Calculate the intrinsic value, potential gains, and vesting schedule value of your employee stock options.
Enter your grant price (also called the strike or exercise price), the total number of shares granted, and today's stock price. Select your vesting schedule, input your expected stock growth rate, and provide your tax rates. Click "Calculate ESO Value" to see your intrinsic value, projected future value, after-tax gains, and a year-by-year vesting breakdown.
Employee stock options can represent a substantial portion of your total compensation — often worth more than your base salary over a multi-year career. Yet many employees have no idea what their options are actually worth. Consider this: if you were granted 10,000 options at a $25 strike price and the stock is now at $40, you're sitting on $150,000 in intrinsic value that you may not even be thinking about at year-end reviews.
ESOs are especially common in tech, biotech, and high-growth startups. A software engineer at a Series B company earning $130k in base salary might have option grants worth $200k–$500k over 4 years — if the company performs. Understanding your vesting cliff (typically the first year when nothing vests), your exercise window (often just 90 days after leaving), and the tax treatment difference between ISOs and NSOs can save you tens of thousands of dollars in taxes and prevent costly mistakes like losing unvested shares when you resign.
This calculator helps you model multiple scenarios so you can make informed decisions about when to exercise, whether to stay through your cliff, and how much of your compensation your ESOs actually represent.
The core calculations use standard finance formulas:
Vesting schedules use standard Silicon Valley conventions: a 4-year grant with a 1-year cliff means 25% vests at 12 months, then 1/48th per month thereafter. Straight-line vesting spreads shares equally across the vesting period without a cliff.
ISOs (Incentive Stock Options) receive favorable tax treatment — if you hold the shares for at least 1 year after exercise and 2 years after the grant date, gains are taxed at long-term capital gains rates. However, the spread at exercise may trigger AMT. NSOs (Non-Qualified Stock Options) are taxed as ordinary income at the moment you exercise, regardless of when you sell.
Options are "in the money" when the current stock price exceeds the strike (grant) price, meaning they have positive intrinsic value. "At the money" means the prices are equal. "Out of the money" means the stock has declined below the strike price, making the options effectively worthless until the stock recovers.
The ideal time depends on your option type, tax situation, risk tolerance, and the company's stage. For ISOs, early exercise can minimize taxes if the stock is low. For NSOs, many employees wait until just before an IPO or acquisition. Always consult a financial advisor before exercising, as the tax implications can be significant.
It depends on your option agreement and the deal structure. In an "acceleration" clause, all unvested options may immediately vest (single-trigger) or vest only if you're also terminated (double-trigger). Many acquirers convert your options into equivalent options in the new company. Always read your option agreement carefully.