Guide
Comparing salary and bonus properly
How to judge a compensation package when one role offers more fixed pay and another offers more bonus potential.
Salary and bonus are not interchangeable
Fixed salary and variable bonus can lead to similar gross numbers on paper but very different levels of certainty in practice.
Start with after-tax cash
The first useful comparison is take-home pay after tax, not the gross package headline. A larger bonus can still leave you with a smaller or less reliable outcome than a slightly stronger salary.
Then add the real-world questions
Once the net pay picture is clear, think about payment timing, bonus certainty, and how comfortable you are relying on variable compensation.
How to use PayPath here
Run the relevant calculator for your live numbers, review the methodology if the assumptions matter to your decision, and save the strongest scenarios in the workspace if you are comparing more than one option.