Free tools/Free recruiter tool
Cost Per Hire Calculator
Calculate cost per hire from internal, external, and agency spend. Free recruiter calculator.
- $0to use
- Nosignup
What it does
Recruiter time plus external spend, divided by hires — with the cost of an open seat per day.
This calculator uses annual figures so you can compare a year of recruiting to a year of hires. Vacancy cost is separate: salary ÷ 260 workdays, times a revenue-impact multiplier, times working days the seat has been open. Defaults are loaded so you see numbers immediately. Reset returns those defaults.
Calculate your cost per hire
Cost per hire = (internal costs + external costs) ÷ hires per year. Vacancy = salary ÷ 260 × multiplier × working days open.
A. Annual internal costs
Headcount allocated to hiring
Base pay; benefits optional to include
Default 80. Use 100 if recruiting is the whole job.
Default 10. Include intake, interviews, and debrief.
Default 75. Salary × 1.35 ÷ 2,080 is a loaded-rate shortcut.
B. Annual external costs
Sponsored posts and board fees for the year
ATS, sourcing, and scheduling seats. Multiplied by 12.
Contingency, retained, or RPO spend this year
Cash paid for referral hires this year
Screening and assessment fees this year
Events, travel, relocation, miscellaneous
C. Volume
Employees who started in the same year as the costs above
Cost per hire
$0
D. Cost of an open seat
Annual pay for the vacant seat
Weekdays from req open to today (or fill date). About 21 per month.
Default 1.0. Use 1.5–3 for revenue roles.
How it works
- Enter recruiter headcount, salary, and time spent hiring, plus hiring-manager hours and rate.
- Add annual external spend. Tool subscriptions are monthly and multiplied by 12.
- Enter hires per year to get cost per hire, then optionally fill vacancy salary, working days open, and multiplier.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in cost per hire?
Internal recruiter and hiring-manager time plus external spend (ads, tools, agencies, referrals, screening, other), divided by hires. It does not include the new hire's salary or onboarding. Vacancy cost is shown separately.
Why is vacancy cost separate?
SHRM-style cost per hire measures the recruiting process, not productivity lost while the role is empty. Vacancy uses salary divided by 260, times a multiplier, times working days open, so delay cost sits next to process cost.
Is $4,700 still a useful benchmark?
SHRM's 2022 benchmark put average cost per hire near $4,700. Treat it as approximate. Role mix, agency use, and whether you count interviewer time will move your number more than the year on the report.
Can I use monthly figures instead of annual?
Use any period as long as costs and hires match. The defaults are annual. If you enter a month of spend, enter that month's hires or the cost per hire will be wrong.
To change the stack that drives these costs, browse 700+ tools in the directory: ATS, job boards, recruiting CRM, and free-tier software.
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