Technical Debt Cost Calculator
Annual cost of carrying tech debt.
Enter your values
ⓘ Live results
Results
- Annual debt cost
- $175,500.00
- Cost per developer
- $29,250.00
- Payback on remediation
- 0.5 years
- Hours lost per year
- 2,700
Quick answer
Technical debt costs the extra developer hours every change requires in a degraded codebase.
Annual cost = devs × hours × drag × rate
How to use the Technical Debt Cost Calculator
- 1Enter team size and fully loaded hourly cost.
- 2Estimate the productivity drag from debt.
- 3Enter the cost of remediation.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Developers6
- Cost per hour65 $
- Productivity drag25 %
- Cost to remediate90000 $
Results
- Annual debt cost$175,500.00
- Cost per developer$29,250.00
- Payback on remediation0.5 years
- Hours lost per year2,700
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure drag?
Compare estimates against actuals on legacy versus new modules.
Should all debt be repaid?
No — repay debt in code you touch often, tolerate it in stable corners.
About this calculator
- Built and reviewed by James Whitfield · How we build and test calculators
- Report an error
Results are estimates for general information. For medical, legal, structural or financial decisions, confirm with a qualified professional.