Evaluate an EA, Chief of Staff, or Executive Operations offer
Compare base with a named observed benchmark, separate guaranteed first-year cash from target annual cash, check whether the equity information is complete, and identify the terms still open. Free, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
What the evaluator compares
An offer is not one number. The tool returns a component readout instead of collapsing unlike elements into a Strong/Solid/Below package grade.
- Base salary position. CoS uses exact observed company-stage medians. EA uses observed incumbent bands or clearly labeled title means. Executive Operations uses the premium active-posting distribution.
- Guaranteed first-year cash. Base, guaranteed annual bonus or minimum, and one-time sign-on are added without assigning value to target bonus or equity.
- Target annual cash. Target bonus stays separate from guaranteed cash, with role-specific survey context and questions about payout history.
- Equity information readiness. Private options require ownership or fully diluted shares, strike price, 409A/common value, vesting, and exercise-window information. Missing inputs become questions to ask.
- The terms people forget. Severance, vesting and cliff, review timing, title and level, exercise window, change-of-control treatment, benefits, and flexibility are checked separately.
How to read the output
Below an observed band or reference point is a specific comparison, not a verdict on the whole offer. Missing equity information means the grant should remain unvalued until the company supplies the missing details. The zero, 409A-spread, and preferred-price scenarios are illustrative and are never added to cash compensation.
Severance deserves its own mention, because almost nobody asks for it. This role is tied more tightly to one person than nearly any other senior job. If your principal leaves, your role can change overnight. That's the case for asking what protection applies, and it's a reasonable thing to raise without seeming distrustful.
Directional, not audited. Employer wages, recruiter starting pay, self-reported incumbents, and premium postings measure different populations. The tool does not apply role, remote-work, experience, or city multipliers. Every base comparison links its source and states whether it is a band, median, mean, or posted-pay distribution. Nothing here is tax, financial, or legal advice.
Where the comparisons come from
CoS stage medians come from Ask a Chief of Staff 2025. EA incumbent comparisons use C-Suite Assistants 2026 and the 2025 U.S. Administrative Professionals Salary Report. Premium EA, CoS, and Executive Operations comparisons come from the Exec Ops Brief active roles dataset. Bonus and equity incidence is role-specific and linked in the result. Equity-input guidance follows Carta's equity framework.
Questions people ask
Is a Chief of Staff offer negotiable?
Almost always, and more so on the components nobody asks about than on base. Counter once, cleanly: reaffirm that you want the role, present your target with a one-line rationale tied to stage and scope, and name one or two secondary asks. The full approach is in how to negotiate a Chief of Staff offer.
How do I value the equity in a startup offer?
You need the share count, fully diluted shares or ownership percentage, strike price, latest 409A/common value, vesting and cliff, exercise window, and the relevant valuation date. Preferred price is useful context but is not the cash value of common shares. See equity for Chiefs of Staff.
What bonus percentage is normal for a Chief of Staff?
In a small Chief of Staff Collective survey, 56 percent received a bonus and recipients averaged 19 percent of base. EA data is different: C-Suite Assistants reports 52 percent discretionary and 16 percent guaranteed bonus, while the independent survey's 8.66 percent average has an unclear denominator. The tool keeps those contexts separate.
What should I ask for besides salary?
Severance, sign-on, vesting and cliff, refresh grants and review timing, title and internal level, post-termination exercise window, change-of-control treatment, benefits, and flexibility. The tool turns any missing item into a question to ask.
Is the offer I got any good?
That depends on your stage and market far more than on the headline number. Run it through the tool above, then use the salary calculator to see the wider band for your stage, market, and level.
Keep going
The three guides behind this tool: what the role pays and why, how to run the negotiation itself, and how to read a grant you've been handed.