# Agency commission versus software subscription: where the break-even sits

Canonical: https://metix.ai/blog/agency-fee-vs-software-cost

A contingency fee is 20 to 25 percent of first-year pay in SHRM's 2016 guidance, and a year of recruiting software runs $1,680 to $5,928 at list, checked August 2026. We work the break-even at three salary levels and show why the sticker comparison misleads.
Break-even arithmetic between agency commissions (SHRM 2016: 20-25% of first-year cash compensation; market convention to 30%) and recruiting software subscriptions (Recruiter Lite $1,680/yr published, SeekOut Core $1,788/yr upfront and hireEZ solo $5,928/yr as labeled derivations, checked August 2026), with Metix AI's $99 to $499 subscriptions as the AI-agent alternative.
## FAQ

**How much does a recruiting agency charge per hire?**

Contingency agencies charge a percentage of first-year pay, invoiced only on a successful placement. SHRM's 2016 guidance on working with search firms puts the fee at 20 to 25 percent of first-year cash compensation, and the wider market convention runs to 30 percent. As derivations: a $120,000 hire costs $24,000 at 20 percent and $30,000 at 25 percent. Retained executive search runs about 33 percent in the same SHRM guidance, and that is the model billed for running the search rather than for filling it.

**What does recruiting software cost for a year?**

Published entry prices, checked August 2026: LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is $1,680 a year for a single license, SeekOut Recruit Core is $149 a month paid annually and upfront ($1,788 in one charge, derived from the monthly list price), and a hireEZ solo seat is $494 a month, or $5,928 a year as a derivation. Metix AI plans run $99 to $499 a month; annual plans cost $1,068 to $5,388. Above those entry tiers, LinkedIn, SeekOut, and hireEZ all quote rather than publish.

**At what salary does an agency fee cost more than software?**

Almost immediately. Dividing annual software prices by a 20 percent fee, one fee overtakes a year of LinkedIn Recruiter Lite at a salary of $8,400, SeekOut Recruit Core at $8,940, Metix AI Scale at $26,940, and a hireEZ solo seat at $29,640, all derivations from list prices checked August 2026. Every professional salary clears those bars, which is why the sticker comparison misleads: the subscription excludes the recruiter's labor, and the fee includes it.

**When is a recruiting agency worth the fee?**

Executive search, where SHRM's 2025 benchmarking brief puts the median cost per hire at $10,625 and its 2016 guidance puts retained fees at about 33 percent; confidential replacements, where discretion is the service; and a single hard role with no internal bandwidth, where the fee buys market knowledge and closing craft. For steady professional hiring without a recruiter on staff, Metix AI delivers interview-ready candidates on plans from $99 to $499 a month with a free 14-day trial.