Counter-Offer Letter: Templates and Samples That Hold Your Number

The offer is in writing, the number is a little low, and now there’s a blank reply window with a cursor blinking in it. This is the part that feels bigger than it is. You’re not writing an essay and you’re not starting a fight — you’re writing four short sentences that put a specific number on the table and give the person a reason to say yes. The problem is that the wrong four sentences quietly hand the number back before you’ve even hit send.

This guide gives you three counter-offer letter templates you can copy, then does the part most samples skip: a line-by-line breakdown of the phrases that leak your ask — the apology, the hedge, the over-justification — so you can strip them out. And because a letter that reads perfectly on the page can still fall apart the moment they call to push back, it ends on the one skill no template covers: saying your number out loud without flinching. Writing the letter is one step in the wider process of how to negotiate a salary offer.

What a counter-offer letter actually has to do

A counter-offer letter has one job: state a specific number, attach a reason, and keep the relationship warm — in as few words as possible. Indeed’s counter-offer letter format breaks the structure into six parts: your contact information, a professional greeting, a two-to-three-sentence thank-you, the counter itself (their offer, your number, your justification), a warm close that offers to talk it through, and a formal sign-off. Everything below is a variation on that skeleton.

One rule sits above the wording: decide your number before you open the draft. A widely used starting point is 10–20% above the offer, stated as a single figure rather than a range. If you’re still doing the math while you write, it shows — the letter hedges. The full four-step process, from picking the figure to holding it on the call, is in our hub guide on how to counter a job offer.

Template 1 — the market-rate counter

The default. Use it when your case is simply that the offer is below the going rate for the role.

Dear [Hiring Manager’s name],

Thank you for the offer to join [Company] as [Role] — I’m genuinely excited about the team and the work, and I’m looking forward to contributing.

Before I sign, I’d like to align on the base salary. Based on my research into the market rate for this role at my level, I’d like to propose a base of $[your number] rather than the $[their number] in the offer. That figure reflects [one concrete reason: the scope of the role / your years in the specialty / comparable offers in the market].

I’m confident we can find a number that works for both of us, and I’m happy to hop on a quick call to talk it through. Thank you again for the offer — I’m keen to make this work.

Best, [Your name]

Template 2 — the competing-offer counter

Use this only if a competing offer is real. It’s the strongest anchor you have, because it turns your number from a request into a market fact.

Dear [Hiring Manager’s name],

Thank you again for the offer for [Role] — [Company] is my first choice, and I’d like to find a way to say yes.

I want to be straightforward with you: I’m holding another offer at $[competing number]. I’d much rather be at [Company], and if we can bring the base to $[your number], I’m ready to sign and stop my search today.

I’d love to close this out this week. Is there flexibility on the base to get us there?

Best, [Your name]

Template 3 — the salary increase letter (for a raise, not a new offer)

Same mechanics, different context: you already have the job and you’re asking for more. A salary increase letter leads with contribution rather than a market gap.

Dear [Manager’s name],

I’ve really valued the last [time period] on [team], and I’m proud of [one specific result — a shipped project, a metric you moved, a scope you took on].

Given that impact and the market rate for the work I’m now doing, I’d like to request a salary review, moving my base from $[current] to $[target]. I’m happy to put together a short summary of the results behind the request if that’s useful.

Could we find time this month to discuss it? Thank you for your support.

Best, [Your name]

Notice what all three share: gratitude, one bold number, exactly one reason, and a warm close. No paragraph of throat-clearing before the ask. Robert Half’s salary-negotiation guide frames the core move the same way — express appreciation, then make a clear, evidence-based case with a specific figure, and propose alternatives (a signing bonus, a six-month review) if the base won’t move.

The lines that quietly give your number back

Here’s the part the samples don’t teach. You can follow the structure exactly and still lose the money in the wording, because certain phrases tell the reader your number is soft. Three families of leak-phrase to hunt down and delete:

• The apology. “I hate to be difficult, but…” / “I’m sorry to push on this…” You’re not doing anything that warrants an apology — countering is expected, and leading with sorry frames your own ask as an imposition. Cut it. Open with thanks, not contrition.
• The hedge. “I was kind of hoping maybe we could possibly look at the base again?” Every soft word — kind of, maybe, possibly, a little — is a discount you’re pre-applying to your own number. Replace the whole sentence with a flat statement: “I’d like to propose a base of $X.” A number stated plainly reads as a fact; a number wrapped in hedges reads as an opening bid you expect to lose.
• The over-justification. “…because my rent went up and I have loans to pay off.” Personal need is the weakest possible reason, because it invites a no (“that’s not something we can factor in”). Anchor to the market or your scope instead — those are facts about the role, not requests for sympathy. One reason, tied to value, is stronger than three tied to need.

The through-line: say the number as a fact and then stop typing. The instinct to keep explaining is exactly what erodes the ask. If you’d rather send all of this as an email than a formal letter, the same wording adapted for the inbox — subject line, length, and follow-up timing — is in a salary negotiation email.

A clean letter is only half the job

You can strip every leak-phrase, land on one confident number, and send a letter that reads perfectly — and still lose it in the five seconds after the recruiter calls and says, “That’s above the band for this level.” Because writing the number and saying the number are two different skills. The first is editing. The second is a rep you either have or you don’t.

This is where most well-prepared people leak money: not on the page, but in the live moment, when the pushback lands and the calm figure they wrote comes out of their mouth as a nervous walk-back. It’s telling that Robert Half’s own advice includes practice your delivery — the letter is the easy half. And it’s why the highest-leverage move isn’t polishing the letter one more time; it’s rehearsing the sentence out loud until it’s boring.

That’s the whole idea behind Voiced. You load your actual offer, then practice the counter against an AI recruiter that pushes back like the real one — the silence, the re-anchor, the “that’s above our range” — and it shows you which exact phrase just cost you money and hands you a stronger one to say instead. By the time the real call comes, you’ve already heard yourself hold your number once.

Copy a template, delete the leak-phrases, land on one number with one reason — and then go say it like it’s already yours.