What does senior engineering hiring actually cost you?
Most recruiter pricing comparisons are designed to make one model look good. This one tries to be honest. Adjust the inputs to match your situation and see where each model wins and loses.
Your situation
Adjust the inputs to match your hiring plan. Results update live.
Your cost comparison
Over 2 years, 6 total hires.
Want to test the model on a real role?
Book the Calibration Sprint ($2,500)The assumptions we use
Transparent inputs are the only kind that earn trust. Here's exactly what we assume for each model. Disagree? The inputs are adjustable; if you want a custom comparison with your own assumptions, email us and we'll run it.
Our model (Tier A IQC Delivery)
- $4,000 per-role setup fee
- Per-IQC fee by comp band: $3,500 / $5,500 / $8,500
- Average of 5 IQCs per role (4-6 range)
- Cost is paid for IQCs delivered, regardless of whether you extend an offer
Contingent recruiter
- 20% of first-year base comp on placement
- Only paid on successful hire; if they don't close, you don't pay
- Risk: incentive to race-to-close on whoever responds first
- Industry norm range: 18% to 25%; we use the lower end
Retained search
- 30% of first-year cash comp, paid in milestone thirds
- Paid regardless of whether candidate accepts the role
- Industry norm range: 25% to 33%; we use the median
In-house senior tech recruiter
- Base salary: $150,000 per year
- Loaded cost multiplier: 1.30x (benefits, taxes, equity)
- Tools stack annual: $60,000 (LinkedIn Recruiter, Gem, HireEZ, ATS)
- Total loaded annual: $255,000 per recruiter
- Realistic capacity: 12 senior placements per year per recruiter
- Above 12 hires/year, we model adding a second recruiter
How to read the comparison
Three honest observations the calculator surfaces.
Our model usually wins on cost, but not for the reason you'd think
We are not cheaper because we charge less per IQC than contingent firms charge per placement. We are cheaper because we charge for delivered units of qualified work, not for the outcome of a process you control. When a contingent firm sends three candidates and none get hired, you paid nothing but you also got nothing. When we send five IQCs and none get hired, you paid for the work but the work was real and the artifacts are yours.
In-house wins on cost at high hire volumes
Crank the hires per year above 10 and a dedicated in-house senior recruiter starts to make economic sense. We are not the right answer for high-volume hiring. If you need 20 senior engineers a year, hire a team.
Retained search is worth it for one specific case
For board-level confidential searches, founding-team CTO hires, or highly visible executive roles, retained still makes sense. The 30% fee buys you process discipline, confidentiality, and reputational coverage that the IQC model is not designed for. Our own Tier B exists for those situations.
Try the model on a real role
The Calibration Sprint is the fastest way to find out whether our model fits your next senior hire. Two weeks, $2,500, real artifacts. Applies as credit toward a full engagement if you continue.
Book the Calibration Sprint