Is it worth the time?
How much money you can spend automating a task before you're spending more than you save
| Time Saved Frequency | 50/day | 5/day | Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 second | $3 | $0.35 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 5 seconds | $17 | $2 | $0.35 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 30 seconds | $104 | $10 | $2 | $0.42 | $0.10 | $0 |
| 1 minute | $208 | $21 | $4 | $0.83 | $0.20 | $0 |
| 5 minutes | $1k | $104 | $21 | $4 | $1 | $0 |
| 30 minutes | $6.3k | $625 | $125 | $25 | $6 | $0.50 |
| 1 hour | $13k | $1.3k | $250 | $50 | $12 | $1 |
| 4 hours | $50k | $5k | $1k | $200 | $48 | $4 |
| 1 day | $100k | $10k | $2k | $400 | $96 | $8 |
Each cell shows the value of time saved over a month or year based on task frequency. For example, saving 1 minute daily is worth the equivalent of several hours per month. Based on 2,000 working hours per year (8 hours × 250 days).
How It Works
This calculator helps you decide if automating a task is worth the investment. Find the intersection of how often you do a task (columns) and how much time you save each time (rows). The cell shows the monetary value of that saved time based on your hourly rate.
Example
If you spend 5 minutes on a task you do 5 times a day, that's 25 minutes daily. Over a month (22 work days), that's ~9 hours. At $2,000/month salary, your hourly rate is ~$12. Those 9 hours are worth ~$108. So any automation under $108 pays for itself in just one month!
Why Monthly Salary?
Your salary determines your hourly rate, which is the true cost of your time. We use monthly salary because it's what most people know. The calculator assumes 2,000 working hours per year (8 hours × 250 work days), giving roughly 167 hours per month.