the engine's “tax” module is flagged as experimental by URSSAF.
• Benefits not quantified: remote work, car, housing, irregular profit-sharing, training, career prospects.
• Meal vouchers: the employee share deducted from pay and the exemption ceilings are not checked; the estimate assumes days worked on site.
• Hours per week: they change the net hourly figure but each contract is still calculated as full time.

Five ways of presenting the same salary

Offer A stays at €3,000 gross a month, non-cadre, twelve months, no bonus. Offer B changes on each line: gap in average net monthly pay, in net annual pay, then including meal vouchers. Amounts calculated by the site's engine, to the nearest euro.

Reading an offer in net terms

A job ad almost always states a gross annual salary, sometimes “over thirteen months”, sometimes a “package” with bonuses included. Three questions are enough to enter it correctly: how many months are paid, which part is guaranteed and which is variable, and which status is offered. Guaranteed bonuses go into the gross figure; target-based variable pay goes into annual bonuses, at the level you actually expect to receive, not the maximum promised. The guide to reading a job ad covers each wording.

The net hourly figure deserves a look: at €2,353 net a month for 35 hours, offer A pays €15.51 an hour. A slightly better-paid offer on 39 hours without paid overtime can be worth less per hour. To dig into a single offer, the gross-to-net converter and the net after tax tool take over.

Beyond net pay: what the tool does not compare

Two offers with equal net pay are not necessarily equal. Remote days save commutes; a well-covered family health plan is worth tens of euros a month; profit-sharing and participation, being variable, can weigh a lot in a good year and nothing the next; a company that really pays overtime changes the net hourly figure. Write these down against each offer, put a figure on what you can, and keep the net comparison as the baseline.

If the gap is small, that is the moment to negotiate: the guide to negotiating a job offer explains how to use a competing offer without bluffing, and the pay rise simulator turns the few percent you ask for into net euros.