{
  "slug": "cost-per-hire",
  "title": "Cost Per Hire Calculator",
  "heading": "Cost Per Hire Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-hire",
  "summary": "Fully loaded recruiting cost per accepted offer.",
  "description": "SHRM puts average cost per hire near $4,700, but agency fees at 20% of first-year salary can push a single senior hire past $30,000 once internal time is counted.",
  "formula": "Cost per hire = (External + internal costs) ÷ hires made.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=cost-per-hire",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "hires",
      "label": "Hires made",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "jobAds",
      "label": "Job ads and sourcing tools",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "agencyPct",
      "label": "Agency fee",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 18,
      "unit": "% of salary",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "agencyHires",
      "label": "Hires placed by agencies",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "avgSalary",
      "label": "Average starting salary",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "recruiterCost",
      "label": "Internal recruiting salaries",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 110000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "interviewHours",
      "label": "Interview hours per hire",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 14,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "interviewerCost",
      "label": "Loaded interviewer cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 85,
      "unit": "$/hr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "cph",
      "label": "Cost per hire",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "Total recruiting spend",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "agency",
      "label": "Agency fees",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "interview",
      "label": "Interview time cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "internal",
      "label": "Internal cost per hire",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctOfSalary",
      "label": "Cost per hire as % of salary",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Hires made: 12",
      "Job ads and sourcing tools: 9000 $",
      "Agency fee: 18 % of salary",
      "Hires placed by agencies: 3",
      "Average starting salary: 95000 $",
      "Internal recruiting salaries: 110000 $",
      "Interview hours per hire: 14",
      "Loaded interviewer cost: 85 $/hr"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cost per hire: $15,381.67",
      "Total recruiting spend: $184,580.00",
      "Agency fees: $51,300.00",
      "Interview time cost: $14,280.00",
      "Internal cost per hire: $10,356.67",
      "Cost per hire as % of salary: 16.2%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter hires made.",
      "Enter job ads and sourcing tools ($).",
      "Enter agency fee (% of salary).",
      "Enter hires placed by agencies.",
      "Enter average starting salary ($).",
      "Enter internal recruiting salaries ($).",
      "Enter interview hours per hire.",
      "Enter loaded interviewer cost ($/hr).",
      "Read your cost per hire on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "hires": 7,
        "jobAds": 5500,
        "agencyPct": 11,
        "agencyHires": 2,
        "avgSalary": 57000,
        "recruiterCost": 65000,
        "interviewHours": 8,
        "interviewerCost": 50
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "hires": 12,
        "jobAds": 9000,
        "agencyPct": 18,
        "agencyHires": 3,
        "avgSalary": 95000,
        "recruiterCost": 110000,
        "interviewHours": 14,
        "interviewerCost": 85
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "hires": 19,
        "jobAds": 14500,
        "agencyPct": 29,
        "agencyHires": 5,
        "avgSalary": 152000,
        "recruiterCost": 175000,
        "interviewHours": 22,
        "interviewerCost": 135
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the cost per hire calculator work?",
      "a": "SHRM puts average cost per hire near $4,700, but agency fees at 20% of first-year salary can push a single senior hire past $30,000 once internal time is counted. The underlying maths is: Cost per hire = (External + internal costs) ÷ hires made."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "8 values: hires made, job ads and sourcing tools, agency fee, hires placed by agencies, average starting salary, internal recruiting salaries, interview hours per hire, and loaded interviewer cost. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the cost per hire result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/employee-turnover-cost",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/salary-negotiation"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Cost Per Hire Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-hire)"
}