Direct Hire planning tool
What Does a Direct Hire Really Cost?
Estimate the internal effort and vacancy impact around your hiring plan, then bring the assumptions into a focused conversation with EPIQORE.
Build your planning range.
Every input remains visible. Change an assumption and the estimate updates immediately.
Estimated internal and vacancy impact
Planning guidance only. This estimate is not a quote, financial forecast or guarantee of hiring outcomes.
How it works
How the Direct Hire True-Cost Calculator Works
The Direct Hire True-Cost Calculator estimates what it costs a company to fill permanent roles on its own: the time your team spends recruiting, the advertising and tools you pay for, and the business impact of the seat staying empty. It adds the three into a low and a high planning range. Every value is an assumption you can change, and no email address is required.
1. Internal recruiting effort
The hours your team spends on each hire, such as writing the job description, screening applications, interviewing and coordinating decisions, multiplied by what an hour of that internal time costs.
Hours per hire × internal hourly cost × number of hires
2. Advertising and tools
What you spend per hire on job advertising and recruiting tools.
Advertising and tools per hire × number of hires
3. Vacancy impact
The daily salary cost of the open role, based on 260 working days a year, multiplied by the expected number of vacancy days. The calculator counts 25% of that amount as the low estimate and 50% as the high estimate of the business impact of the open seat. These percentages are planning assumptions, not measured figures.
(Annual salary ÷ 260) × vacancy days × number of hires × 25% to 50%
Worked example
A company planning three permanent hires at a $95,000 annual salary, with 60 days of expected vacancy, 35 internal hours per hire at $60 an hour and $1,500 of advertising and tools per hire:
- Internal recruiting effort: 35 × $60 × 3 = $6,300
- Advertising and tools: $1,500 × 3 = $4,500
- Vacancy impact: ($95,000 ÷ 260) × 60 × 3 = $65,769 of salary cost, counted at 25% to 50% = $16,442 to $32,885
- Planning range: $27,242 to $43,685
What the estimate does not include
The result covers the cost of recruiting internally and of the open seat. It does not include EPIQORE's placement fee, which is defined in the service agreement, nor benefits, onboarding or relocation costs. It is planning guidance, not a quote or a forecast. To compare hiring models first, try the Staffing Model Fit Quiz or read about direct hire staffing.
Frequently asked questions
Direct Hire Cost Calculator FAQ
What does the Direct Hire True-Cost Calculator estimate?
It estimates the cost of filling permanent roles without outside help: internal recruiting effort, advertising and tools, and the business impact of the vacancy. The three are added into a low and a high planning range, based on assumptions you enter and can change at any time.
How is the vacancy impact calculated?
The calculator takes the daily salary cost of the role, using 260 working days a year, multiplies it by the expected vacancy days and the number of hires, then counts 25% of that amount as the low estimate and 50% as the high estimate. Both percentages are planning assumptions.
Does the estimate include EPIQORE's fee?
No. The calculator excludes EPIQORE's placement fee, which is agreed separately in the service agreement. The result shows the cost your company carries while it recruits on its own, so you can weigh it against working with a recruiting partner.
Is the calculator result a quote?
No. The result is planning guidance only. It is not a quote, a financial forecast or a guarantee of hiring outcomes, and it updates as soon as you change an assumption.
Do I need to share my email address to use the calculator?
No. The calculator works without any contact details. Your assumptions are only sent to EPIQORE if you choose to request a review of your hiring plan and then submit the contact form.
What happens when I ask EPIQORE to review my hiring plan?
The role, the number of hires, the salary and vacancy assumptions and the calculated range are added to EPIQORE's employer contact form. You add your contact details and send the form, and EPIQORE's recruiting team follows up with your hiring context already in hand.