Cost Per Hire Calculator

Cost per hire (CPH) is the total amount spent to fill a single position, standardized by SHRM and ANSI as the primary metric for recruiting efficiency.

The metric was standardized in ANSI/SHRM 06001.2012 to give organizations a consistent way to measure and benchmark their recruiting costs. It includes all internal and external costs incurred from identifying the need to hire through the candidate's acceptance and first day.

What counts as internal costs

• Recruiter compensation: Base salary and benefits allocated to time spent on recruiting activities
• Hiring manager time: Hours spent writing JDs, reviewing resumes, interviewing, and debriefing
• Employee referral bonuses: Cash bonuses paid for successful referral hires
• HR administrative time: Offer letters, onboarding coordination, compliance paperwork
• Internal technology: ATS licenses, AI tools, scheduling software, video interview platforms

What counts as external costs

• Job board postings: Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, ZipRecruiter, niche boards
• Staffing agency fees: Typically 15-30% of first-year salary for contingent placement
• Background checks and drug tests: $30-300 per candidate depending on depth
• Recruiting events: Career fairs, campus recruiting, meetups
• Employer branding: Careers page, social media recruiting, content creation
• Travel: Candidate travel for onsite interviews, recruiter travel for events
• Relocation: Moving packages for hired candidates (if applicable)

What is NOT included

Cost per hire does not include the new hire's salary, benefits, sign-on bonus, or onboarding training costs. These are tracked as separate metrics. CPH measures the cost of the process itself, not the cost of the person hired.

Cost per hire varies significantly by industry, company size, and role level. These benchmarks help you understand where your organization stands.

Sources: SHRM 2025 Benchmarking Report; Bersin/Deloitte Talent Acquisition Research; Easy.jobs; Wellhub; Corporate Navigators

By company size

By role level

Five strategies to reduce cost per hire without lowering quality, based on where most recruiting budgets actually go.

1. Reduce agency dependency

Agency fees (15-25% of first-year salary) are often the single largest line item in cost per hire. Building internal sourcing capabilities, even incrementally, can dramatically reduce this cost. A $120K hire placed through an agency costs $18,000-30,000 in fees alone. Investing $500/month in sourcing tools to make even a few of those hires directly pays for itself immediately.

2. Build an employee referral program

Referred candidates cost 50-70% less to hire and typically have higher retention rates. A $2,000 referral bonus on a hire that would have cost $18,000 through an agency is a 9x return. Referral programs also tend to produce faster hires because referred candidates enter the process with a built-in recommendation.

3. Use AI matching to reduce time on unqualified candidates

Recruiters spend significant time reviewing candidates who do not match the job requirements. AI matching tools identify the strongest matches first, reducing the hours spent on initial screening. A tool like Recruiter Copilot costs $9/month and shows instant match scores on LinkedIn profiles, helping you focus time on the candidates most likely to convert.

4. Optimize job board spending

Track which job boards produce hires, not just applications. Many organizations spread budget across 5-8 boards when 80% of their hires come from 2-3. Consolidate spend on the boards that actually produce qualified candidates for your specific roles and geography.

5. Reduce time-to-fill

Every day a position stays open adds to cost per hire through continued job board spend, accumulated recruiter time, and opportunity cost. Reducing time-to-fill compresses these costs. AI screening, structured interviews, and hiring manager alignment are the three highest-impact levers for speed.