What this actually does: Calculates what you really make per hour after you factor in commute time, work expenses, unpaid overtime, and all the hidden costs of employment. The number is always lower than you think and it will make you angry.

Why you need this wake-up call: You think you make ₦200,000 monthly. But after transport, lunch, work clothes, and the 90 minutes you spend in traffic daily, you’re actually making way less. This calculator does math that your employer hopes you never do.

How to face reality:

Monthly salary is what you see on your payslip. ₦250,000? ₦180,000? Whatever actually hits your account.

Official work hours per day is what your contract says. Probably 8 hours. But we both know that’s not the full story.

Do you work overtime? Be honest. If you’re checking emails after 6pm, replying to boss messages on Saturday, or “just finishing up” past closing time regularly, you work overtime. Select yes and stop lying to yourself.

Extra hours per week matters if you selected yes to overtime. How many hours beyond your official time do you actually work weekly? 5 hours? 10 hours? 15 hours? Count everything, the late nights, the weekend messages, the “quick calls” during your off days.

Daily commute time is total for both ways. 45 minutes to work, 45 minutes back, that’s 90 minutes daily. If Lagos traffic makes it 2 hours some days and 45 minutes others, take your honest average. This time counts because you can’t do anything else during it and it only exists because of your job.

Monthly transport cost includes everything. Fuel if you drive. Uber when you’re late. Danfo when you’re broke. Monthly bus pass if you’re organized. Whatever you spend to get to that job every month, add it up.

Work lunch costs daily should be what you actually spend, not what you wish you spent. If you’re buying ₦1,500 lunch daily but cooking would cost ₦500, that ₦1,000 difference is a work expense. You only spend that extra because you’re too tired from work to cook.

Other monthly work expenses people ignore: that data subscription because you work from your phone, the professional clothes you had to buy, the laptop bag, the phone upgrade because clients expect you to be reachable, the co-working space on work-from-home days. Add them up monthly. You’ll be shocked.

The brutal truth appears: What You Actually Earn Per Hour

Your real hourly rate accounts for all time (work + commute) and subtracts all expenses. That ₦250,000 monthly job? After expenses and actual time invested, you might be making ₦1,200 per hour. A good freelancer makes ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per hour. You’re being scammed by employment.

Monthly breakdown shows exactly where your money goes. Gross salary looks good until you see expenses eating 25 to 35% of it.

Time investment reveals the scam. You thought you work 176 hours monthly (8 hours x 22 days). Add commute and overtime, you’re actually giving that job 240+ hours monthly. That’s almost 30% more time than you’re being paid for.

Percentage you keep is depression fuel. If you keep only 65% of your gross salary after work expenses, you’re essentially working for free 35% of the time.

Example that hurts: ₦250,000 monthly salary. 8-hour official workday but 10 hours of weekly unpaid overtime. 90-minute daily commute. ₦30,000 monthly transport. ₦1,500 daily lunch (₦33,000 monthly). ₦15,000 other work expenses.

Calculator shows: ₦172,000 net take-home after ₦78,000 in work expenses. 242 total hours monthly (work + commute + overtime). Real hourly rate: ₦710. You keep only 68.8% of your gross salary.

That ₦250k job is really a ₦172k job once you remove what it costs you to have that job. And you’re making ₦710 per hour, which is less than some day laborers.

What this tells you: Time to negotiate remote work to kill that commute. Time to demand overtime pay or stop working free hours. Time to find ways to cut work expenses. Or time to find a better job entirely because this one is robbing you blind.

Use this calculator when: You’re considering a job offer and want to know real value, not just salary. You’re feeling underpaid but can’t explain why. You’re deciding between a higher-paying job with terrible commute and a lower-paying remote job. You’re wondering why you’re always broke despite “decent salary.”

The truth it reveals: Some people with ₦200k salary actually make more per hour than people with ₦350k salary because they work fewer hours, have no commute, and spend less on work. Employment is expensive. This calculator makes you see the real cost.