Contingency Agency
15-25% of base- Time to fill
- 30-55 days
- Quality
- Variable
- Volume
- Medium
- Best for
- Senior individual roles, niche specialisms
Pros
- No upfront risk
- Wide passive network
- Multiple candidates fast
- Useful market-rate data
Cons
- High absolute spend
- Volume-over-quality risk
- Divided agency loyalty
- Fees hit hardest at senior comp levels
Retained Search
25-33% of base- Time to fill
- 60-100 days
- Quality
- High
- Volume
- Low
- Best for
- Staff, principal, and engineering leadership
Pros
- Dedicated coverage
- Thorough market mapping
- Strong commitment to fill
- Executive network access
Cons
- Expensive engagement fee
- Long elapsed time
- Lock-in to one firm
- Not scalable for volume
In-House Recruiter
$6k-14k allocated per hire- Time to fill
- 45-70 days
- Quality
- Good with maturity
- Volume
- High
- Best for
- Sustained 8+ hires/year, pipeline building
Pros
- Process control
- Per-hire cost compresses at scale
- Brand alignment
- Internal pipeline as a side effect
Cons
- Fixed overhead
- Sourcing-tool seats add up
- Specialist depth limited
- Bandwidth bottlenecks
RPO (Recruiting Process Outsourcing)
$3k-6k per hire- Time to fill
- 35-60 days
- Quality
- Good
- Volume
- Very high
- Best for
- Burst hiring (Series B/C, M&A, ramp)
Pros
- Fully scalable
- Embedded experience
- Process consistency
- Built-in analytics
Cons
- Setup ramp time
- Less specialist depth
- Contract lock-in risk
- Quality varies by provider
Employee Referrals
$1k-10k bonus- Time to fill
- 30-45 days
- Quality
- Excellent
- Volume
- Low
- Best for
- All levels, especially network-dependent
Pros
- Cheapest per hire
- Fastest close
- Higher year-one retention
- Built-in cultural pre-screen
Cons
- Limited volume
- Network bias
- Bonus inflation over time
- Saturation at small companies
Direct Sourcing (LinkedIn / SeekOut / Gem categories)
$2k-5k tool & sourcer time per hire- Time to fill
- 50-80 days
- Quality
- High
- Volume
- Medium
- Best for
- Specialist stacks, senior roles without recruiter
Pros
- Reaches passive without agency fee
- Full messaging control
- Builds reusable pipeline
- Good signal from open-source / GitHub footprint
Cons
- Time-intensive
- Cold-outreach reply rates 15-25%
- Sourcing-tool seats expensive
- Slower than recruiter model
Compare channels in the calculator
The calculator includes contingency, retained, in-house, RPO, referral, and direct sourcing. Switch channels and watch the ledger update.