What to say when an offer is far below your target. Check the level, name the gap, and decide. No insults and no invented competing offer.
Sample figures are filled in so you can see the script. Replace them with your offer before you copy it.
Your script
The gap is large. On the call, ask whether the level matches the work before you repeat the number.
Base $98,000. Annual bonus $0. Equity yearly value $0.
Target base: $130,000.
Target is $32,000 above the priced figure, about 33%.
Opener
Thank you for the offer. I want to be direct about the number I would accept for the software engineer role.
Say this, then stop. Let them respond before you add the number.
Anchor and justification
I am targeting a base of $130,000.
The offer base is $98,000. The target is $32,000 higher, about 33%. I am asking for $130,000, not a number above it.
The gap is wide enough that I want to check the level before we trade small concessions. If the scope is smaller than I thought, I need to hear that. If the scope is the one we discussed, the number needs to move.
The market check I can cite is that for that scope in this city I expected a base closer to $125,000. The scope I can defend is that the interviews described ownership of a service, not a narrowly supervised task.
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.
I also want the level in writing, so I know whether we are talking about the same job.
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 $130,000.
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
If you can reach $130,000, I am ready to accept. If you cannot, tell me which parts can move and I will answer this week with a yes or a no.
Stop talking after the question. The next person to speak should be them.
Email version
Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role
Hello,
Thank you for the offer. I want to be direct about the number I would accept for the software engineer role.
I am targeting a base of $130,000.
The offer base is $98,000. The target is $32,000 higher, about 33%. I am asking for $130,000, not a number above it.
The gap is wide enough that I want to check the level before we trade small concessions. If the scope is smaller than I thought, I need to hear that. If the scope is the one we discussed, the number needs to move.
The market check I can cite is that for that scope in this city I expected a base closer to $125,000. The scope I can defend is that the interviews described ownership of a service, not a narrowly supervised task.
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.
If you can reach $130,000, I am ready to accept. If you cannot, tell me which parts can move and I will answer this week with a yes or a no.
Thank you,
[Your name]
A low offer is information. It may mean the level is wrong, the company pays below the market you care about, or you and they heard different jobs. It is not an insult to answer in the script, and calling it insulting on the call rarely helps. This sample is a $98,000 base against a $130,000 base target, with bonus and equity counted as zero. Replace it with the offer you have.
Check the level
Say the target and the scope you thought you were interviewing for. Ask whether the offer is for that scope. If they describe a smaller job, you can accept the smaller job at the lower pay or decline. If they describe the larger job, the number has to move or you are subsidizing the role.
Do not invent a competing offer to punish a low one. A market note you can show, and the scope from the interviews, are the clean reasons. If you have a real other offer, type it in. The box on this page starts off.
Decide your walk-away number before the call, and do not announce it unless you mean it. The script asks what can move. It does not threaten. If nothing can move and the gap is one you will not live with, say no politely and leave the door open only if you mean that too.
Questions
Should I try to negotiate a very low offer or decline?
Ask once whether the level and the band can change. If they cannot, and the number is below what you will accept, declining is cleaner than a week of pressure.
Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.
