Cost per hire calculator
An HR metric that shows what the company spends to bring in one person. Add up the costs for a period and the hires who started in it.
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How to use it
- Enter external costs, internal costs, hires in the period and average annual salary of hires.
- The result appears straight away and updates as you edit.
- Copy the result, or copy a link that keeps the same values to share it.
How it is calculated
Cost per hire = (external costs + internal costs) ÷ number of hires, as in the ANSI/SHRM standard. Cost to salary ratio = cost per hire ÷ average annual salary of the hires × 100.
Example
Inputs: External costs = 30,000, Internal costs = 20,000, Hires in the period = 10, Average annual salary of hires = 60,000. Result: Cost per hire: 5,000.00; Total recruiting cost: 50,000.00; External share of costs: 60%.
Limits and caveats
- The result is only as complete as the costs you include; managers' interview time is often left out.
- Take costs and hires from the same period, or the figure moves for no real reason.
Questions about this tool
What counts as external and internal costs?
External costs are paid to outside parties, such as job ads, agency fees, background checks and candidate travel. Internal costs stay in house, such as recruiter pay, referral bonuses and interview time.
What is cost per hire if we spent 50,000 on 10 hires?
It is 5,000 per hire. With an average annual salary of 60,000, that is about 8.33% of salary.
Should new hires' salaries be part of the cost?
No. Cost per hire covers what was spent to make the hire. Salary only enters the cost to salary ratio, which helps compare roles.