Know your capacity before you commit fully. Factor leave, holidays, meetings, and real focus time. Export results to share clearer project plans with teams.
Meta word count: 23 · Tagline word count: 24
| Scenario | Members | Weeks | Days/Week | Hours/Day | Meeting % | Utilization % | Buffer % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 85 | 10 |
| High meetings | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 30 | 85 | 10 |
| Short sprint | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 90 | 8 |
Notes: Percent values are applied as fractions (e.g., 15% = 0.15). Effective work days will not drop below zero.
Project planning improves when capacity is expressed in hours, not guesses. This calculator converts team size, daily hours, workdays, and duration into a baseline supply of time. It then subtracts nonworking days and applies practical percentage adjustments. Teams can compare scope against a consistent capacity number, reduce surprises, and align dates with staffing. The output supports status updates and resource requests with defensible math. Use it during kickoff to set realistic delivery expectations.
Holidays and planned leave are predictable, yet they distort forecasts when ignored. Entering these days reduces effective working days across the project window and prevents inflated estimates. This matters for short sprints where one day can shift delivery. The calculator models seasonal downtime, public holidays, and vacations as shared constraints. Better inputs lead to cleaner commitments and fewer last minute escalations. Update the inputs whenever the staffing plan changes midstream.
Meetings, reviews, and coordination consume capacity even when calendars look reasonable. The meeting overhead percentage reduces available hours after workdays are adjusted, reflecting time needed to keep work aligned. Use calendar history to estimate this value and revisit it when governance changes. When overhead rises, delivery time falls quickly, especially in larger groups. Modeling this cost helps balance ceremony with throughput. Share the breakdown to explain tradeoffs with stakeholders clearly.
Utilization captures how much remaining time can be used for planned tasks after support work and interruptions. A utilization rate of 80–90% is often more realistic than 100%. Treat it as a lever: improve utilization with clearer priorities, fewer handoffs, and better tools. If utilization is low, the model exposes the gap between staffing and deliverable capacity. That clarity supports scope changes, timeline resets, or targeted hiring. Document assumptions so teams can improve focus over time.
Buffers protect delivery from uncertainty, rework, onboarding, and dependency delays. The buffer percentage is applied near the end so it reflects true usable time, not just planned hours. For stable work, a smaller buffer may fit; for novel work, higher buffers reduce stress and defects. Compare planned available hours to actual effort, then refine your buffer policy over time for better forecasts. Download results and keep them with your project plan.
It is the usable team time after removing nonworking days and applying meeting overhead, utilization, and buffer. It is a planning capacity number, not a promise of output.
Review calendars for a typical week, include recurring meetings, reviews, and coordination, then divide by planned work hours. Start conservative and adjust after a few cycles.
Many teams plan between 80% and 90% to account for support, interruptions, and admin work. If your environment is volatile, plan lower to avoid overcommitment.
Enter days that reduce working time during the project window. If absences vary across individuals, use an averaged approach or rerun scenarios for best and worst cases.
Utilization reflects ongoing friction, while buffer protects against discrete risks like rework, dependencies, and onboarding. Using both creates a more resilient forecast.
Yes. Run it separately for each phase or sprint, using phase specific assumptions. Combine the outputs to build a capacity timeline across the full plan.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.