--- title: OnHires Alternatives for Startup Tech Recruiting in 2026 description: "OnHires alternatives for startup tech recruiting: compare contingency, marketplaces, ATS-led, in-house and fixed-fee models for engineering hires." image: https://funded.club/hubfs/blog-featured-images/fc-onhires-alternatives-startup-tech-recruiting.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 # OnHires Alternatives for Startup Tech Recruiting in 2026 ![onhires-alternatives-for-startup-tech-recruiting-in-2026](https://funded.club/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-featured-images/fc-onhires-alternatives-startup-tech-recruiting.png?width=1200&height=628&name=fc-onhires-alternatives-startup-tech-recruiting.png) [Ray Gibson](https://funded.club/blog/author/ray-gibson) Sep 29, 2026, 10:46:36 PM *Updated September 2026* Alternatives to OnHires for startup tech recruiting include contingency recruiters, recruiter marketplaces, an applicant tracking system with on-demand recruiters, a job marketplace you screen yourself, an in-house recruiter, or a fixed-fee recruiting partner such as Funded.club. OnHires is a recruitment firm offering tech and startup recruiting, so the useful comparison is between models: how candidates are found, who screens them, and how the fee is set. Check each provider's own site for current pricing. ## The tech recruiting models side by side | Model | How it works | Worth asking | | --- | --- | --- | | Contingency recruiter | Percentage of first-year salary, charged when a hire is made | How many other roles is the recruiter working in parallel? | | Recruiter marketplace | Many independent recruiters can submit candidates to one role (Paraform is one example) | Who owns the candidate experience and the feedback loop? | | ATS plus on-demand recruiters | Software to run the pipeline with recruiters you can add (Dover is one example) | Who does the outbound sourcing day to day? | | Jobs marketplace | You post roles and screen applicants yourself (Wellfound is one example) | Do you have the hours to screen and reach out? | | Fixed-fee recruiting partner | One set fee per hire agreed upfront, one dedicated recruiter | What does the fee include, and what happens if the shortlist is thin? | For a fuller list of providers across these models, see [recruiting companies for startups](https://funded.club/blog/best-recruiting-companies) and [Dover alternatives](https://funded.club/blog/dover-alternatives-startup-recruiting). ## Test a recruiter's technical judgement before you sign Tech recruiting lives or dies on screening. A recruiter who cannot tell a backend engineer who has scaled a system from one who has maintained one will fill your calendar with the wrong interviews. In your first call, try this: - **Give them a real profile.** Share an anonymised CV from a past hire and ask what they would probe in a first screen. - **Ask how they read a GitHub or portfolio.** You want someone who looks for evidence of ownership, not keyword matches. - **Ask what they would drop from your job description.** A good tech recruiter will push back on a list of eight frameworks. - **Ask for a sample screening note.** The quality of their written summaries predicts the quality of your pipeline. ## Hiring one engineer versus a whole team The best model can change with volume. For a single senior hire, you want depth: one person who knows the role inside out. For four or five engineers after a round, you also want consistency, so every candidate is judged against the same scorecard and your team is not re-explaining the company to a different recruiter each week. If you are planning several hires, agree the order first. A lead engineer who can help interview the next hires changes how quickly the rest of the team comes together. Our guide on [the first 10 hires after funding](https://funded.club/blog/first-10-hires-after-funding) covers sequencing. ## What the fee looks like on a tech hire A worked example: for a senior engineer on $140,000, a 20 to 25% contingency fee is $28,000 to $35,000. Funded.club's fixed fee for a role up to $150,000 is $11,500. For a mid-level engineer up to $110,000 it is $7,500. Across five hires the gap adds up quickly, which is why many founders now compare [flat-fee recruiters](https://funded.club/blog/flat-fee-recruiter-startups) with percentage models before a hiring push. ## Where Funded.club fits Funded.club is a fixed-fee recruiting partner for funded startups and fast-growing teams across North America, Europe and APAC, with a fully remote team of recruiters. Since 2019 it has helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D. - **One dedicated recruiter per search**, handling sourcing, headhunting, screening and support through offer. - **First screened candidates within 7 days**, 33 days average from kick-off to hire, and a 100% fill rate. - **Fixed fees from $4,900 to $21,900** by salary band, averaging 6 to 9% of salary. See [pricing](https://funded.club/pricing). - **Advance and balance.** Part of the fee is paid when the search starts and the rest when the candidate accepts. First-time customers can ask to defer the advance until they see their first candidates, and if there is no shortlist of at least 3 qualified candidates within 30 days, the advance can be claimed back in full. Supernova.io (YC W19) made 22 hires with Funded.club, with a 27 day average time to hire and about EUR 210k saved versus percentage fees. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is OnHires? OnHires is a recruitment firm offering tech and startup recruiting. For its current services and pricing, check the OnHires website directly. ### Which recruiting model suits a startup hiring engineers? It depends on volume, budget and how much screening your team can take on. Founders who want one accountable person and a known cost often choose a dedicated recruiter on a fixed fee. Teams with spare interviewing capacity may prefer a jobs marketplace or an ATS with on-demand help. ### How do I check whether a recruiter understands technical roles? Ask them to review a real anonymised CV, explain what they would probe in a first screen and share a sample screening note. Strong tech recruiters also challenge bloated job descriptions. ### What does Funded.club charge for an engineering hire? A fixed fee set by salary band: $7,500 for roles up to $110,000, $11,500 up to $150,000, and $15,900 to $21,900 above $150,000. The fee is agreed before the search starts. 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" : "OnHires Alternatives for Startup Tech Recruiting in 2026", "image" : [ "https://7828179.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7828179/blog-featured-images/fc-onhires-alternatives-startup-tech-recruiting.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://funded.club/blog/onhires-alternatives-startup-tech-recruiting", "@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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