How Much Do Recruiters Charge? The Real Numbers Behind Recruiting Fees

How much do recruiters charge? Most charge 15% to 30% of a new hire's first-year salary. Contingency agencies sit at the low end of that range and retained search firms at the high end. On one sales hire, that's easily a five-figure invoice, so learn the math before you sign anything. Below is how each fee model works, what it costs in real dollars, and which contract terms I'd push on. If you want to plug in your own numbers as you read, use our recruiting fee calculator.

I'm Adam Fineberg, founder of Jackson Square Company. Before JSC, I founded and sold My Personal Recruiter, Rock My Resume and Gold Jobs, and more than 1,600 people were hired and trained across those companies. I've spent a long time thinking about what a hire is worth. Here's how I'd read a fee agreement.

How Much Do Recruiters Charge? The Quick Formula

The formula is simple. Salary times fee percentage equals the placement fee. A $100,000 hire at 20% costs $20,000. Most agencies invoice after the candidate starts, typically on 30-day payment terms.

Two things move the number: the percentage, and the salary figure it's applied to. Both are negotiable. The second one is where people get surprised.

Base Salary or OTE? Why It Matters for Sales Hires

For most jobs, "first-year salary" means base pay. Sales is different because a big share of pay is variable. Account Executive plans are commonly split close to 50/50 between base and commission, so a rep with a $90,000 base might have on-target earnings (OTE) of $180,000. Here's what that does to the fee:

• 20% of the $90,000 base = $18,000
• 20% of the $180,000 OTE = $36,000

Same rep, same percentage, double the invoice. Some firms quote on base. Others use OTE, or "first-year guaranteed compensation," which adds any guaranteed draw or signing bonus to base. None of these is wrong. You just need to know which one you're agreeing to, in writing, before the search starts. Our recruiting fee calculator lets you toggle both.

Contingency vs Retained Search: How the Fee Models Compare

Contingency means you pay only if you hire someone the recruiter introduced. The typical range is 15% to 25% of first-year base. Retained means you pay part of the fee up front and the rest in stages, whether or not you end up hiring. Typical retained fees run 25% to 33% of first-year compensation, often billed in thirds.

My honest take: contingency works for roles where good candidates exist and can be found quickly. The catch is that a contingency recruiter is paid for results, not effort, so your search competes with every other open role on their desk. If your role is hard to fill, paid below market or confidential, expect it to slide down the list. Retained fixes that by paying for the work itself. For a VP of Sales or CRO, retained is the norm, and it's the work our executive sales recruiters do.

Container, Flat-Fee and Monthly Models

Not every agreement is pure contingency or pure retained. You'll also see these:

• Container (or "engaged") search: a smaller upfront payment that's credited against the final fee. It shows you're serious without paying a full retainer.
• Flat fee: a fixed dollar amount per hire, whatever the salary. It's common for high-volume roles and it ends the base-versus-OTE argument.
• Monthly or embedded recruiting: a recruiter works inside your team for a monthly rate. It makes sense if you're adding several reps a quarter.
• Project or hourly work: some firms will source or screen only and leave the interviews and closing to you.

How Much Do Recruiters Charge in Real Dollars?

Percentages mean little until you attach a salary. The table below uses a mid-range 20% contingency rate and a 30% retained rate on base salary. These are illustrations, not quotes.

Specialized searches, such as SaaS sales or medical device sales, tend to land toward the top of the range because fewer people are qualified. If your agreement calculates the fee on OTE instead of base, the AE line could come close to doubling.

Is the Recruiter Cost Worth It?

A $20,000 invoice stings. Weigh it against the cost of getting the hire wrong. Say you hire an AE at a $100,000 base on your own, and by month five it clearly isn't working. You've paid about $42,000 in salary, plus benefits and your own management time, and the territory has been quiet for most of that stretch. Then you start over.

A recruiter can't make bad hires impossible. A good one makes them less likely and puts a guarantee behind the result.

A Worked Example: Budgeting for One AE Hire

Here's a hypothetical. A software company needs an AE with a $110,000 base and $220,000 OTE. A contingency firm quotes 20%.

• Calculated on base: $22,000
• Calculated on OTE: $44,000

The founder negotiates a base-only fee, a 90-day replacement guarantee and payment 30 days after the start date. Total exposure is $22,000, due a month after the rep starts, and the seat gets refilled at no charge if the hire walks inside 90 days. That's a contract I'd sign. Run your own version in the recruiting fee calculator.

Do Recruiting Fees Come With a Guarantee?

Most reputable recruiters offer one. Typical replacement periods run 30 to 90 days from the start date. Read the details, because "guarantee" can mean different things:

• Free replacement: the firm runs the search again at no charge. This is the most common version.
• Refund: full or partial money back. Less common.
• Prorated credit: the fee is reduced based on how long the hire stayed.
• Exclusions: many guarantees don't apply if you eliminate the role, change it materially or pay the invoice late.

Red Flags and Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Walk away, or at least slow down, if you see any of these:

• The recruiter asks the candidate to pay. Employers pay agency fees, not job seekers.
• The fee basis is vague, like "first-year compensation" with no definition.
• There's no guarantee, or it starts at offer acceptance instead of the start date.
• The candidate ownership period never expires. Six to twelve months is typical.
• Résumés arrive before anyone has asked about your comp plan or quota.

And ask these before you sign:

1. Is the fee calculated on base, OTE or guaranteed first-year pay?
2. When is it invoiced, and when is it due?
3. How long is the guarantee, and is it a replacement, a refund or a credit?
4. How long do you claim a fee on candidates you introduce?
5. Which sales roles at this level have you filled recently?

Frequently Asked Questions About Recruiter Fees

How much does a recruiter charge to fill a position?

Most recruiters charge 15% to 30% of the new hire's first-year salary. Contingency placements typically fall between 15% and 25% of base, while retained searches for senior roles run about 25% to 33%. On a $100,000 hire, that's roughly $15,000 to $30,000. Seniority, how specialized the role is, and whether the fee is calculated on base or OTE all move the final number.

Who pays the recruiter fee, the employer or the candidate?

The employer pays. In a standard agency placement, the hiring company covers the full fee and the candidate pays nothing, for both contingency and retained searches. If a recruiter asks a job seeker to pay to apply or be submitted for a role, treat it as a serious warning sign.

Are recruitment fees negotiable?

Yes. The percentage, the fee basis, the guarantee and the payment terms are all negotiable. Exclusivity and multi-hire commitments give you the most bargaining power. Don't squeeze so hard that your search becomes the least profitable one on the recruiter's desk, because it will get worked that way.

What is the difference between contingency and retained recruiting?

It comes down to when you pay and how much commitment you get. Contingency recruiters are paid only if you hire their candidate, so they carry the risk and usually work several clients' roles at once. Retained firms are paid in stages from the start, work your search exclusively and go deeper into passive candidates. Contingency suits most individual-contributor sales roles, and retained is standard for VP-level and confidential searches.

Is base salary or OTE used to calculate a recruiter fee for sales roles?

It depends on the contract. Many agencies calculate the fee on base salary, but some use OTE or guaranteed first-year compensation. For a sales rep whose pay is split 50/50 between base and commission, a fee on OTE is about twice a fee on base at the same percentage. Get the basis defined in writing before the search starts.

Are recruiter fees worth it?

They are when a slow or wrong hire would cost more than the fee. Five months of a $100,000 salary is about $42,000, before you count lost pipeline and the cost of starting over. A recruiter who fills the seat faster with a better-qualified person, and backs the placement with a replacement guarantee, usually covers that gap. For easy-to-fill roles, you may not need one.

Ready to Put a Real Number on Your Next Sales Hire?

Model your role in the recruiting fee calculator, then talk to us. Jackson Square Company recruits sales talent from SDR to VP of Sales, we write our terms in plain English, and we back our placements with a guarantee.

Contact Jackson Square Company and we'll lay out a fee and search plan for your open sales role. You can also see how we work on our employers page.