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Salary & HRconversion

Pay Frequency Converter

One pay figure expressed at every frequency. Twice a month is 24 payments and every two weeks is 26, so the two are not interchangeable however similar they sound.

Also called: biweekly vs semimonthly, pay period converter.

$
Annual
$1,200,000.00

$1,200,000.00 a year: $100,000.00 monthly, $50,000.00 twice a month, $46,153.85 every two weeks or $23,076.92 weekly. Note that twice a month and every two weeks are not the same thing.

Monthly
$100,000.00
Twice a month
$50,000.00
Every two weeks
$46,153.85
Weekly
$23,076.92
Biweekly pay periods a year
26
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Every frequency converts through the annual figure. The distinction worth knowing is between semi-monthly and biweekly: semi-monthly pays on fixed dates for 24 payments a year, biweekly pays every fourteen days for 26. The same annual salary therefore gives a smaller biweekly cheque, and biweekly employees see two months a year with three paydays.

annualise by the periods in the source frequency, then divide by the periods in the target
n
Pay periods a year (periods)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

twice a month is not every two weeks

Amount
$120,000.00
Paid
Annually

Annual$120,000.00

boundary: 24 periods against 26 on the same salary

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • A 52-week year, which is a quarter day short of exact.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Withholding is computed per period, so a three-payday month can differ slightly in tax.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is my biweekly cheque smaller than half my monthly one?
Because there are 26 biweekly periods against 24 semi-monthly ones. The same annual salary spread over more payments makes each one smaller, and twice a year you get a third payday in a month.