What to expect Start with hiring totals and recruiting expenses from the same period, including advertising, fees, background checks, tools, and staff time. The calculation takes about three minutes.

Hires

Hires during this period

Average first-year salary of hires (optional)

$

External recruiting costs

Job advertising

$

Agency and external recruiter fees

$

Background checks and assessments

$

Additional recruiting costs

Additional external costs

Referral bonuses

$

Other external costs

$

Internal recruiting costs

Annual salary for recruiter or HR staff

$

Recruiter or HR hours spent hiring

h

Hiring manager's annual salary

$

Hiring manager hours spent hiring

h

Applicant tracking and recruiting tools

$

Other internal costs

$

The calculator values staff time by dividing annual base salary by 2,080 hours. This hourly rate excludes benefits.

Cost per hire

$0

0% of average first-year salary per hire

Total recruiting cost

$0

Internal and external costs

0 / 0

For 2025, SHRM reported an average nonexecutive cost per hire of about $5,475 and a median of $1,200.

Your recruiting cost breakdown

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How the calculation works

How cost per hire is calculated

Add your internal and external recruiting expenses, then divide by the number of hires during the same period. The method is based on the ANSI/SHRM Cost-Per-Hire standard (06001.2012).

See what is included

External costs

External costs include advertising, agency fees, background checks, and assessments. Agency placement fees often range from 15% to 25% of first-year salary. Referral bonuses sit with external costs here. The ANSI/SHRM standard counts them as internal costs, which changes the split but not your total cost per hire.

Internal costs

Internal costs include recruiter and hiring manager time, along with recruiting tools. Use the same approach each period so comparisons are meaningful.

Use your results

Compare hiring costs over time

Use the Cost Per Hire Calculator workbook to compare recruiting expenses across quarters or years. The Benchmark tab includes SHRM's national median and average, while the Summary tab brings your figures together for budget planning.

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Compare this estimate with your records to help plan your next step.

Cost Per Hire Calculator