🧲 RPO Pricing Calculator
RPO is one of the highest-margin, stickiest revenue streams in staffing: you are not filling one job, you are running the client's entire hiring function on a recurring contract. This calculator, straight from Dee's How To Charge workbook, prices the engagement four ways (monthly management fee, flat cost per hire by tier, percentage of salary, and the hybrid base-plus-bonus structure), builds the client savings pitch against traditional agency fees, and pressure-tests comp for the embedded recruiter plus a W2 or 1099 account manager. Run your numbers once free; the $27 one-time unlock keeps every section live forever and includes the Excel workbook.
Model 1 · Monthly management fee
The client wants a dedicated recruitment team on retainer. You charge monthly regardless of how many hires close.
How many recruiters you assign to this client.
Salary + benefits + overhead per recruiter per month.
LinkedIn Recruiter seats, ATS, sourcing tools.
Typical: 25% to 40%. Your margin on top of costs.
For cost-per-hire comparison only.
Model 2 · Cost per hire (flat fee)
The client pays only for results. You absorb the risk. Price accordingly.
Market range: $3,000 to $8,000 for mid-level.
Market range: $8,000 to $15,000 for senior.
Market range: $15,000 to $25,000 for executive.
Total cost to run your RPO operation monthly.
Model 3 · Percentage of annual salary
For higher-level or specialized roles where salary varies widely. Your fee scales with role complexity.
Average salary for the roles you are filling.
Market range for RPO: 10% to 20% (vs. 20 to 30% for agencies).
Model 4 · Hybrid (management fee + per-hire bonus)
The most common enterprise RPO structure: a lower retainer for stability plus a per-hire bonus for performance.
Market range: $3,000 to $10,000/month base.
Market range: $1,500 to $5,000 per successful placement.
Section H · RPO vs. traditional agency fees
Show the client what they spend on agencies today vs. what they pay with your RPO. The savings sell the deal.
Typical: 20% to 30%.
Typical RPO: 10% to 20%.
Role 1 · Embedded recruiter comp
This person works inside the client organization and delivers the hires. Their cost should fit inside your B26 fully loaded budget.
Market range: $50,000 to $70,000 for embedded RPO recruiters.
Paid per successful hire. Range: $75 to $300.
One recruiter typically handles 5 to 12 reqs/month in RPO.
Rewards quality of hire, not just speed. Range: $50 to $150.
Role 2 · W2 account manager comp
Closes the RPO contract, drives renewals, and expands scope. Earns on new contract value with a holdback.
W2 account manager. Market range: $55,000 to $80,000.
Range: 5% to 10% of first-year contract value.
Range: 2% to 4%. Renewing is easier than closing.
Earned on new incremental monthly revenue, annualized.
One new contract every 2 months (0.5/month) is realistic.
Typical: 25% to 35% held for 90 days. Enter 0 if no holdback.
90 days is the standard for RPO.
Role 2B · 1099 account manager comp (commission only)
Fully independent inputs. The 1099 AM covers their own taxes and expenses, so commission rates run higher than W2.
Range: 10% to 18%, higher than W2 to offset SE tax and no benefits.
Range: 4% to 8% on renewals.
Range: 10% to 15%.
Same holdback logic as W2. Document it in the contractor agreement.
Standard 90-day holdback for RPO.
Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Fee ranges, comp ranges, and benchmarks are the workbook's guidance; your market and contracts decide the real numbers.
Does this resonate?
One RPO client can be a whole business.
If running a client's entire hiring function sounds like your kind of recurring revenue, the platform can turn it into a real plan: positioning, proposal templates, and the week-by-week path from first pitch to signed RPO contract.
Build my launch plan free →Good questions about this math
What is the best RPO pricing model?
There are four standard structures, and the calculator prices all of them from your numbers: a monthly management fee (your costs grossed up to a target margin), a flat cost per hire by role tier, a percentage of annual salary (typically 10% to 20%, versus 20% to 30% for agencies), and the hybrid, the most common enterprise structure, with a lower base retainer plus a per-hire bonus.
How do I set my RPO monthly fee?
Start from your true monthly cost: dedicated recruiters at fully loaded cost plus technology, then divide by one minus your target margin. Two recruiters at $6,500 each plus $1,500 of tech is $14,500; at a 30% target margin the fee is about $20,714 a month. Enterprise RPO management fees typically run $10,000 to $50,000+ a month.
What does cost per hire RPO pricing look like?
Flat fees by tier: roughly $3,000 to $8,000 for mid-level roles, $8,000 to $15,000 for senior, and $15,000 to $25,000 for executive. The client pays only for results, which means you absorb the risk, so price accordingly. The calculator blends your tier mix into an effective cost per hire.
How do I sell RPO against traditional agency fees?
Show the math. At 60 hires a year on $85,000 salaries, agencies at 22% cost the client about $1.12M; your RPO at a 12% equivalent costs about $612K. That is roughly $510K (45%) in savings, and the savings sell the deal.
How should I pay the embedded recruiter and account manager?
The workbook builds both plans: the embedded recruiter gets a base salary plus per-hire, volume, and 90-day retention bonuses, checked against your fully loaded cost budget; the account manager earns commission on new contract value with a holdback, renewal and expansion bonuses, in W2 and 1099 variants, with a company profitability check on each.
Do I get the Excel version?
Yes. The $27 unlock includes the standalone RPO Pricing workbook (the exact sheet from Dee's How To Charge master, with every formula live) plus the START HERE guide tab, yours to download and keep.
More calculators
🧠
Think Tank Pricing Calculator
Price a curated leaders' think tank two ways: as a client pipeline machine and as paid recurring membership revenue.
🧭
Goals & Financial Roadmap Calculator
Reverse-engineer your 10-year revenue goal into a Year 1 target, lines of business, and monthly milestones.
📊
Budget & Revenue Simulator
Plug in your roles on billing and overhead; see your real weekly, monthly, and annual profit.