Cost Per Hire & Recruiting ROI Calculator for 2026 Hiring Budgets

Calculate your cost per hire using the SHRM/ANSI standard formula and see the ROI your recruiting spend generates.

Mathematical Audit

How Cost Per Hire & Recruiting ROI Are Calculated

Cost per hire follows the SHRM/ANSI standard: total internal plus external recruiting costs divided by the number of hires. Recruiting ROI compares that spend to the value new hires generate in their first year.

Total Recruiting Cost = Internal Recruiting Costs + External Recruiting Costs
Cost Per Hire = Total Recruiting Cost ÷ Number of Hires
Total First-Year Value = First-Year Value Per Hire × Number of Hires
Net Recruiting Gain = Total First-Year Value − Total Recruiting Cost
Recruiting ROI % = (Net Recruiting Gain ÷ Total Recruiting Cost) × 100
Benchmark Variance % = ((Cost Per Hire − SHRM Average) ÷ SHRM Average) × 100

SHRM's 2025 Benchmarking Report puts average cost per hire at $5,475 for non-executive roles and $35,879 for executive roles; this calculator uses the non-executive figure as its default benchmark.

Operational Guide

How to Use the Cost Per Hire & Recruiting ROI Calculator

1

Enter internal recruiting costs

Include recruiter salaries, ATS/software costs, and internal team time allocated to hiring.

2

Enter external recruiting costs

Include agency fees, job board postings, background checks, assessments, and signing bonuses.

3

Enter number of hires and average salary

Use the hires made in the period you're measuring, such as a quarter or fiscal year.

4

Estimate first-year value per hire

Use revenue generated, cost savings, or another proxy for the value each new hire creates in year one.

5

Review cost per hire and ROI

Compare your cost per hire to the SHRM benchmark and see your overall recruiting ROI percentage.

Real-World Scenario Example

"A company spends $15,000 internally and $20,000 externally to make 5 hires averaging $70,000 salary, each expected to generate $120,000 of first-year value."

Inputs

internalRecruitingCosts:15000
externalRecruitingCosts:20000
numberOfHires:5
firstYearValuePerHire:120000

Result

Cost per hire of $7,000 (about 28% above the SHRM benchmark), with a recruiting ROI of roughly 1,614%.

Important Disclaimer

These estimates are for educational and planning purposes only. Actual cost per hire and recruiting ROI vary by role, industry, region, and internal cost accounting methods.

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Sources & References

SHRM — 2025 Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report

https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research

Pin — Cost-Per-Hire: Complete Breakdown and Benchmarks

https://www.pin.com/blog/cost-per-hire-benchmarks/