How to Compare Two Job Offers: A Simple Table and Questions to Ask
Two offers at once feels like a good problem until you have to choose. Knowing how to compare two job offers matters because the bigger number isn't always the better job, and the decision usually has a deadline. Here is a simple comparison table, the questions to ask before you decide, and wording for asking for a few more days.
Start with both offers in writing
You can't compare a written offer with a phone call. Ask each company for the offer in writing, or at least an email with the main terms: title, pay and its structure, contract type, start date and the remote arrangement.
If one offer is still verbal: "Thank you, this sounds great. Could you send the details in writing so I can review them properly?" Until it arrives, treat the offer as likely, not certain, and don't turn the other one down.
The comparison table
Copy it into a spreadsheet with one column per offer. Cells you can't fill become your questions.
| What to compare | What to write down | Ask if it's unclear |
|---|---|---|
| Role and scope | What you'd actually own in the first six months | "What would success look like after six months?" |
| Team and manager | Team size, who you report to, how you got on in interviews | "Could I talk to someone on the team before deciding?" |
| Growth | Level, how promotions work, what you'd learn | "How did the last person in this role progress?" |
| Pay structure | Base, bonus, equity, currency, gross annual | "Which parts are fixed and which depend on results?" |
| Contract type | Employee, employer of record (EOR) or contractor | "Who would my contract be with, and in which country?" |
| Remote policy | Fully remote, hybrid, office days, time-zone overlap | "Is this written down anywhere, and has it changed recently?" |
| Stability | Funding, recent layoffs, how long the role has been open | "Why is this role open now?" |
| Notice and start | Your current notice, their start date, probation | "How flexible is the start date?" |
| Benefits and leave | Holidays, sick leave, equipment, learning budget | "Is there a written benefits summary?" |
Compare pay like with like
Pay comparisons often go wrong because the two numbers are rarely in the same units. Put both offers on the same footing:
- Same period and tax basis. Gross annual next to gross annual, not a monthly take-home figure next to a yearly gross one.
- Fixed separately from variable. A target-based bonus or commission isn't base salary. For equity, ask its form and how it vests.
- Same currency. Note who carries the exchange-rate risk if you're paid in a currency you don't spend.
- Same contract type. A contractor rate has to cover your own taxes, unpaid days and equipment, so it isn't directly comparable to a salary. We go through this in contractor vs employee for remote jobs.
For the take-home difference, use official tax calculators or ask an accountant; figures depend on where you live. If an offer came from a posting with a range, reading a salary range in a job posting helps you check what it covered.
Remote policy and stability deserve their own look
Two roles both called "remote" can be very different jobs: one expects you online during US hours, another means remote within one country plus quarterly office trips. Our guide to hybrid, remote-first and remote-friendly explains how to read the labels.
Stability is harder to judge from outside, but a few signals help: whether the company's open roles are growing or shrinking, whether teams were cut recently, and how candidly interviewers answered questions about the roadmap. See what job openings tell you about a company.
Decide what matters before you score
Write down your top three priorities for this move, in order: maybe growth, then remote, then pay; maybe stability, if you've just been through a layoff. Then mark each row as better for A, better for B, or roughly equal, and look first at your top three rows.
Also list deal-breakers, such as a contract type you can't accept or a time-zone overlap you can't keep. An offer that fails one is out, however strong the rest looks.
Questions to ask before deciding
Once you have an offer, it's normal to ask more than you did in interviews:
- Could I have a short call with my future manager, or a future teammate?
- What would my first project be?
- How are performance and pay reviewed, and how often?
- Is there a probation period, and what happens at the end of it?
- What's the notice period on both sides once I'm in the role?
Notice and probation terms differ by country and contract, so read them in the written offer, not your call notes. If you're still employed, check your own notice too; job search while employed lists what to settle before you resign.
How to ask for more time politely
Offers often come with a deadline. Asking for a few more days is a normal request, and it lands best when you name the day you'll answer:
Thank you for the offer, I'm really pleased. I'd like to give it the consideration it deserves. Would it be possible to send you my answer by [day]?
Waiting on another process? Say so without naming the company:
I'm in the final stage with one other company and expect to hear by [day]. I'd like to make a decision with full information. Could I come back to you by then?
And to the slower company:
I've received an offer with a deadline of [day]. I'm very interested in this role. Is there any chance of moving the next step forward?
Don't invent an offer to speed things up, and don't accept one while planning to keep interviewing. Both tend to come out later. Once you decide, tell the other company quickly and briefly, thank them, and leave the door open; people move between companies.
Once you've signed, pause Hot Jobs with /stop and turn it back on with /resume when you next look. Until then, it sends new roles from 390+ company career pages and two remote boards to Telegram by title and location; it doesn't filter by pay or contract type, so the comparison stays your job. €3, paid once. Connect the bot