Free FTE Calculator
An FTE calculator converts hours worked into full-time equivalents: FTE equals total hours worked divided by the hours one full-time employee works, so at 40 hours a week a 20-hour employee is 0.5 FTE. This one totals FTE and headcount for a team, converts FTE to hours per week, month, and year, and shows the separate ACA full-time equivalent count.
FTE = hours worked / full-time hoursTotal full-time equivalent
8.70 FTE
348 hours per week across 11 people at a 40-hour full-time week. ACA count: 9.88.
Team FTE results
Results update as valid inputs change. FTE is rounded to 2 decimals and hours to 2 decimals.
Total FTE
8.70
348 hours / 40 full-time hours.
Total hours
348 / wk
18,096 hours a year (weekly x 52).
Headcount
11
3 full time and 8 part time at 40 hours.
ACA FTE count
9.88
8 full time (30+ hrs) + 1.88 part-time FTEs.
| Employee or role | Hrs/wk each | FTE each | Total FTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse4 x 36 h per week | 36 | 0.90 | 3.60 |
| Medical assistant3 x 40 h per week | 40 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
| Front desk2 x 20 h per week | 20 | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| Billing specialist1 x 64 h per two weeks | 32 | 0.80 | 0.80 |
| Per diem nurse1 x 52 h per month | 12 | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| Total (11 people) | 348 | 8.70 |
ACA full-time equivalent count
- Full-time employees (30+ hours a week): 8
- Part-time hours a month (up to 120 each, 3 people): 225.33
- Part-time FTEs (hours / 120): 1.88
- ACA count: 9.88, or 9 rounded down
Below the 50-employee threshold for an applicable large employer (ALE), if this is typical for the prior year. The standard FTE (8.70) divides by your 40-hour week; the ACA count treats everyone at 30+ hours as one full-time employee.
Productive hours per FTE
1,960
2,080 paid hours minus 120 PTO hours, about 37.69 a week. Backfilling PTO takes 9.23 FTE.
Estimated annual labor cost
$579,072.00
8.70 FTE x $66,560.00 ($32.00 per hour x 2,080 hours).
Planning estimate only. This is not legal or tax advice. FTE definitions vary by employer, payer, and agency, including the ACA, grant budgets, and healthcare staffing models. The ACA count assumes these hours are typical every month; the IRS test averages actual monthly counts over the prior calendar year. See the IRS applicable large employer rules.
FTE calculation formula
Full-time equivalent measures how much full-time work a group of schedules adds up to. Divide total hours by the hours of one full-time employee over the same period.
FTE = total hours worked / full-time hours for the same period
Weekly, pay period, and monthly hours
Hours are converted to a weekly figure first: two-week hours / 2, half-month hours x 24 / 52, and monthly hours x 12 / 52. A month is 52 / 12, about 4.33 weeks.
Annual hours basis
One FTE is usually 2,080 hours a year (40 x 52). A 37.5-hour week gives 1,950 hours, and some years have 2,088 paid hours because of extra workdays. Pick the basis your budget or payer uses.
Paid versus productive FTE
Paid FTE counts every paid hour, including vacation and holidays. Productive FTE removes paid time off. Healthcare and shift-based teams divide paid hours by productive hours to see how many FTEs are needed to keep a schedule covered.
ACA full-time equivalents
The ACA uses its own count: each employee averaging 30+ hours a week is one full-time employee, and other employees' monthly hours (up to 120 each) are added and divided by 120. An average of 50 or more over the prior year makes you an applicable large employer.
How to use the FTE calculator
1. Set the full-time standard
Pick 35, 37.5, or 40 hours a week, or enter your own. This is the hours of one 1.0 FTE employee at your organization.
2. List employees or roles
Add a row per person or role with hours per week, two weeks, half month, or month. Use headcount for several people with the same schedule.
3. Read FTE, headcount, and the ACA count
Each row's hours are divided by the full-time standard. Totals show FTE, headcount, full-time and part-time counts, and the ACA count of 30-hour employees plus part-time hours divided by 120.
4. Convert, add PTO and cost, then export
Switch to Convert for FTE to hours or hours to FTE, set the annual hours basis and paid time off, add a rate or salary for cost, then copy or download the summary.
Worked FTE example
A clinic with a 40-hour full-time week has 4 nurses at 36 hours, 3 medical assistants at 40 hours, 2 front desk staff at 20 hours, a billing specialist at 64 hours every two weeks, and a per diem nurse at 52 hours a month.
- Weekly hours: 144 + 120 + 40 + 32 + 12 = 348 hours. FTE: 348 / 40 = 8.70 FTE for a headcount of 11.
- Full-time at 40 hours: 3 people. Part-time: 8 people.
- ACA: 8 employees work 30+ hours. The other 3 work 86.67 + 86.67 + 52 = 225.33 hours a month; 225.33 / 120 = 1.88, for an ACA count of 9.88.
- With 120 PTO hours, each FTE gives 1,960 productive hours, so backfilling takes 8.70 x 2,080 / 1,960 = 9.23 FTE.
- At $32 an hour, one FTE costs $32 x 2,080 = $66,560, and 8.70 FTE cost about $579,072 a year in wages.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate FTE?
Divide total hours worked by the hours of one full-time employee for the same period. With a 40-hour week, a team working 348 hours a week is 348 / 40 = 8.7 FTE. For a year, divide annual hours by 2,080 (40 x 52) or your own annual basis.
How many hours is 1.0 FTE?
1.0 FTE is one full-time schedule, most often 40 hours a week, 80 hours every two weeks, about 173.33 hours a month (40 x 52 / 12), and 2,080 hours a year. Employers with a 37.5-hour week use 1,950 hours a year, and some use 2,088 in years with extra workdays.
What is 0.5 FTE or 0.8 FTE?
At a 40-hour standard, 0.5 FTE is 20 hours a week (1,040 hours a year) and 0.8 FTE is 32 hours a week (1,664 hours a year). Multiply the FTE by your full-time weekly hours to get the schedule.
How is FTE different from headcount?
Headcount is the number of people; FTE is the amount of full-time work they provide. Four people each working 20 hours a week are a headcount of 4 but only 2.0 FTE at a 40-hour standard.
How does the ACA count full-time equivalent employees?
For the ACA employer mandate, each employee averaging 30 or more hours a week (130 hours a month) counts as one full-time employee. Hours of all other employees, up to 120 per person per month, are added and divided by 120. If full-time employees plus these FTEs average 50 or more over the prior year, the employer is an applicable large employer (ALE).
Official sources
The ACA full-time and full-time equivalent employee rules come from the IRS employer shared responsibility provisions. Federal law does not define full-time employment for other purposes.
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