Placement fee calculator
Enter the first-year pay you are billing against and a fee percentage. The calculator returns the fee. For a retained search it also shows an example split into three payments. For a contingency search it shows what a pro-rata refund looks like if the hire leaves inside the guarantee.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
The formulas
fee = fee base x fee %. The fee base is whatever your agreement says: base salary, or first-year cash compensation including a guaranteed bonus.
retained example split = fee divided into three equal payments: at signing, at a mid-search milestone, and at placement.
pro-rata refund = fee x (guarantee days - days worked) / guarantee days, shown for contingency only, and only as an example policy. Some agreements offer a replacement search instead of money back.
Contingency and retained, in one paragraph each
Contingency: the client pays only when someone you submitted starts. The risk is yours. Percentages are lower, and clients often work with several agencies on the same role.
Retained: the client pays to have you work the search, usually in installments, whether or not they hire your candidate. You are exclusive on the role. Percentages are higher and the roles are usually senior.
Where the example presets come from
The presets are examples. Your fee is whatever you and the client sign.
- Contingency 20%: inside the 15 to 25% of first-year salary that Pin reports as standard for most roles.
- Retained 33%: inside the 25 to 33% of first-year total compensation Pin reports for retained executive search. Pin also reports a one-third, one-third, one-third payment pattern, which is the split used here.
- Guarantee 90 days: Leonar reports that most agreements include a 60 to 90 day guarantee. Pin lists the guarantee as one of the terms clients negotiate, so expect it to move.
Terms that change the real fee
The headline percentage is one line of the agreement. Check the guarantee, the exclusivity window, the payment terms, and who owns a candidate after you submit them. Each one can change what you actually collect.
Once the deal is priced, the next question is where the next job order comes from. dreach flags the employers hiring now, names the manager who owns the roles, and shows your warmest way in.