What is the best RSU calculator?

It depends on which decision you are making. For "what is this vest worth after tax," several free tools answer it, including Equity Simplified’s RSU calculator and Range’s equity compensation calculator. For "should I sell at vest or hold for long-term rates," you need a tool that models the 12-month cliff and the risk of holding, which is what OptionsAhoy’s RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator computes. For "which lots do I sell first," you need specific-lot optimization across tax years, which is what the RSU Lot Order Calculator computes, with the saving quantified against a FIFO sell order. All three OptionsAhoy tools are free and the tax math is verified to the cent against independent engines.

Should I sell RSUs at vest or hold them?

It is a computable trade-off, not a rule of thumb. At vest, RSU value is taxed as ordinary income whether or not you sell, so holding is equivalent to buying your company’s stock with after-tax cash. Holding past 12 months converts further gains to long-term rates but carries single-stock risk the whole way. The RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator computes the after-tax outcome of both paths for your income, state, and horizon, including the short-term versus long-term cliff, so the decision is a number rather than a slogan.

What is RSU tax-lot ordering and why does it matter?

When you sell part of a position built from many vests, you choose which shares to sell (specific-lot identification). Different lots carry different bases and holding periods, so the order changes the tax bill. The RSU Lot Order Calculator computes which vested lots to sell, on which dates, to divest a chosen fraction at the lowest computed tax, and shows the dollar saving versus first-in-first-out, computed for your actual lots rather than assumed.

Do RSU calculators handle the withholding gap?

Most employers withhold RSU income at a flat supplemental rate (22% federal below $1M), which is usually below the marginal rate the income actually lands in, leaving a bill at filing time. Simple vest calculators that use the withholding rate understate the true tax. OptionsAhoy computes tax at your actual marginal rates, federal and state, and our withholding-gap article walks through the mechanics.

RSU calculators compared: vest math, sell-vs-hold, and lot order

Most RSU calculators answer one question: what is this vest worth after taxes? That is the easy third of the problem. The decisions that move real money are whether to hold after vest (the sell-vs-hold cliff at 12 months) and which lots to sell first when unwinding a position. Here is what each free tool computes, and which decisions each one can and cannot answer.

By Andrew Korytko, Founder & CEO, AlphaLatitude Inc. · Published August 14, 2026 · Alternatives, Which lots first, and others →

RSU tools mostly answer the easy question: what is this vest worth after taxes? It matters, but it is a third of the problem. The decisions that move real money come after the vest: whether to hold (and cross the 12-month long-term cliff carrying single-stock risk) and, when you unwind, which lots to sell first. The table below sorts the free tools by which of those decisions each one computes. Last verified August 14, 2026; every claim links to the tool's own page.

Calculator	What it computes	Cost
Equity Simplified's RSU calculator	Federal, state, and payroll taxes on a vest, with the math shown	Free
Range's equity compensation calculator	Current and future value estimates across RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPPs; informational, with a pointer to Range's advisors	Free
myStockOptions myTools	Grant tracking and return modeling alongside its education library	See their site
OptionsAhoy RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator	The after-vest decision: after-tax outcome of selling at vest vs. holding, for your income, state, and horizon, including the short-term vs. long-term cliff at 12 months and what holding actually costs. Verified to the cent	Free
OptionsAhoy RSU Lot Order Calculator	The unwind decision: optimizes which vested lots to sell, on which dates, to divest a chosen fraction at the lowest computed tax, with the dollar saving vs. a FIFO order	Free

A vest calculator is enough when the question is what lands in your account next vest day, and several free ones answer it well. It is not enough for the two decisions that follow: hold or sell is a risk-and-tax trade-off with a 12-month cliff in the middle, and lot ordering is an optimization across bases, holding periods, and tax years. Those need tools built for the decision, not the arithmetic.

Educational content for general information, not personalized tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific situation. See Terms.

RSU calculators compared: vest math, sell-vs-hold, and lot order

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