Clarowl

Tool 1.1

Job Switch Salary Sanity Checker

See your real purchasing power gain — not just the headline CTC difference.

Calculated entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Enter your total current CTC in rupees

Enter the CTC offered by the new company

Compare a second offer

See two offers side by side against the same current CTC

Your results will appear here

Fill in both CTCs and pick your cities, then calculate to see your real purchasing power gain.

Estimates for educational use only — not financial advice, and not from a SEBI-, RBI-, IRDAI-, or AMFI-registered entity. Verify before acting.

How this works

Your nominal hike is what your offer letter says. Your real hike is what that money is actually worth after adjusting for how much more (or less) it costs to live in the new city. A ₹5L raise moving from Hyderabad to Mumbai buys you less than the same raise moving from Mumbai to Hyderabad — same number, different reality.

We adjust your new CTC using a city cost index (Bangalore = 100, the others scored relative to it based on typical differences in housing, transport, and daily essentials). Your break-even CTC is the minimum offer you'd need in the new city just to match your current lifestyle — anything below that is a real pay cut, even if the number on paper looks bigger.

Worked Example

You're on ₹20,00,000 in Bengaluru and get a ₹30,00,000 offer in Mumbai — a 50% raise on paper. Mumbai costs roughly 25% more to live in.

What you enter

Current CTC / city
₹20,00,000 · Bengaluru
New CTC / city
₹30,00,000 · Mumbai

What the tool shows

Cost-adjusted new CTC
₹24,00,000
Real hike (not 50%)
₹4,00,000 · 20%
Break-even CTC in Mumbai
₹25,00,000

What this tells you

The 50% headline shrinks to a 20% real raise once Mumbai's higher cost of living is priced in. You'd still be genuinely ahead — the offer clears the ₹25,00,000 break-even — but a ₹25,00,000 Mumbai offer would only keep you level, not better off.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a "nominal" and a "real" hike?
Nominal is the raw rupee difference between your old and new CTC. Real is that difference after adjusting for cost-of-living changes between cities — it tells you whether you can actually afford more, not just earn more.
Where does the city cost index come from?
It's a directional index reflecting typical cost-of-living differences (housing, transport, daily essentials) across major Indian cities — not tied to a single official government survey. Treat it as a reasonable estimate for comparison, not an exact number for your specific lifestyle.
I'm not switching cities — does this tool still help me?
Less so. If your current and new city are the same, your real hike equals your nominal hike (no cost adjustment applies) — the tool will show this, but the main insight is really for cross-city moves.
Why would a bigger hike on paper actually be a pay cut?
If the new city costs significantly more to live in, your extra rupees can lose more purchasing power than they gain in salary. The break-even CTC shows exactly how much you'd need to avoid that.
Does this include tax on the new salary?
No — this compares CTC-to-CTC purchasing power, not post-tax take-home. Use the Tax Regime Comparator to check what you'd actually keep after tax on the new number.

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