How to Compare Two Tech Job Offers Without Regret

Two offers. Both real. Both want an answer by Friday.

This is the good kind of stress, but it's still stress - and the way most people resolve it is to compare the two base salaries and pick the bigger one. That's how you end up six months in, well-paid and miserable, wondering what you missed.

Here's a framework that weighs what actually drives whether an offer was a good decision a year later.

First, Compute Real Total Comp - Not the Headline Number

Recruiters quote whatever makes the offer sound biggest. Your job is to normalize both offers to the same shape.

Add up, for each offer:

Base salary - the only guaranteed number
Equity, vested per year - take the grant, divide by the vesting period, and discount it for risk (more on this below)
Signing bonus, amortized - a $40k signing bonus is $20k/year over two years, $10k/year over four. Don't count it as recurring.
Annual / performance bonus - use the target, then mentally haircut it; targets are not guarantees
401k match, and the vesting schedule on that match

The equity line is where offers diverge the most and where people fool themselves.

Equity: Public vs Private Changes Everything

A public-company RSU grant is close to cash - you can sell on a schedule, you know the price. A private-company option grant is a lottery ticket with a strike price.

Public RSUs: value the grant at today's price, but remember the price moves. Use today's number, not a hopeful one.
Private equity: discount it hard. The "$300k of equity" a startup quotes is at the last funding round's valuation, which may never be realized. For a Series A/B company, mentally value it at a fraction of the headline - and treat anything you get as upside, not salary.

If one offer is a public company and one is a startup, you are not comparing two salaries. You're comparing a salary to a salary-plus-bet. Decide whether you want the bet.

The Factors That Actually Predict Regret

Comp gets you in the door of the decision. These get you out of it without regret:

Your manager. The single biggest predictor of whether you'll be happy and whether you'll grow. You met them in the loop - what was your read? Did they seem like someone who'll advocate for you, or someone managing up? If you can, ask to talk to them again before deciding.

Growth trajectory. Which role puts you on a steeper learning curve? Early-career, a job that levels you up fast is worth a real discount in cash. The skills compound; this year's lower base buys next year's higher one.

The team and the work. Are you building something core to the company or something on the periphery? Core work gets resources, visibility, and promotion. Peripheral work gets reorged.

Trajectory of the company. Is it growing, flat, or quietly contracting? A rising company creates roles above you to get promoted into. A shrinking one creates layoffs.

Commute / remote / location. Five days in office vs remote is a real, daily quality-of-life difference. Price it honestly - an hour each way is 10 hours a week of your life.

Brand and optionality. A recognizable name on your resume opens the next door. Early in your career this matters more than people admit; later it matters less.

Build a Weighted Scorecard

Don't try to hold all of this in your head - your brain will just over-weight whatever you saw last. Make a simple table.

List your factors. Give each a weight from 1 to 5 based on how much you care about it right now. Score each offer 1 to 10 on each factor. Multiply and sum.

Total comp (weight 5): Offer A 7, Offer B 9
Manager (weight 5): Offer A 9, Offer B 5
Growth (weight 4): Offer A 8, Offer B 6
Commute (weight 3): Offer A 9, Offer B 4
...

The point isn't that the spreadsheet decides for you. The point is that when you see the totals, you'll instantly know whether you agree - and that gut reaction is the real answer. If the lower-scoring offer makes you sad, you've learned what you actually want.

Use Each Offer to Improve the Other

You have leverage right now that you'll never have again: two companies that both want you.

Tell Company A, honestly and politely, that you have a competing offer and you'd love to make theirs work. Give them a real number.
Don't bluff with an offer you don't have. Don't play them against each other aggressively - tech is small and recruiters talk.
Often the gap closes fast. A $15k base bump on the lower offer can flip the whole decision.

This is the rare moment where asking is nearly free. The worst case is they say no and you're exactly where you started.

Watch for the Pressure Tactics

A good company will give you time to decide. Be wary of:

Exploding offers - "this expires in 48 hours." Almost always negotiable. Ask for a week; a no is a data point about how they'll treat you later.
Vague equity - if they won't tell you the strike price, the latest valuation, or the total shares outstanding, you can't value the grant. Push for the numbers.
"We'll fix the comp at your first review" - get it in writing or assume it won't happen.

The Gut-Check Question

When the spreadsheet is done and the numbers are close, ask yourself one thing:

Which job would I be more excited to start on Monday?

That excitement is information. It's your subconscious integrating everything the scorecard can't capture - the vibe of the team, the energy of the founder, the thing the manager said that stuck with you. When comp is within ~10%, take the job you want to do. The money difference washes out; the daily experience does not.

Two offers is leverage, not just a decision. Normalize the comp, weight what predicts regret, negotiate while you can, then trust the gut-check.

Want to pressure-test the numbers before you sign? gitGood's compensation explorer breaks down real base, equity, and bonus bands across 16 companies and every level - so you can see whether either offer is actually competitive, and exactly how much room you have to negotiate.