Free cost per hire calculator. Calculate your organization's recruiting cost per hire by entering internal HR costs, external agency and advertising expenses, and total hires. Compare to SHRM benchmarks and identify cost-saving opportunities.
Enter your internal recruiting costs — HR staff time, internal referral bonuses, and ATS software costs.
Enter external recruiting costs — staffing agency fees, executive search fees, and placement fees.
Add job board and advertising costs — LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and other paid postings.
Include background check fees, drug screening, and skills assessments.
Enter travel and relocation costs for candidates and new hires.
Divide by the number of hires to get your cost per hire. Compare to the SHRM average of ~$4,700.
According to SHRM's 2024 Talent Acquisition Benchmark Report, the average cost per hire in the US is approximately $4,700. This includes all direct recruiting expenditures. Some organizations also add indirect costs like manager time spent interviewing (typically 5–10 hours per candidate).
Internal HR costs: $8,000, LinkedIn job ads: $3,000, background checks: $500, no agency fees. Total: $11,500. Cost per hire: $1,150 — well below the SHRM average.
Internal costs: $5,000, agency fee: $25,000 (20% of $125k salary), job boards: $2,000, background: $500. Total: $32,500. Cost per hire: $6,500 — above average but efficient for executive roles.
Internal recruiting team: $180,000, job boards: $12,000, background checks: $5,000, relocation: $30,000. Total: $227,000. Cost per hire: $2,270 — economies of scale.
Find answers to the most common questions about cost per hire calculator.
According to SHRM, the average cost per hire is approximately $4,700 (2024). However, this varies dramatically by role level and industry. Entry-level roles might cost $1,000–3,000, while executive searches can cost $15,000–50,000+. Companies using in-house recruiting teams typically achieve significantly lower CPH than those relying on agencies.
Direct costs include advertising and job board fees, agency/recruiter fees, background checks, drug tests, skills assessments, candidate travel and relocation, sign-on bonuses, and ATS software. Indirect costs include manager and HR time spent reviewing resumes, interviewing, and onboarding.
Build an employee referral program (referred hires cost 50–70% less). Develop your employer brand to attract passive candidates. Invest in a quality ATS to reduce time-to-fill. Reduce agency dependency by building direct sourcing capabilities. Track time-to-fill alongside CPH, as slow hiring has hidden productivity costs.
Not necessarily. Extremely low CPH can indicate underinvestment in hiring quality, leading to high turnover. Quality of hire (measured by performance ratings and retention) is often more important than CPH alone. The goal is optimizing total workforce cost — balancing CPH with turnover cost and productivity.
