Cost Per Hire Calculator
Build your real cost to fill a role on the SHRM and ANSI standard. Enter your external recruiting spend and the recruiter and hiring manager hours, and the workbook prices the staff time most teams miss, then returns your cost per hire, the split between external and internal cost, and the figure as a percent of first-year salary.
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Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders
- Your true cost per hire: enter your external spend and the recruiter and manager hours, and the workbook returns the cost to fill one role on the SHRM and ANSI standard
- The staff time most teams miss: recruiter and hiring manager hours are priced from salary over 2,080 working hours, so the time that never shows up on an invoice carries a real dollar figure
- The external versus internal split: a share for outside spend and a share for internal time, so you can see whether the cost sits in job ads and agencies or in the hours your own team spends
- The cost as a percent of first-year salary: the result against the salary of the role, so you can read it next to the benchmark ranges and the 15 to 25 percent agency fee
- Open, editable formulas in Excel or Google Sheets, with a worked example pre-filled and the SHRM benchmark built in; set your period once and duplicate the file to track the next quarter or another role
The workbook prices the cost from the numbers you enter. The recruiting spend, the salaries, the hours each person spends, and the number of hires are yours to set.
Planning estimates and general business information, not legal or tax advice. The result depends on the costs and hours you enter, so keep your spend and your hires in the same period and count offers that became starts.
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Last reviewed June 2026
One Excel workbook that builds cost per hire from your own numbers
A working model, not a blank grid. You enter your recruiting spend and the hours your team spent, the workbook prices the staff time and runs the SHRM and ANSI formula, and it opens on a worked example so the logic is clear before you change anything.
Cost Per Hire Calculator
Enter your external spend, job ads, agency fees, background checks, and referral bonuses, then the recruiter and hiring manager salaries and the hours each spent on the hire. The workbook prices that time from salary over 2,080 working hours, adds the recruiting tools, and returns your cost per hire, the external and internal split, and the cost as a percent of first-year salary. It opens on a worked example so the method is clear before you change the inputs.
A board-ready summary, current benchmarks, and the method in plain English
A one-page Summary pulls the cost per hire, the split, and the figure against the SHRM benchmark into a snapshot for a budget conversation. A Benchmark tab holds current cost-per-hire ranges from the SHRM 2025 report, and the Notes tab documents how each number is built.
Three steps from your recruiting costs to a cost per hire
You set your external spend, add the internal time, and the workbook returns the cost per hire and the split.
Enter your external spend
Fill the amber cells for job ads, agency or recruiter fees, background checks and assessments, referral bonuses, and any other outside cost for the period you are measuring.
Add the internal time
Enter the recruiter and hiring manager salaries and the hours each spent, plus your recruiting tools. The workbook prices the time from salary over 2,080 working hours, so the staff cost is built up rather than guessed.
Read the cost per hire
The workbook divides total recruiting cost by your number of hires and shows the cost per hire, the external and internal split, and the cost as a percent of first-year salary.
The cost teams miss is their own time
Job ads and an agency fee are the cash you write a check for, and they are the part most teams count. The recruiter and manager hours behind every hire rarely show up anywhere, which is why the standard counts staff time and the real figure usually runs higher than the invoices alone.
Who this calculator fits and where to go if that is not you
It builds the cost to fill a role for one period from your own spend and hours. For the cost of seats sitting open or the choice between an agency and your own team, the right tool is next to it.
Built for
- A recruiting or HR leader who needs a defensible cost per hire on the SHRM and ANSI standard, built from real spend and real hours.
- A finance or HR partner setting a recruiting budget who wants the internal time counted alongside the agency invoices and job board spend.
- A small business owner or hiring manager who wants to know what filling a role costs before approving the next req.
If you are looking for
- The yearly cost of seats sitting open from slow hiring, not the spend to fill them. The Vacancy Cost Calculator prices the output lost while roles wait to be filled.
- Whether to fill roles with an outside agency or your own recruiters, the ROI comparison rather than a blended cost per hire. The Agency vs Internal Recruiter ROI Calculator runs that decision.
Before you buy
What format is it and can I edit it?
There is a free version of this calculator. Why pay for this one?
How accurate is the result?
What does the cost include?
What is the refund policy?
What happens after I buy?
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
Most customers buy TrueStep HR tools for business use, and a tool you use for work often qualifies as a deductible business expense. Whether it does for you depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant or tax professional. Your receipt arrives by email at checkout and works as documentation.
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Put a real number on every hire
The cost to fill a role on the SHRM and ANSI standard, with the staff time counted and the figure against the benchmark, in a file you keep.
Planning estimates and general business information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed June 2026.