Write a counter offer email with one target, a reason you can defend, and a close a recruiter can forward. Free script, no account.
Sample figures are filled in so you can see the script. Replace them with your offer before you copy it.
Your script
Base $150,000. Annual bonus $15,000. Equity yearly value $20,000.
Priced total: $185,000.
Target total compensation: $195,000.
Target is $10,000 above the priced figure, about 5.4%.
Opener
Thank you for the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk through compensation while the package is still open.
Anchor and justification
I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that published ranges for this level in my city sit around $180,000 to $200,000 total. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it.
Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.
If they say this is our best offer
I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.
Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.
If they say the budget is fixed
Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?
Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.
If they ask for your current salary
I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $195,000.
I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.
You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.
Non-salary asks
If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.
I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.
Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.
I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.
I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.
Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.
Closing
I would like to get to yes. If $195,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?
Email version
Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role
Hello,
Thank you for the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk through compensation while the package is still open.
I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that published ranges for this level in my city sit around $180,000 to $200,000 total. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
I would like to get to yes. If $195,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?
Thank you,
[Your name]
A counter offer email is a letter someone will forward. Write it so a hiring manager who was not on the call can see the number, the reason, and the ask without guessing your tone. The sample on this page is a software engineer package of $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, and $20,000 of equity value you are willing to count, with a target of $195,000 total. Replace every figure before you send it.
What the email needs
Open by thanking them for the offer and naming the role. Restate the package as you understand it, so a mismatch in bonus or equity shows up before you argue. Then give one target. If you want total compensation, say total compensation. If you only want the base to move, say base. Mixing the two lets them “yes” the smaller number.
Keep the reason to facts you can show. A published range, the scope you were told, or a real second offer. Do not write that you have another offer unless the detail box contains one you actually received. The builder will not insert a company or a figure you did not type.
Close with a path to yes and one alternative if base cannot move, usually a signing bonus or a larger grant. Ask what the next step is. You do not need to apologize, and you do not need a deadline you invented. Send it to the recruiter you have been talking to, unless the letter told you to reply to someone else.
Before you send it
Read the draft aloud. Cut any sentence you would not say to the hiring manager. Check the subject line, the role title, and the currency. Attach nothing unless they asked for a competing letter, and only if you are willing for them to read it. If the sample skills line is still in the box, replace it with work you did.
Questions
How long should a counter offer email be?
A short page is enough: thanks, the package as you understand it, one target, one reason, one alternative if base cannot move, and a close. A long memoir is harder to forward.
Should I email or call?
Email is better when you want a precise number in writing and time to think. Call when you already have a relationship and can stop talking after the ask. This page is set to email.
What subject line should I use?
The builder uses “Compensation” plus the role. That is dull on purpose. A recruiter can forward it without rewriting the subject.
Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.
