Cost Per Hire Calculator
Calculate cost per hire from total recruiting expenses. Compare to industry average of $4,700.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Updated April 2026 · Source: SBA — Business Guide
Cost Per Hire
$7,000.00
Total Recruiting Cost
$35,000.00
vs Industry Avg ($4,700)
+$2,300.00
Cost Breakdown by Category
| Recruiting Tools & Software (14%) | $5,000.00 |
| Advertising & Job Boards (9%) | $3,000.00 |
| Agency Fees (29%) | $10,000.00 |
| Employee Referral Bonuses (6%) | $2,000.00 |
| Recruiter Salaries (allocated) (43%) | $15,000.00 |
| Total Recruiting Costs | $35,000.00 |
| Cost Per Hire (5 hires) | $7,000.00 |
Industry Comparison
Your Cost Per Hire
$7,000.00
Industry Average
$4,700.00
Difference
+48.9%
Use the Cost Per Hire Calculator above to calculate your results. Enter your values and see instant results — all calculations run in your browser.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, financial, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on the information you provide and current rates. Always consult a qualified tax professional or financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.
How It Works
Few recruiting metrics are as revealing, or as easy to misjudge, as the all-in price of bringing someone aboard. Tracking cost per hire shows where recruitment dollars go, surfaces inefficiencies, and gives you a yardstick for the whole hiring operation. With the industry average projected near $4,700 in 2026, knowing where you land against that benchmark tells you quickly whether your process runs lean or bloated.
The math is a division: total recruiting expenses over the number of hires made in a given period. The numerator should sweep in every internal and external cost, advertising, recruiter salaries, background checks, and onboarding materials among them. Written out, the formula is CPH = (Internal Recruiting Costs + External Recruiting Costs + Onboarding Costs) / Total Hires.
Accuracy lives in the costs people forget to add, hiring manager hours and software subscriptions chief among them. Counting only external agency fees produces a tidy, flattering number that bears little resemblance to reality. And a rock-bottom figure is not automatically a win: if cutting recruiting spend lands you weaker hires or faster turnover, the savings were borrowed against future cost.
Example: Calculating Cost Per Hire for a Tech Startup in Q1 2026
- 1 Step 1: Input your total recruiting expenses for Q1 2026. This includes $15,000 for job board advertisements, $20,000 for a recruitment agency, $10,000 for recruiter salaries, $2,000 for background checks, and $3,000 for new employee onboarding kits. Your total hires for Q1 were 10.
- 2 Step 2: Calculate the total recruiting expenses: $15,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $2,000 + $3,000 = $50,000. Now, divide this by the total number of hires: $50,000 / 10 hires.
- 3 Step 3: Your calculated Cost Per Hire is $5,000.
- 4 Step 4: Compare your calculated CPH of $5,000 to the 2026 industry average of $4,700. In this example, the startup's cost per hire is slightly above the industry average, indicating potential areas for efficiency improvements in their recruitment process.
Source: SBA — Business Guide · Last updated: April 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average cost per hire in 2026?
How do you calculate cost per hire?
What is included in external recruiting costs?
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