What do recruiting firms charge?
The middle of the market is 20% to 25% of the hire’s salary. That’s the median of every percentage fee published by 2,228 U.S. direct-hire recruiting firms in the 123RFP Q4 2026 study. Only 84 of those firms (3.8%) publish a fee at all.
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| Published percentage fee | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low end of a firm’s range | 19% | 20% | 25% | 9.9% to 30% |
| High end of a firm’s range | 20% | 25% | 29.5% | 10% to 35% |
A firm quoting “20% to 30%” is typical. A firm quoting 30% or more is at the top of the published market.
Check what the percentage is a percentage of
Two 25% fees can be very different bills. About half the firms that say what their fee is based on use first-year base salary; about a third use total first-year compensation, which adds bonus and commission. On a $120,000 base with a $30,000 bonus, 25% of base is $30,000 and 25% of total compensation is $37,500.
How firms charge
717 firms (32.2%) say how they charge, even when they don’t say how much.
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| Fee model | Share of all 2,228 firms |
|---|---|
| Both contingency and retained | 13.2% |
| Contingency | 12.1% |
| Retained | 6.1% |
| Hourly | 0.9% |
Contingency means nothing is due before a hire, or only a small deposit (under $1,000 and under 10% of the fee). Retained means $1,000 or more, or 10% or more of the fee, is due before the hire, usually in installments as the search goes.
Questions to ask about any fee
- Is the fee based on base salary or total compensation?
- Is anything due before a hire, and is it refundable?
- Is there a minimum fee, and when does it apply?
- Does the fee change if the search is exclusive?
Questions about recruiting fees
What do recruiting firms usually charge?
The typical published fee is 20% to 25% of the hire’s salary.
Are there recruiters that charge less than 20%?
Yes. #twiceasnice charges 9.9% for a 60-day exclusive search, or 15.9% non-exclusive.
Is a lower fee lower quality?
Our clients get the candidate they hire in a median of 18 days, and every placement is guaranteed for 18 months.
Every client gets the same two options: 9.9% of first-year base salary for a 60-day exclusive search, or 15.9% non-exclusive, with a $6,500 minimum fee. In the 123RFP study, 9.9% is the lowest published contingency fee among 2,228 U.S. recruiting firms. We’re contingency-based, our recruiters aren’t on commission, and our client agreement is public.
Data: 123RFP Recruiting Firm Transparency, Fees and Guarantees Study, Q4 2026. 123RFP is operated by beep! Directed, the company behind #twiceasnice Recruiting.
Related: How transparent are recruiting firms? → How long do recruiting guarantees last? →