Free tools/Free recruiter tool
Recruiting Software ROI Calculator: Will This Tool Pay for Itself?
Pick any recruiting, sourcing, outreach or HR tool from the Work Insiders directory, add the hours it saves your team, and see first year ROI, payback time and how many hours it must save to break even. Free, runs in your browser.
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What it does
Pick a tool from the directory, add the hours it saves and see first year ROI, payback time and the hours needed to break even.
Most recruiting tools are bought on a demo and a gut feeling, then nobody checks whether they paid off. This calculator puts the decision in numbers before you sign: pick a tool, and its listed price fills in for you. Add how many people will use it and the hours it saves each of them, and you get first year ROI, payback time and the break even point.
Will this tool pay for itself?
Return = hours saved × hourly cost + extra hires × value of each. ROI = (return − cost) ÷ cost. Prices come from the tool's Work Insiders listing; edit any number.
1Pick the tool
Filled from the listing when one is picked. Use your quote if you have one.
Recruiters or sourcers who will use the tool every week.
Onboarding fee, data migration or setup help. Counted in year one.
2Time it saves
Be honest. Time a week of the task before and during a trial.
Salary × 1.3 ÷ 2,080. A $72,000 salary is about $45.
Few tools reach everyone. 75 is a fair first guess.
After holidays and time off. 46 is typical in the US.
3Extra results (optional)
Only ones you would not have made without the tool. Leave 0 if unsure.
Agency: your average fee. In house: what a faster fill saves.
First year return on investment
0%
Enter your numbers.
How does the calculator work out ROI?
| Figure | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Cost in year one | Monthly price × users (or the flat price) × 12, plus any setup cost |
| Hours saved a year | Hours saved per person each week × users × working weeks × share who really use it |
| Return in year one | Hours saved × hourly cost, plus extra hires × value of each |
| ROI | (Return minus cost) ÷ cost |
| Payback time | Months until monthly return has covered the setup cost and the subscription |
| Break even | Hours each person must save every week for return to equal cost |
Why does the break even number matter most?
Hours saved is the number people guess, so it is the easiest to get wrong. Break even turns the question around: instead of asking how much time the tool saves, it tells you how much time it must save. If a tool needs half an hour a week per recruiter to pay for itself, it is an easy yes. If it needs six, ask the vendor to prove it in a trial.
How do you measure hours saved honestly?
Time the task for one normal week before the trial, then again during it. Count only the task the tool replaces, such as building a sourcing list or booking interviews, and use the median recruiter, not your fastest. How to measure the ROI of AI in recruiting walks through the baseline step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the prices come from?
From the starting price recorded on each Work Insiders listing, taken from the vendor’s public pricing page. It is a starting price, not a quote. If you have a quote, type it over the listed price.
What if the tool has no public price?
The calculator says so and leaves the price for you to enter. Many ATS and enterprise tools only sell on a quote.
How do I work out hourly cost?
A quick rule is salary × 1.3 ÷ 2,080. The 1.3 covers payroll taxes and benefits, and 2,080 is the hours in a full time year. A recruiter on $72,000 costs about $45 an hour.
Should I count extra placements?
Only if you would not have made them without the tool. Agencies can enter their average fee, and in house teams what a faster fill saves, which the cost per hire calculator can estimate. If you are unsure, leave it at zero and judge the tool on time saved alone.
Can I share the result?
Yes. Copy summary gives you plain text for an email to your manager, and Copy link saves every number in the page address so anyone who opens it sees the same result. Nothing is stored on our servers.
Next: add up your whole stack with the stack cost estimator, check a vendor with the buyer’s checklist, or look up a term in the recruiting and HR glossary.
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