Skip to content
Free tool · Cost per hire

What each hire really costs you.

The whole-system number, not the one on the recruitment invoices.

Most cost per hire figures divide the job board and agency spend by the number of hires and stop there. This calculator adds what that number leaves out: recruiter hours, hiring manager time, onboarding and the hires that did not work out. Fill in what you know, leave the rest at the defaults, and unlock the breakdown with a work email. It prints.

01 · Your numbers

Annual figures, best estimates are fine.

Volume
What you pay out (the reported costs)
£
£
£
£
What it costs inside (the hidden costs)
£
£
£
%
£

Unlock the breakdown.

Name, work email and company, and the true cost per hire renders below with a print view. The inputs stay editable and the result updates as you change them.

Your details go on the SetpointHQ recruitment marketing list. One click to leave it. Protected by reCAPTCHA; the Google privacy policy and terms apply.

02 · The result

Reported, true, and the gap between them.

Reported cost per hire
£0
External spend divided by hires. The figure most organisations quote.
True cost per hire
£0
With recruiter and hiring manager time, onboarding and failed hires added.
Hidden share
0%
Of the true cost, the part that never appears on an invoice.
Job boards and advertising
£0
Agency fees
£0
Tools and careers site
£0
Employer brand
£0
Recruiter time
£0
Hiring manager time
£0
Onboarding
£0
Failed-hire load
£0

Reported   Hidden. Amounts are per hire.

Benchmark source: CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning report 2024, median cost of recruiting £1,500 (other employees) and £2,000 (senior managers and directors).

See what Studio builds per job
03 · Why the gap matters

The invoice number is the one that gets budgeted. The true number is the one that gets paid.

Recruitment investment decisions get made on the reported figure because it is the one finance can see. The hidden costs are real money too, spread across salaries in 3 departments where nobody adds them up. That is why a careers site that halves job board dependency, or a process that takes 8 hours of recruiter time out of every hire, looks like a cost on the reported line and a saving on the true one.

Two things move the true figure fastest: the hours per hire, and the failure rate. Both are what a structured, spec-led process is for. The advert written from a confirmed brief attracts the right people, the screen tests what the job needs, and the interview scores the same evidence the same way. Fewer hours, fewer mis-hires, and a cost per hire that finally matches the number in the board pack.

04 · Common questions

Things people ask.

Why do I have to give an email address?
Because the result is worth something and we would like to know who found it useful. You get the full breakdown on screen, a print view, and an occasional email about recruitment marketing from SetpointHQ that you can stop with one click. No sales call unless you ask for one.
What counts as a hidden cost?
Anything hiring costs the organisation that never appears on a recruitment invoice: recruiter hours, hiring manager interview time, onboarding, and the cost of replacing the hires that do not work out. Most cost per hire figures stop at the invoices.
Where do the benchmarks come from?
The CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning report 2024, which puts the UK median cost of recruiting at £1,500 for most employees and £2,000 for senior managers. Those medians are what organisations report, so they are closer to the reported figure here than to the true one.
What should I put for the cost of a failed hire?
If you have a figure, use it. If not, a defensible starting point is the reported cost per hire again plus the salary paid for the months the person was in the role, since that money bought a vacancy rather than a contributor. Leave it blank if you would rather see the number without it.
Is my data stored?
The inputs and the result are sent once, with your details, so we can see the run. Nothing is stored in your browser beyond the fact that you unlocked the result, and you can clear that by closing the tab.
Can I get the whole playbook, not just the number?
That is Studio. Add a job and it builds the advert, search strings, outreach, screening, sell sheet and interview kit around it, for £149 a month with a 7-day trial. Card required, cancel any time inside the window.
Take the hours out

Add a job. Studio builds the playbook.

11 assets across 6 stages, from the job spec to the interview kit, generated in minutes and edited in your voice. One Solo seat is £149 a month with a 7-day trial. Card required, cancel any time inside the window.

Start 7 days free See the full playbook