Cost Per Hire in Tech 2026, Why Engineering Costs More

The headline number.

On our wage-scaled model, tech cost per hire is about $7,900 at SHRM's $5,475 national nonexecutive average, or $1,730 at SHRM's $1,200 national nonexecutive median: the SHRM figure scaled by BLS CES average hourly earnings for the Information sector ($52.61 an hour in 2025 vs $36.45 across private industry, a ratio of 1.44). Both land above the national figure because tech pay is above average. SHRM publishes only national figures openly (its industry breakouts are members-only), so this is our own estimate, not a SHRM number. It is a function-mix figure across all hiring in the sector, not an engineering benchmark. Engineering-only CPH typically runs $8,000 to $20,000 with senior and AI/ML roles substantially above.

Cost per hire by tech sub-segment.

Tech is not one labour market. Each sub-segment has its own talent pool, loop pattern, and salary curve. Direct CPH ranges below are mid-level IC unless otherwise stated.

Pure software (SaaS, web, mobile)
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $5,500 to $9,000
Loop and drivers: 4 to 5 rounds, mostly remote, broad candidate pool

Infrastructure / platform engineering
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $6,500 to $11,000
Loop and drivers: 5 to 6 rounds, deeper system-design, smaller pool

Hardware / embedded engineering
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $7,500 to $14,000
Loop and drivers: 6 to 7 rounds, in-person sign-off, logistics premium

AI / ML research and engineering
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $12,000 to $30,000+
Loop and drivers: 6 to 8 rounds, research-tier interviewers, scarcity

Cybersecurity engineering
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $8,000 to $15,000
Loop and drivers: 5 to 6 rounds plus background-check overhead

Data engineering and analytics
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $6,000 to $10,000
Loop and drivers: 4 to 5 rounds, growing candidate pool

DevOps / SRE
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $7,000 to $12,000
Loop and drivers: 5 to 6 rounds, on-call signal evaluation

Product management (tech)
Direct CPH (mid-level IC): $5,500 to $11,000
Loop and drivers: 5 to 6 rounds, case-study heavy, varies by seniority

Sub-segment	Direct CPH (mid-level IC)	Loop and drivers
Pure software (SaaS, web, mobile)	$5,500 to $9,000	4 to 5 rounds, mostly remote, broad candidate pool
Infrastructure / platform engineering	$6,500 to $11,000	5 to 6 rounds, deeper system-design, smaller pool
Hardware / embedded engineering	$7,500 to $14,000	6 to 7 rounds, in-person sign-off, logistics premium
AI / ML research and engineering	$12,000 to $30,000+	6 to 8 rounds, research-tier interviewers, scarcity
Cybersecurity engineering	$8,000 to $15,000	5 to 6 rounds plus background-check overhead
Data engineering and analytics	$6,000 to $10,000	4 to 5 rounds, growing candidate pool
DevOps / SRE	$7,000 to $12,000	5 to 6 rounds, on-call signal evaluation
Product management (tech)	$5,500 to $11,000	5 to 6 rounds, case-study heavy, varies by seniority

Why tech runs above the national figure.

Engineering hours per hire

20 to 40 engineering hours per hire at BLS-anchored loaded rates of $86 to $150/hr produces $2,000 to $6,000 in interviewer time before any other cost line.

Time-to-fill

Senior and specialist engineering searches often run past SHRM's 39-day nonexecutive median. Vacancy cost on a $150K engineer at 2x impact is $1,154 per working day (150,000 x 2 / 260), so every extra working day open adds that much.

Funnel ratio

5 to 7 onsite finalists per offer in engineering vs 2 to 3 for retail. Each finalist consumes panel hours, logistics, and coordinator time.

Scarcity premium

Senior IC and specialist talent forces aggressive sourcing: LinkedIn Recruiter, agency, retained, or referral bonus stacks. Sourcing cost alone runs $2K to $10K per hire.

Sourcing channel mix and cost.

Tech sourcing leans heavily on referrals and proactive outreach because reactive job-board applicant flow rarely produces senior signal. Cost per channel for a $150K mid-to-senior engineering hire.

Employee referral
Typical cost per hire: $1,800 to $3,500
Notes: 60 to 70 percent fill rate; quality signal strong

LinkedIn Recruiter sourcing
Typical cost per hire: $3,500 to $7,000
Notes: Cost per contact rises with role seniority

In-house sourcer
Typical cost per hire: $2,500 to $5,000
Notes: Loaded sourcer rate, hours per hire, tooling overhead

Contingency agency (specialist)
Typical cost per hire: $22,500 to $40,000
Notes: 20 to 25 percent on $150K to $200K base

Retained search (senior or specialist)
Typical cost per hire: $45,000 to $90,000+
Notes: 30 percent on $180K to $300K total comp

Job board (Indeed, ZipRecruiter)
Typical cost per hire: $1,500 to $5,000
Notes: High applicant volume, mid-level signal at best

Channel	Typical cost per hire	Notes
Employee referral	$1,800 to $3,500	60 to 70 percent fill rate; quality signal strong
LinkedIn Recruiter sourcing	$3,500 to $7,000	Cost per contact rises with role seniority
In-house sourcer	$2,500 to $5,000	Loaded sourcer rate, hours per hire, tooling overhead
Contingency agency (specialist)	$22,500 to $40,000	20 to 25 percent on $150K to $200K base
Retained search (senior or specialist)	$45,000 to $90,000+	30 percent on $180K to $300K total comp
Job board (Indeed, ZipRecruiter)	$1,500 to $5,000	High applicant volume, mid-level signal at best

Role-mix effect: why engineering distorts the company average.

A tech company hiring 100 people per year typically splits ~45 percent engineering, ~25 percent GTM, ~10 percent product, ~10 percent customer success, ~10 percent other (finance, HR, ops, marketing). Engineering at $12,000 average CPH and GTM at $5,000 average CPH pull in opposite directions. The company-wide CPH lands somewhere between, often $7,500 to $9,500, depending on the engineering share.

The industry figure on our wage-scaled model follows sector pay, not engineering share, so it says nothing about where a given company sits. Mature enterprise tech with lower engineering ratios (e.g., legacy enterprise software with heavy services orgs) lands lower. Startup or AI-first companies hiring 60 to 80 percent engineering will land $9,000 to $14,000 company-wide.

Worked example: 500-employee Series C SaaS company.

Hiring plan: 80 engineers, 30 GTM (sales + customer success), 15 product, 10 G&A. Total 135 hires/yr. Engineering CPH $12,000 average ($960K). GTM CPH $5,500 average ($165K). Product CPH $8,000 average ($120K). G&A CPH $4,500 average ($45K). Total direct CPH spend: $1.29M.

Company-wide blended CPH: $1.29M / 135 = $9,556. Add 20 percent of engineering hires through agency at $25K incremental: 16 hires x $25K = $400K. Add 45 days median vacancy at $1,154/day across all roles: $7M+ in productivity loss (treated separately, not in CPH).

True total cost of hire: $1.29M direct + $0.4M agency + $7M+ vacancy = $8.69M+ for the year. Per-hire fully-loaded: $64,000+. The SHRM CPH benchmark is the smallest line on the chart.

Cross-reference and deep dives.

Cost to hire a software engineer

Full loop breakdown with BLS loaded rates and context-switch cost.

Read →

All industries

Cost per hire benchmarks across ten industries.

Read →

Recruiter fees

When agency or retained makes sense for tech roles.

Read →

Run your own numbers.

Plug your engineering loop into the calculator with BLS-anchored loaded-rate defaults.

Run the calculator

Tech hiring cost, answered.

Why is cost per hire in tech higher than other industries?

At industry level, pay: on our wage-scaled model tech cost per hire is about $7,900 at SHRM's $5,475 national average, because BLS Information-sector pay runs 1.44 times the private-sector average. Inside tech companies, three compounding factors push engineering hires higher still. First, engineering interview loops consume 20 to 40 engineering hours per hire at BLS-anchored loaded rates of $86 to $150 per hour, producing $2,000 to $6,000 in interviewer time before any other cost. Second, longer loops and scarce senior candidates stretch time to fill beyond SHRM's 39-day national nonexecutive median (2026 data brief), so vacancy cost compounds. Third, scarcity of senior and specialist talent forces more candidates through the loop to find a hire (5 to 7 onsite finalists per offer in many engineering orgs versus 2 to 3 for retail or hospitality).

What is the typical cost per hire for a software engineer in 2026?

Direct CPH for a mid-level software engineer (3 to 6 years, $120K to $160K salary) runs $6,000 to $10,000 in a clean in-house process. Senior engineers run $10,000 to $15,000. Staff and principal run $15,000 to $25,000. Adding a 20 percent contingency fee on a $150K hire adds another $30,000. Including 45 days of vacancy cost at $1,385 per day adds another $62,000. The direct CPH figure understates true cost by 3 to 8x once you include agency and vacancy components.

How do AI/ML hiring costs differ from broader tech?

AI/ML roles ride the highest end of every tech cost component. Loaded rates for senior ML engineers hit $160 to $220 per hour. Loops typically run 6 to 8 rounds with multiple panel members including research-tier interviewers. Time-to-fill is 60 to 90 days for senior IC and 90 to 150 days for research-tier hires. Retained search dominates above $300K total comp because the candidate pool is small and most senior ML talent is not actively looking. All-in cost for a senior ML hire frequently exceeds $50,000 in direct spend and $200,000+ in total cost of hire including vacancy.

Does cost per hire vary across software, hardware, and infrastructure?

Yes. Pure-software hiring sits at the lower end of tech ($5,500 to $9,000 for mid-level) because the loop is shorter (4 to 5 rounds, mostly remote). Infrastructure and platform engineering runs slightly higher ($6,500 to $11,000) because the talent pool is smaller. Hardware and embedded engineering ($7,500 to $14,000) requires deeper system-design rounds and often in-person sign-off, which adds logistics cost. Cybersecurity engineering ($8,000 to $15,000) carries clearance and background-check overhead.

Why do engineering hires cost more than the tech industry figure?

The industry figure (about $7,900 on our wage-scaled model) scales SHRM's national all-roles figure by the Information sector's average pay, so it describes hiring across every function in the sector: customer success, marketing, GTM, finance, and HR alongside engineering and product. Engineering-only CPH inside a tech company typically runs $8,000 to $20,000 because of the four factors above (longer loops, scarcer talent, higher loaded rates, more candidates needed). Read the industry figure as a function-mix estimate, not an engineering benchmark.