Cost Per Hire Calculator

Divide total recruiting cost by hires made to get cost per hire.

About Cost Per Hire Calculator

Dividing spend by the number of hires gives the unit economics of the channel. The reciprocal — hires delivered per unit of currency — is shown alongside, because that is the figure to maximise when a budget is fixed. Unit cost is the only number that lets you compare channels with wildly different budgets, and it is the input every bid and budget decision ultimately rests on.

Formula

Cost Per Hire

Cost Per Hire = Total recruiting cost ÷ Hires made

Total recruiting cost: Total amount spent in the period
Hires made: Countable outcomes delivered for that spend

Worked example

With the default values below, Cost Per Hire Calculator returns Cost Per Hire of $7,500.0000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Total recruiting costminimum 0: 180,000
Hires mademinimum 0: 24

Results

Cost Per Hire: $7,500.0000
Hires per Unit of Spend: 0.00
Spend per 1,000 hires: $7,500,000.00
Hires Needed to Justify Spend at Current Rate: 24

Step by step

1Values used
2Cost Per Hire
3Cost Per Hire= 7,500.0000
4Hires per Unit of Spend= 0.00
5Spend per 1,000 hires= 7,500,000.00
6Hires Needed to Justify Spend at Current Rate= 24

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Cost Per Hire calculated?

Cost Per Hire = Total recruiting cost ÷ Hires made Dividing spend by the number of hires gives the unit economics of the channel. The reciprocal — hires delivered per unit of currency — is shown alongside, because that is the figure to maximise when a budget is fixed.

Why does Cost Per Hire matter?

Unit cost is the only number that lets you compare channels with wildly different budgets, and it is the input every bid and budget decision ultimately rests on.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 2 inputs: Total recruiting cost, Hires made. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.