Commission Structure Comparator

Sales compensation offers are rarely apples-to-apples, and this calculator resolves the comparison numerically instead of asking you to eyeball it. Plan 1 is a simple flat structure: a base salary plus one commission rate applied to every dollar of monthly sales. Plan 2 is tiered: a (typically lower) base salary plus a lower commission rate up to a threshold, then a higher rate on everything sold above that threshold. Both are annualized (monthly figures × 12) and compared directly at your expected monthly sales volume to declare a Better Plan and the dollar Annual Difference between them.

Because the two plans cross at different points depending on the rates and thresholds involved, the calculator also scans monthly sales volumes in $100 increments from zero up to $200,000 to locate the Break-Even Sales level — the volume at which both plans pay essentially the same, letting you see whether you're comfortably above or dangerously close to the crossover point where the "worse" plan actually starts winning. The line chart extends this same scan across a wider sales range so you can see both plans' payout curves diverge. The key assumption is that your expected monthly sales figure is a reliable single estimate — real sales volume fluctuates month to month, so if your income is volatile, it's worth rerunning the comparison at your low-month and high-month estimates rather than trusting one average number, since a tiered plan's relative advantage typically grows the further above its threshold you sell.