What a hire really costs — and where the money goes
The advertised salary is only part of what a hire costs. Before a new person starts, you’ve typically spent on job advertising, sometimes an agency fee worth a chunk of first-year pay, and a surprising amount of your team’s time in interviews. Seeing those numbers together helps you budget honestly and decide where to cut.
- • Agency / recruiter fees — often the single largest cost, charged as a percentage of salary.
- • Advertising — job board and sponsored-post spend to reach candidates.
- • Interview time — the loaded hourly cost of everyone on your team who interviews, multiplied by rounds.
- • Time to fill — every extra week open is lost productivity, not just spend.
Ready to move? Benchmark the offer with the salary benchmark and draft the posting with the job description generator.
Frequently asked questions
What is cost per hire?
Cost per hire is the total spend to fill one role — agency or recruiter fees, job advertising, and the internal time your team spends interviewing — divided across the hire. This calculator adds those line items into a single estimate.
What is the average cost per hire?
It varies widely by role and seniority, but industry benchmarks commonly cite several thousand dollars per hire, rising sharply when agencies charge a percentage of first-year salary. Use the calculator with your own numbers for a realistic figure.
How can I reduce cost per hire?
The largest line item is usually the agency fee. Sourcing candidates directly through a job board, writing a clear post to reduce wasted interviews, and shortening time-to-fill all cut cost per hire.
What is time to fill?
Time to fill is how long it takes from opening a role to a candidate accepting. The calculator converts your estimated weeks to fill into days so you can plan around it.
Is this calculator free?
Yes — it is completely free and needs no account. Nothing you enter is uploaded.
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