2026 Tech Hiring Benchmarks
What does it really cost to hire in tech?
The average mid-level tech hire costs $55,000 to $115,000 beyond salary once you count recruiter fees, interview time, onboarding ramp, and the cost of leaving the seat empty. This is exactly where that money goes, broken down by role and hiring channel.
Core cost per hire
$15,200
Tech, recruiting + interview only
Avg time to fill
52 days
Mid-level engineers
Recruiter fee range
15-30%
Of first-year salary
Bad hire impact
0.5-2x salary
Of annual salary, by level
Sources: SHRM 2025 Benchmarking Report, Hired.com 2025 State of Tech Salaries, Robert Half 2026.
Direct answer
What does technical hiring cost?
The fully loaded cost of technical hiring runs roughly 50% to 73% of first-year salary once you count recruiter fees, interview time, onboarding ramp, and vacancy cost. For a mid-level software engineer on a $145,000 salary that is about $80,000 beyond salary, or $225,000 all-in for the first year. Security and data-science roles run highest (65% to 73% of salary); UX and frontend roles are the most cost-efficient at around 50%. The narrowest industry benchmark, the SHRM 2025 Benchmarking Report cross-industry cost-per-hire of $5,475, counts only direct recruiting spend and excludes interview time, ramp loss, and vacancy cost.
50-73%
Of first-year salary, fully loaded
$225K
All-in first-year cost of a $145K engineer
$5,475
SHRM 2025 cross-industry cost-per-hire (narrow)
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Estimated total
$79,835
55.1% of $145,000 salary
Includes $580/day vacancy cost over 50 days
Hard cost (no vacancy): $50,835 · Recruiter fee: 20%
Where the money goes
Six components of a tech hire
Most companies budget only for recruiter fees and miss the rest. Here is the full picture for a typical mid-level engineering hire at a $145K base salary.
Recruiter / sourcing fees
$8,000 - $40,000
15-30% of first-year salary, depending on channel and role specialisation.
Recruiter fee guide →Interview time cost
$1,200 - $5,000
6-8 interviewers x 2-4 hours x blended $95/hr loaded rate.
Hidden costs →Job board & advertising
$500 - $3,000
LinkedIn Recruiter, Indeed sponsorship, niche tech boards (Hired, Otta, Wellfound).
Channel comparison →Background checks & assessments
$200 - $800
Background screening (Checkr, GoodHire) + technical assessment platform (HackerRank, CodeSignal).
Full breakdown →Onboarding & ramp time
$10,000 - $25,000
3-6 months at 50% productivity. Senior engineers ramp slower in unfamiliar codebases.
Hidden costs →Vacancy cost
$500 - $1,500/day
Annual salary divided by 250 working days. Senior SRE vacancies cost the most.
Time-to-hire data →Hiring cost by role
Six tech disciplines, six cost profiles
| Role | Salary (mid) | Total cost | % of salary | Time to fill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer Engineering | $145,000 | $79,835 | 55.1% | 50 days |
| Data Scientist Data | $155,000 | $107,328 | 69.2% | 65 days |
| DevOps / SRE Infrastructure | $150,000 | $97,300 | 64.9% | 65 days |
| Product Manager Product | $130,000 | $76,767 | 59.1% | 52 days |
| UX Designer Design | $110,000 | $56,775 | 51.6% | 45 days |
| Security Engineer Security | $155,000 | $113,528 | 73.2% | 70 days |
Includes recruiter fee at industry-mid percentage, interview time, onboarding ramp loss (50% productivity), job board spend, assessments, and vacancy cost over the listed time-to-fill. Tier 2 US salary baseline.
Hiring channels at a glance
Cheapest is rarely fastest. Fastest is rarely cheapest.
In-house
$5K-12K
Slowest
Standard volume roles
Contingency
$22K-45K
Industry avg
Mid-level individual hires
Retained
$50K+
Slow but committed
Senior, scarce roles
RPO
$3K-8K/hire
Comparable
10+ hires per cycle
Contractor-to-hire
$120-200/hr
Days
Try-before-buy
FAQ
Common questions about tech hiring costs
What is the average cost per hire in tech?
SHRM's 2025 Benchmarking Report puts the cross-industry average non-executive cost-per-hire at $5,475. Tech-specific cost-per-hire is far higher: roughly $35,000 to $75,000 per mid-level role in direct and ramp costs (recruiter fee, interview time, onboarding ramp loss), about 30% to 50% of salary, rising to $55,000 to $115,000 (50% to 73%) once you add the vacancy cost of the seat sitting empty during a 45 to 90 day search. The cross-industry SHRM number is the narrowest definition; tech leaders should plan with the full-picture figure. See the calculator to model your own scenario.
Why are tech hiring costs higher than other industries?
Three reasons. First, salaries are higher, so any percentage-based recruiter fee or vacancy cost compounds. Second, tech interview loops involve 5 to 8 interviewers including senior engineers whose loaded hourly rate is $90 to $150. Third, tech roles take longer to fill (44 to 90 days vs 36 cross-industry), so vacancy cost compounds.
Which tech roles are the most expensive to hire?
Security engineers and senior site reliability engineers are the priciest, costing roughly 70% of annual salary once vacancy cost is included. Data scientists and ML engineers are next at 65-70% due to scarcity and longer assessment processes. UX and frontend roles are the most cost-efficient at around 50% of salary. See all role benchmarks.
How much do tech recruiters charge?
Contingency agencies charge 15-25% of first-year salary, paid only when you hire. Retained search runs 25-35%, paid in three milestones during the search. RPO at volume is roughly $3,000 to $8,000 per hire. Specialised recruiters (security, AI/ML) command the upper end of these ranges. See the full recruiter fee guide.
What does a bad tech hire actually cost?
Leadership IQ research finds 46% of new hires fail within 18 months. SHRM puts the cost of a bad hire at 50-60% of annual salary for entry-level and 100-200% for senior tech roles. For a $150K hire that exits at 8 months, expect $235,000 to $545,000 in total impact across rehiring, lost productivity, management time, technical debt, and team morale. See the bad hire calculator.
How long does it take to hire a tech employee?
Frontend engineers fill fastest at around 42 days. Mid-level full-stack and backend roles average 48-50 days. Senior engineers take 60-65 days. Site reliability engineers and security engineers take 65-75 days. AI/ML specialists are the longest at 80-90 days. Startups hire roughly 30% faster than enterprise. See the time-to-hire benchmarks.
How can we reduce tech hiring costs without lowering the bar?
The biggest levers in order of ROI: invest in an employee referral programme (50-70% cheaper hires than agency), negotiate recruiter fees down 2-5% with exclusivity, streamline interview loops to 4 stages, build a passive talent pipeline, and track cost-per-quality-hire instead of cost-per-hire alone. See the 10 cost-reduction strategies.
Should we hire contractors or full-time engineers?
For engagements under 8-12 months a contractor is usually cheaper after factoring in benefits, recruiting cost, and ramp time. Past that point full-time becomes cheaper, plus you keep institutional knowledge. The hybrid model (FTE core + contractor surge capacity) often wins for teams with variable demand. See the full TCO comparison.
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