Cost per Hire
A recruiting metric that measures the total cost of filling a vacancy, including advertising, recruiter time, tools, and onboarding.
Cost per hire (CPH) is calculated by dividing the total recruitment expenditure by the number of hires made in a given period. It captures all costs associated with filling a role: job board fees, recruiter salaries or agency fees, background check costs, interview expenses, and a proportion of the onboarding investment.
The average cost per hire varies widely by role, seniority, and industry. Specialist technical roles or senior leadership positions are significantly more expensive to fill than entry-level positions. Reducing time-to-hire and improving employee retention are the two most effective ways to bring cost per hire down over time.
Remote hiring can reduce some elements of cost per hire — no relocation expenses, no travel for interviews — while adding others, such as international compliance costs. Tracking CPH alongside metrics like time-to-hire and quality of hire gives recruitment teams a complete picture of hiring efficiency.