How the email time cost calculator works
Small tasks add up when repeated every day. The calculator multiplies the emails you handle by the time each takes and by your workdays.
Value = Hours × Hourly value
Include reading, replying, filing and deleting. A good estimate of your hourly value is salary plus benefits divided by about 2,080 hours, or your billing rate if you charge clients. Workdays default to 230, roughly 52 weeks minus holidays and vacation. Studies of knowledge workers, such as McKinsey's 2012 report on the social economy, have estimated that email takes up around a quarter of the working week.
Worked example
Handling 80 emails a day at 2 minutes each takes 2.67 hours a day. Over 230 workdays that is about 613 hours, or 15.3 full 40-hour weeks. At $50 an hour, the time is worth about $30,667 a year.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do people spend on email?
Estimates commonly range from 2 to 3 hours a day for office workers.
How do I find my hourly value?
Divide total yearly compensation by about 2,080 hours, or use your billing rate.
Does checking email less often help?
Studies, including work by Kostadin Kushlev and Elizabeth Dunn, found that checking email three times a day lowered stress compared with constant checking.
Should I count reading time?
Yes. Reading, sorting and deleting all take time.
Updated October 2026. Results are estimates for education, not financial or medical advice. All math runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.