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Cost per Hire Calculator

Human Resources · Free tool

Cost per Hire Calculator

Recruiting budgets are hard to defend without a unit cost. This cost per hire calculator adds what you paid outside the company (ads, agencies, background checks) to what recruiting cost inside it (recruiter time, interviewer hours, referral bonuses), then divides by the hires made, for HR leaders, talent teams and finance.

Your entries stay in this browser. Use Fill example to see a finished page first.

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What this HR tool gives you

List each cost on its own line so the breakdown is visible, then enter the number of hires for the same period. The result shows cost per hire, external and internal totals and the number of hires, plus a table you can drop into a budget review.

What you enter

  • Hires in the period: people hired in the same months as the costs
  • External costs: one line per cost paid to outside parties, such as job boards, agency fees, assessments and background checks
  • Internal costs: one line per internal cost, such as recruiter salaries, interviewer hours and referral bonuses

Worked example

Four hires in a quarter. External costs: job board ads $3,000 and an agency fee $9,000, total $12,000. Internal costs: recruiter time $6,000 and interviewer hours $2,000, total $8,000. Cost per hire = $20,000 ÷ 4 = $5,000.

How do you calculate cost per hire?

Cost per hire = (total external costs + total internal costs) ÷ number of hires. This follows the structure of the SHRM/ANSI cost-per-hire standard, which splits recruiting costs into external and internal. Both totals and the hires must cover the same period.

Each cost line needs a name and an amount; negative amounts are rejected. If hires is zero, the page explains that there is no divisor. The tool totals what you list; it does not estimate costs you leave out.

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Tips before you use the result

  1. Price interviewer hours at a loaded hourly cost; they are usually the most underestimated internal cost.
  2. Run the calculation per role family. An engineering hire and a store hire averaged together tell you little about either.
  3. Track it quarterly so a single agency placement does not swing the trend.
  4. Pair cost per hire with time to hire and 90-day retention; the cheapest channel is not always the one that keeps people.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good cost per hire?

It varies widely by role, seniority, location and channel. Agency-filled senior roles can cost many times more than entry-level hires sourced through referrals. Compare against your own history for the same role family first, then use published surveys as a rough reference.

What counts as an internal recruiting cost?

Internal costs include recruiter and HR staff time spent on hiring, hiring manager and interviewer hours, referral bonuses, recruiting software and employer branding work. Price staff time at a loaded hourly cost multiplied by the hours spent on recruiting.

Should relocation and sign-on bonuses be included?

Under the SHRM/ANSI approach, relocation and sign-on bonuses are usually external costs because they are paid to get the hire done. Include them if you want the full cost of filling the role, and keep the same rule every period.

What is the difference between cost per hire and cost of turnover?

Cost per hire covers recruiting only. Cost of turnover adds separation, onboarding, training and lost productivity while a replacement ramps up. Use cost per hire as the hiring input in the cost of turnover calculator.

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Results depend on the figures you enter; check them against your own records before you rely on them. Last updated: October 2026 · Kurums editorial team.