Cost-Per-Hire Calculator
See exactly what a recruiter would charge you this year — then compare it to doing it yourself and to running the same pipeline on software. Move the sliders, watch the number.
A recruiter would charge you, this year
£24,000
£12,000 per hire × 2 hires at 20% of £60,000
Run the same pipeline — job post, AI-ranked CVs, scheduling, offer letters — on Penroll and keep
£23,820 (99% less)
Start free — 25 credits, no card →Penroll is billed in USD. Recruiter and DIY figures are in your local currency. Estimates for comparison only.
What a recruiter actually costs
Contingency recruiters typically charge 15–25% of the first-year salary, and 20% is the number most founders see on the contract. That means a single €60,000 hire costs €12,000 in fees — paid in one lump, usually within 30 days of the candidate starting. Hire two people and you’ve spent €24,000 before either has shipped anything. For a company adding a few people a year, recruiter fees are often the single largest line item that nobody planned for.
“I’ll just do it myself” isn’t free either
Skipping the agency moves the cost from your bank account to your calendar. Writing the post, opening a job board, screening 150 CVs, scheduling calls, chasing no-shows, and sending rejections runs 30–60 hours for one role. At founder-level hourly value that is real money — and it’s time not spent on product or customers. Toggle “the cost of doing it yourself” in the calculator to put a number on it.
The third option
Hiring software sits between the two: it kills the agency fee and most of the manual time. Penroll runs the full pipeline — hosted job post, AI-ranked CVs as they land, one-click scheduling, and country-aware offer letters — from $19/mo. For most small teams that’s less than 2% of a single recruiter placement. The calculator above shows the gap for your exact numbers.
Frequently asked
How much do recruitment agencies charge?
Most contingency recruiters charge 15–25% of first-year salary (20% is typical). Retained and executive search can reach 25–35%. Use the fee slider to match your own quote.
How is cost-per-hire calculated?
Total recruiting cost ÷ number of hires. For agencies that’s mostly the placement fee. In-house, it’s your hours × your hourly value, plus job-board and advertising spend.
Are these numbers exact?
They’re estimates for comparison. Recruiter and DIY figures use your local currency; Penroll is billed in USD. The goal is the order of magnitude — and that gap is rarely close.