Cost per hire calculator.

What to include

The common formula adds internal costs, such as recruiter pay and interviewer time, to external costs, such as ads, agency fees and checks, then divides by the number of hires in the same period. It is a widely used rule, not a published legal or accounting standard, and companies draw the line differently: some leave out onboarding, some add the cost of lost productivity. Pick one definition and keep using it so the trend means something.

Reading the result

Include only costs that belong to the hires counted. Agency fees paid for a hire that has not started yet belong to the next period. The optional salary field shows cost per hire as a share of first-year salary, which helps compare cheap and expensive roles.

Hiring cost is only part of the picture. See payroll burden for what the employee costs once hired, and time to fill for how long the seat sits empty.

Worked example

Cost per hire = (internal costs + external costs) / hires. $14,500 internal plus $15,200 external over 8 hires is $29,700 / 8 = $3,712.50 per hire.

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FAQ

How do you calculate cost per hire?

Add all internal and external hiring costs for a period and divide by the number of hires made in that period.

What are internal and external recruiting costs?

Internal costs are your own people and processes, such as recruiter time and interviewer time. External costs are paid to outsiders, such as job boards, agencies and background checks.

Should onboarding be in cost per hire?

Definitions differ. This page keeps it as an internal cost you can set to zero, so you can match whichever definition your company uses.

Is there a standard cost per hire?

No single standard figure is claimed here. Your own number depends on role level, location and how much you rely on agencies.