Compare two salaries
Weighing up a new job or a promotion? See two salaries side-by-side and exactly how much more (or less) you'd actually keep.
The two salaries
Side by side
What a £7,000 rise is really worth
Move from £38,000 to £45,000 in 2026/27 and your take-home goes from £30,880 to £35,920. The £7,000 on the contract becomes £5,040 in your account, £420 a month, because the entire rise sits in the basic-rate band where each pound keeps 72p after tax and National Insurance. Not bad, and worth knowing before the negotiation rather than after it.
The same rise, higher up the ladder
Now run £55,000 to £62,000. Same £7,000 on paper, but every pound of it is higher-rate money, so take-home moves from £42,457 to £46,517: a gain of £4,060, or 58p in the pound. Add a Plan 2 student loan and the same rise keeps 49p. This is the single most common surprise when people compare offers, and it means a £7,000 rise at one salary and a £7,000 rise at another are different amounts of actual money.
Comparing like with like
A fair comparison needs the same assumptions on both sides, which is why this tool applies one pension percentage and one student loan setting to both salaries. What it can't see is everything around the salary: employer pension percentage, bonus culture, car allowances, how much the commute costs. A job that pays £1,000 more but doubles your train fare loses on the round trip. Get each offer's full picture from the take-home pay calculator, and see where either number stands nationally with the salary rank tool.
Common questions
What does this comparison show?
It puts two salaries side by side with the take-home, Income Tax and National Insurance for each, plus the difference, so you can see what a pay rise or a job offer is really worth after deductions.
Why is the take-home gap smaller than the salary gap?
Because the higher salary is taxed at higher marginal rates, the difference in take-home is always smaller than the difference in gross, and it shrinks sharply across the £50,270 and £100,000 thresholds.
Can I compare a job in Scotland with one elsewhere?
Scottish Income Tax depends on where you live, not where the job is based, so one region setting applies to both salaries — set it to where you would be living. If taking the job means moving across the border, run each salary through the take-home calculator with its own region; the Scottish bands matter most above £43,662.
These results are estimates for general information only and are not financial advice. Check every figure yourself and seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional before making any decision. Read the full disclaimer.