Cost of Hire Calculator
Calculate the true fully loaded cost of a new employee including taxes, benefits, recruitment fees, and productivity ramp-up time.
About
Hiring a new employee impacts cash flow far beyond the gross salary. Companies often underestimate the total financial commitment by looking only at the paycheck amount. The real cost includes employer payroll taxes, mandatory insurance, health benefits, and retirement contributions. Hardware, software licenses, and recruitment fees add immediate overhead.
Productivity ramp-up is another hidden expense. A new hire rarely operates at full capacity during their first few months. This calculator quantifies these variables. It generates a fully loaded annual cost to assist with precise budget planning. It helps founders and HR managers determine if the business can afford the actual weight of a new role.
Formulas
The calculator aggregates direct payroll costs, fixed overheads, and amortized one-time expenses. The fully loaded cost is defined as:
Where Rtax represents the employer tax rate, Bannual includes recurring benefits (insurance, 401k), and Eonetime sums recruitment and equipment fees.
The Real Hourly Cost is derived by dividing the total annual cost by working hours:
Reference Data
| Country / Region | Employer Tax & Social Sec. (Avg) | Benefits Load (Avg) | Total Burden Rate (Approx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 7.65% | 15-25% | 1.25x |
| United Kingdom | 13.8% | 5-10% | 1.20x |
| Germany | 20% | 10% | 1.30x |
| France | 45% | 5% | 1.50x |
| Netherlands | 25% | 8% | 1.33x |
| Brazil | 37% | 20% | 1.60x |
| Singapore | 17% | 5% | 1.22x |
| India | 12% | 5% | 1.17x |
| Canada | 10% | 10-15% | 1.25x |
| Australia | 10.5% | 5% | 1.16x |
| Japan | 15% | 10% | 1.25x |
| Sweden | 31.4% | 5% | 1.36x |