--- title: Cost to Hire a Software Engineer Through a US Recruiter description: Contingency recruiters charge 20 to 25% of salary, so a $140,000 engineer costs $28,000 to $35,000. A fixed fee can cut that to $11,500. See the maths. image: https://funded.club/hubfs/blog-featured-images/fc-cost-to-hire-software-engineer-recruiter-us.png --- [![Primary\_logo](https://funded.club/hubfs/Primary_logo.svg)](https://funded.club/) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - [Hire](https://funded.club) - [Pricing](https://funded.club/pricing) - [Find a job](https://funded.club/startupjobs) - [Case Studies](https://funded.club/case-studies) - [Locally](https://funded.club/case-studies/locally) - [Supernova](https://funded.club/case-studies/supernova) - [Isolocity](https://funded.club/case-studies/isolocity) - [WeTravel](https://funded.club/case-studies/wetravel) - [Digital Science](https://funded.club/case-studies/digital-science) - [Blog](https://funded.club/blog-results) - [Resources](https://funded.club/resources) - [Predict success](https://signup.predict.ventures/) - [Growth Planner](https://funded.club/growth-planner) - [Glossary](https://funded.club/glossary) - [FAQ](https://funded.club/faq) - [Contact us](https://funded.club/contact-us) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - Engagement options: - [Hiring solutions](https://funded.club) - [Pay-as-you-go](https://funded.club/pricing) - Membership plan # Cost to Hire a Software Engineer Through a US Recruiter ![cost-to-hire-a-software-engineer-through-a-us-recruiter](https://funded.club/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-featured-images/fc-cost-to-hire-software-engineer-recruiter-us.png?width=1200&height=628&name=fc-cost-to-hire-software-engineer-recruiter-us.png) [Ray Gibson](https://funded.club/blog/author/ray-gibson) Sep 29, 2026, 8:57:11 PM *Updated September 2026* Hiring a software engineer in the US through a contingency recruiter typically costs 20 to 25% of first-year salary, so a $140,000 engineer costs $28,000 to $35,000 in fees. A fixed-fee recruiter prices the same hire by salary band instead: with Funded.club, a $140,000 engineer is $11,500. The real total also includes your team's interview time and any tools or job ads you pay for. ## Start with the salary you have budgeted Recruiter fees for engineers are almost always tied to salary, so the first step is to fix the salary range for the role. Level matters more than job title: a senior backend engineer and a staff engineer can sit in very different bands even at the same company. Write down three numbers before you speak to any recruiter: the lowest salary you would offer, your target, and the most you would stretch to for an exceptional candidate. Every fee calculation below should be run against the top of that range, because that is where engineering offers often land once there is competition for a candidate. ## Worked examples: contingency vs fixed fee for engineers These examples use the typical 20 to 25% contingency range and Funded.club's published salary bands. They are illustrations, not market salary data. Plug in your own numbers. | Engineer salary | Contingency fee at 20 to 25% | Funded.club fixed fee | | --- | --- | --- | | $95,000 | $19,000 to $23,750 | $7,500 | | $140,000 | $28,000 to $35,000 | $11,500 | | $180,000 | $36,000 to $45,000 | $15,900 to $21,900 | Two things stand out. First, the gap between models grows as the salary rises. Second, with a percentage fee, every extra $10,000 you add to close a candidate adds $2,000 to $2,500 to the recruiter's invoice. With a band-based fixed fee, it does not change unless the salary crosses into a new band. ## The costs that are not on the invoice The fee is only part of what an engineering hire costs you. Budget for these as well: - **Engineering interview time.** Technical screens, take-home reviews and system design sessions pull your senior engineers off product work. Count the hours per candidate and multiply by the number of candidates you expect to see. - **Founder time.** In an early team, a founder usually runs the final conversation and the close. Engineers often want to hear the technical roadmap from the person who owns it. - **Tools and ads.** An applicant tracking system, sourcing tools and paid job posts all add up if you run searches yourself. - **Time the seat stays empty.** A delayed engineering hire can push back a release. This is hard to price, but worth weighing when you compare a fast process with a cheap one. ## How to keep an engineering search efficient A tight brief saves more money than any fee negotiation. Before the search starts: - Agree the must-have skills and separate them from nice-to-haves. A long list of required frameworks shrinks the pool without improving quality. - Decide the interview loop in advance, including who runs each stage and how quickly feedback is given. Strong engineers often have several processes running at once. - Be clear on remote, hybrid or on-site, and on which US time zones work for the team. - Prepare a short, honest pitch covering the problem the engineer will work on, the stack, and the team they will join. If you are hiring several engineers after a raise, plan them as a sequence rather than opening every role at once. Our guide to the [first 10 hires after funding](https://funded.club/blog/first-10-hires-after-funding) covers ordering, and our [guide to hiring a CTO](https://funded.club/blog/hire-cto-startup) covers the most senior technical hire. ## Where Funded.club fits Funded.club is a fixed-fee recruiting partner that hires engineers, alongside product, sales, marketing, operations, customer success and leadership roles, for funded startups across North America, Europe and APAC. It has helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D since 2019. The fee is agreed upfront and set by salary band: up to $70,000, $4,900; up to $110,000, $7,500; up to $150,000, $11,500; above $150,000, $15,900 to $21,900. On average that works out at 6 to 9% of salary. Part of the fee is an advance at the start of the search, with the balance when the engineer accepts the offer. One dedicated recruiter runs the search end to end, from sourcing and headhunting to screening and support through the offer. First screened candidates arrive within 7 days, and the average time from kick-off to hire is 33 days. Supernova (YC W19) made 22 hires with Funded.club, with a 27-day average time to hire and about EUR 210k saved compared with percentage fees. See the [pricing page](https://funded.club/pricing) for full terms. ## Frequently asked questions ### How much is a recruiter fee for a $150,000 software engineer? At a typical 20 to 25% contingency rate, a $150,000 engineer costs $30,000 to $37,500 in recruiter fees. With Funded.club's fixed fee, a salary up to $150,000 is $11,500. ### Do recruiter fees apply to equity or signing bonuses? It depends on the contract. Some percentage-based recruiters calculate the fee on total first-year cash, including bonuses. Ask for the fee basis in writing before the search starts. ### Is it cheaper to hire engineers without a recruiter? You avoid the fee, but you take on the sourcing, screening and scheduling yourself, usually using founder and engineering time. Compare the fee with the hours your team would spend and the cost of the role staying open longer. ### Where can I compare other recruiting options? Our [guide to recruiting companies](https://funded.club/blog/best-recruiting-companies) and our [Dover alternatives guide](https://funded.club/blog/dover-alternatives-startup-recruiting) compare the main models. Check each provider's own site for current pricing. Worth a brief chat about your next hire? [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us). ## Hiring after a funding round? First candidates in 7 days. Fixed-fee, no commission. [See pricing](https://funded.club/pricing) [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us) [Try the Growth Planner](https://funded.club/growth-planner) [![Primary\_logo](https://funded.club/hubfs/funded-images2022/Primary_logo.svg)](https://funded.club) © 2019-2026 Funded.club B.V. All Rights Reserved. Chamber of Commerce: 63083809    VAT (BTW): NL855084844B01 ## Contact Us - [Hiring service](https://funded.club) - [Pricing - Recruiting projects](https://funded.club/pricing) - [Find a job](https://funded.club/startupjobs) - [Our team](https://funded.club/fundedteam) - [Blog](https://funded.club/blog) - [Case studies](https://funded.club/case-studies) - [Startup resources](https://funded.club/resources) - [FAQ](https://funded.club/faq) - [Contact Us](https://funded.club/contact-us) ## Follow Us © 2019-2026 All rights reserved. - [Privacy Policy](https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/56133290) - [Cookie policies](https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/56133290/cookie-policy) - [Terms of Use](https://funded.club/terms) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/#ray-gibson" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-29", "datePublished" : "2026-09-29", "headline" : "Cost to Hire a Software Engineer Through a US Recruiter", "image" : [ "https://7828179.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7828179/blog-featured-images/fc-cost-to-hire-software-engineer-recruiter-us.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/blog/cost-to-hire-software-engineer-recruiter-us", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/#organization" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://funded.club/#organization", "@type" : "Organization", "areaServed" : [ "North America", "Europe", "Asia-Pacific" ], "description" : "Fixed-fee recruiting partner for funded startups and fast-growing teams across North America, Europe and APAC. 500+ startups helped since 2019. 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