The true cost of a tech hire is 2-3x annual salary
Updated 26 March 2026
Across engineering, product, design, data, and DevOps roles the hiring costs are shockingly consistent. Calculate your true cost per hire and cost per day the seat is empty for any tech discipline.
Role Details
Estimated salary for this combination
$140,000/year
Total Cost Per Hire
$70k
That is 50% of annual salary and takes 55 days to fill on average.
Recruiter Fee
$28k
External recruiter at market rate
Vacancy Cost
$31k
55 days x $560/day
Job Board / Sourcing
$0
Ad spend and tools
Interview Time
$2k
Team time in interviews
Onboarding
$10k
First 90 days investment
Key Metrics
50%
of salary
55
days to fill
$560
per day vacant
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What is the true cost of hiring a tech worker?
The true cost of a tech hire is typically 30-50% of annual salary when you include recruiter fees, job board spend, interview time cost, onboarding investment, and the cost of the role being vacant. For a $130k engineer that is $39,000 to $65,000 total.
Which tech roles are most expensive to hire?
Security engineers, DevOps/SRE, and data scientists are typically the most expensive to hire due to scarcity and high recruiter fees. They also take longest to fill, increasing vacancy costs. Product managers and QA engineers tend to be less expensive.
How does location affect tech hiring costs?
Hiring in San Francisco, New York, or Seattle adds a 30% premium over the national average. Remote roles typically run 10% below the Tier 2 US market rate. UK and European salaries are 25-35% lower than US equivalents, reducing total hire cost proportionally.
How much does a bad tech hire cost?
A bad tech hire typically costs 1-3x annual salary once you factor in the original hiring cost, the productivity loss during their tenure, the management time spent, the disruption to the team, and the full cost of hiring their replacement.
What is the cost of a vacant tech role?
A vacant tech role costs roughly the daily salary rate in lost output, plus the impact on team throughput. For a $150k developer, vacancy costs around $600/day. A 60-day search costs $36,000 in lost output before a single penny of recruiter fee.
How can I optimize tech hiring spend?
The most effective levers are: building an employee referral programme to reduce recruiter fees, speeding up your interview loop to cut vacancy days, improving your employer brand to reduce inbound cost, and maintaining a talent pipeline so roles fill faster.