FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) Calculator

Reviewed by Hamza Gujjar, Algorithm Architect & Software Developer Last updated: July 27, 2026

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) Calculator

Grant budgets commonly require staff costs to be expressed in Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) terms rather than raw hours - this calculator converts any staff schedule into that standardized unit.

FTE = Staff Hours Per Week / Full-Time Hours Per Week Standard

Example

A staff member working 20 hours per week, where full-time is defined as 40 hours:

FTE = 20 / 40 = 0.5 FTE

Why FTE Standardization Matters

Organizations define "full-time" differently - commonly 35, 37.5, or 40 hours per week - which makes raw hour comparisons across organizations misleading. Converting to FTE creates a standardized, comparable unit that grant budgets and reports rely on, especially when calculating exactly how much of a staff member's time (and therefore salary cost) should be charged to a specific grant when that person splits their time across multiple funding sources or projects.

Practical Grant Budgeting Use

FTE calculations are essential when a grant funds only a portion of a staff member's total working time - multiplying that person's FTE allocation by their annual salary gives the exact personnel cost that should be charged to that specific grant, keeping multi-funder staff cost allocations accurate and audit-ready.