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.

A working model, not a blank grid

Enter your external spend (job ads, agency fees, background checks, 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 your recruiting tools, runs the SHRM and ANSI formula, and returns your cost per hire, the external and internal split, and the cost as a percent of first-year salary. 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 ranges from the SHRM 2025 report, and it opens on a worked example so the logic is clear before you change anything.

The cost teams miss is their own time

Job ads and an agency fee are the cash you write a check for, and 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. The formula is the SHRM and ANSI standard: total internal plus external recruiting cost for a period, divided by the hires in that period. Recruiter and manager hours are priced from each salary over 2,080 working hours, so the time spent screening, interviewing, and closing carries a dollar figure. A result well under the benchmark can mean you run lean or that costs are being left out, so the external and internal split is as useful as the total.

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, the Vacancy Cost Calculator prices that. To decide whether to fill roles with an outside agency or your own recruiters, see the Agency vs Internal Recruiter ROI Calculator.

Before you buy

What format is it, and can I edit it?

It is one Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets. Every input and formula is editable, and the file is yours to keep; duplicate it to measure another role or quarter, keeping the same method so the trend stays comparable. Checkout delivers an instant download link, with the same link emailed on your receipt.

What does the paid workbook do that a free calculator does not?

This workbook runs the full SHRM and ANSI formula, prices the recruiter and hiring manager time most teams leave out from each salary over 2,080 working hours. It also separates external spend from internal time, which is the split the SHRM and ANSI standard exists to make visible, and the one a single blended number always hides. You set your period once, duplicate the file per role or quarter, and read every formula behind the number. A quick browser estimate gives you one figure; this gives you the standard formula, the sources, and a file you keep.

What does the cost include?

Two groups. External is job ads, agency or recruiter fees, background checks and assessments, and referral bonuses. Internal is the recruiter and hiring manager time, priced from salary over 2,080 working hours, plus your recruiting tools. The workbook adds both, divides by your number of hires, and shows which side carries more of the cost.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms. Questions? Email support@truestephr.com.

These are planning estimates, only as good as the costs and hours you enter. Keep your spend and your hires in the same period, count offers that became starts rather than offers made, and use your own salaries and hours rather than the example figures.

How the download works

Your files arrive as a single ZIP download, best opened on a computer: save it, extract it (right-click and Extract All on Windows, double-click on a Mac), and open the Start Here file first. PDFs open in any reader, and the editable files work in Microsoft Word and Excel or their free equivalents, including LibreOffice and Google Docs and Sheets. No other software is needed. Step-by-step help for every device is at truestephr.com/pages/download-help.

Scope

This tool is a planning and analysis model. Its outputs depend entirely on the inputs and assumptions you enter, and they are estimates for decision support, not accounting, tax, or legal conclusions. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for qualified counsel on your specific situation. Check the assumptions against your own data and have any decision with pay, headcount, or separation consequences reviewed against applicable law before you act on it.