Free Tool
Engineering Hire Cost Calculator
Calculate the total first-year cost of hiring an engineer — recruiter fees, interviews, and ramp.
Role Details
175,000
3
5
Total Hiring Cost
$101,410
Estimated total first-year cost
$35,000
Recruiter fee (20%)
$16,827
Interview cost
$36,458
Ramp-up productivity loss
$13,125
Vacancy cost
Break-even: ~7.0 months of salary to recover hiring cost. Interview cost = 40 panel hours × 5 interviewers. Vacancy cost = 30% productivity loss during open role.
Tip: AI coding assistants let existing engineers ship more — sometimes eliminating a hire entirely. At $101,410 per hire, one tool pays for itself fast.
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