Pricing
Engineering recruitment. Clear pricing.
Standard includes sourcing and technical assessment before your interviews, with hiring support at an 18% total fee. Recruo Pipeline provides active sourcing for 2 roles at $3,500/month, with ATS and interview tools included.
Engagement models
Standard
Hire engineers with less time spent interviewing unsuitable candidates. We assess technical and soft skills before introductions.
18%
of your hire’s first-year salary
$2,000 to launch, included in the 18%. Remaining balance when your hire starts.
- Sourcing and candidate communication
- Agreed technical and soft-skill assessments before introduction
- Anti-cheating signals reviewed by a human recruiter
- Confirmed interest, salary expectations and availability
- Assessment evidence and a recommendation for each finalist
- Support through your interviews, offer process and hire
15 business days to the first qualifying finalist, or end the search for a full $2,000 refund.
60 calendar days of search while the vacancy remains open.
90-day replacement cover with one replacement search under the agreed conditions.
If the first-finalist milestone is met but no hire starts, the $2,000 covers the work. No remaining placement fee is due.
Read the Standard termsRecruo Pipeline
We actively source and engage engineers for your roles. Your team reviews candidates and runs interviews.
$3,500
per month for 2 active roles
- Active sourcing: candidate research, outreach and follow-ups
- Interested candidates delivered to your Recruo ATS
- AI agent and recruitment tools
- Interview note taker and AI voice assistant
- Guided onboarding and team training
- Additional active roles scoped with sales
Your Standard search, clearly defined.
Start with one vacancy. Agree the selection criteria, search scope and terms before you commit.
Price and payment
Standard costs 18% of your hire’s first-year salary. Pay $2,000 to launch the search, fully credited toward that fee. The remaining balance is payable when your hire starts. We agree the salary basis before payment; for a salary in another currency, we also agree how the USD launch payment is credited. For a $100,000 first-year salary, the total fee is $18,000: $2,000 at launch and $16,000 when your hire starts.
What qualifies as a finalist?
A finalist has passed all technical and soft-skill assessment stages agreed for your role. Before introduction, we confirm their interest, compensation expectations, working arrangements and availability. You receive the evidence, our recommendation and any remaining questions before meeting them. Your team can run its own technical, hiring-manager and team interviews before making the hiring decision; Recruo supports the process through to hire.
60-day search and first-finalist milestone
The search runs for 60 calendar days from the agreed launch date. If we have not introduced a qualifying finalist by the end of business day 15, you can end the search and receive your full $2,000 back. We continue searching and assessing while the role remains open within that window, and support the final hiring steps.
Refunds and searches without a hire
If we miss the first-finalist milestone, you can end the search for a full $2,000 refund. If the milestone is met but no hire starts, the $2,000 covers the search and assessment work; no remaining placement fee is due. Reaching the first milestone does not end the agreed search.
90-day replacement guarantee
If your hire leaves or is let go within their first 90 days from starting, we provide one replacement search of up to 60 days at no additional recruitment fee, subject to the replacement conditions agreed before launch. This provides a replacement search rather than a cash refund of the placement fee.
Agreeing the role and any changes
We confirm the role requirements, assessment criteria, salary basis, launch date and replacement conditions before payment. Client-requested pauses or material changes to the role, including revised dates, are agreed in writing. The search period is not a guaranteed hiring date. You meet the finalists and make the hiring decision; Recruo supports the final conversations, coordination and offer process.
Executive Search
A dedicated search for your next leader.
For CEOs, founders and boards appointing C-level, VP or Head-level leaders where the business mandate calls for a confidential, targeted search.
An exclusive retained engagement with a defined search strategy, direct access to your search lead and assessment built around the leadership role.
Discuss a leadership searchScope, fee, payment milestones and timeline are agreed privately with sales and confirmed in writing before the search starts.
Define the leadership mandate
Align with your key stakeholders on business outcomes, the scope of the role and the evidence needed to make an appointment. Agree confidentiality and search priorities before outreach.
Map the market and approach leaders
Build a target market map and approach relevant leaders individually, including those who are not actively looking. Run the search on an exclusive mandate with a dedicated search lead.
Assess experience, judgment and fit
Use structured, human-led conversations to assess leadership track record, decision-making and fit with your organisation. Agree role-specific assessment and conduct reference checks with candidate permission.
Support the appointment
Share candidate assessments and regular progress updates. Coordinate stakeholder interviews and support offer discussions, with the final appointment decision remaining with your team.
Calculate your Standard fee
One fixed rate: 18% of first-year salary. No seniority, stack or requirements surcharge.
18%
$12,600 success fee on this role
$2,000 at launch, credited toward this total. Balance due when your hire starts.
$10,600 remaining at hire start.
For comparison, an agency charging 22% would cost $15,400. At 18%, you save $2,800.
See the illustrative value comparison
This scenario puts the comparison agency fee plus modelled time, delay and bad-hire costs at 2.0× the Recruo fee. Assumptions use USD values, displayed in your selected currency without exchange-rate conversion. Illustrative savings are not guaranteed.
Standard: start with a single role
Start with one vacancy and a $2,000 launch payment, included in the 18% total fee. If we miss the first-finalist milestone at business day 15, you can end the search for a full refund of that payment.
90-day replacement guarantee
If your hire leaves or is let go within 90 days of starting, Standard includes one replacement search of up to 60 days at no additional recruitment fee, under the conditions agreed before launch.
How much does Recruo cost?
Standard costs £12,600 for a £70,000 salary. Pipeline includes active sourcing for 2 concurrent roles at $3,500/month, with ATS and interview tools. Executive Search is scoped individually with sales.
| Model | Fee | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 18% of first-year salary | $2,000 at launch, credited toward the fee; balance when your hire starts |
| Recruo Pipeline | $3,500 for 2 active roles; sourcing, ATS and interview tools included | Monthly |
| Executive Search | Private proposal for an exclusive leadership search | Payment milestones agreed before the search |
Why Recruo
How Standard compares.
Compare the assessment work, evidence and support behind the hire. Pipeline provides active sourcing, with an ATS and interview tools included. Your recruiters own review and interviews.
Swipe or use arrow keys to compare all options
| Recruo Standard | Recruitment agency | In-house recruiter | AI tool only | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal of the engagement | Hire an engineer | Hire an engineer | Hire an engineer | Support your hiring process |
| Assessment before introduction | Agreed technical and soft-skill stages completed | Depth and format depend on the agency | Your recruiting and engineering teams define the process | Depends on the tool and your workflow |
| Evidence for your interviewers | Candidate answers, technical assessment and recruiter recommendation | Reports and evidence vary by agency | Your team creates and reviews the evidence | Tool output; your team reviews and interprets it |
| Your engineering team’s interviews | Your own interviews with candidates who passed the agreed assessment | Your interviews after the agency’s screening | Your team owns the assessment and interview stages | Your team owns interviews and the hiring decision |
| Sourcing and candidate communication | Handled by Recruo throughout the agreed search | Scope agreed with the agency | Handled by your team | Your team operates the tool and process |
| Support through to hire | Interview coordination and offer support; you make the decision | Scope agreed with the agency; you make the decision | Your team manages the hire | Your team manages the hire |
| Recruitment fee example ($70K salary) | $12.6K total (18%) | $15.4K at an illustrative 22% rate | Team salaries and hiring costs | Tool fees plus your team’s time |
| First-finalist commitment | Business day 15, or end search for a $2K refund | Agreed with the agency | Set by your team | Check the provider’s service scope |
Agency scope varies; technical assessment may be included. The 22% fee is an illustrative comparison, not a market-wide rate. In-house and tool costs are different buying models, not per-placement quotes. Standard includes a 60-calendar-day search, with $2,000 credited at launch and the balance when a hire starts. See the search, refund and replacement terms.
Cost of NOT hiring well
Now weigh the fee against a bad hire.
Explore an illustrative scenario using your salary, team size and time assumptions.
Bad hire cost calculator
Edit the values below to see your number
Estimated true cost of this bad hire: £220,850, or 1.7 times the engineer's annual salary.
True cost of this bad hire
£220,850
That's 1.7× the engineer's annual salary — not 30% like the old SHRM rule.
Avoiding this is also cheaper on your time: hiring through Recruo takes 2–3 hours of your team's time per role, vs 15–25 hours screening agency CVs.
Not ready to talk? Get a real (redacted) shortlist PDF instead.
FAQ
Pricing questions, answered.
How is the Standard recruitment fee paid?
Standard costs 18% of your hire’s first-year salary. Pay $2,000 to launch the search, fully credited toward that fee. The remaining balance is payable when your hire starts. We agree the salary basis before payment; for a salary in another currency, we also agree how the USD launch payment is credited.
When will we meet the first finalist?
The search runs for 60 calendar days from the agreed launch date. If we have not introduced a qualifying finalist by the end of business day 15, you can end the search and receive your full $2,000 back. We continue searching and assessing while the role remains open within that window, and support the final hiring steps.
What happens if no one is hired?
If we miss the first-finalist milestone, you can end the search for a full $2,000 refund. If the milestone is met but no hire starts, the $2,000 covers the search and assessment work; no remaining placement fee is due. Reaching the first milestone does not end the agreed search.
What is included in Recruo Pipeline?
$3,500 per month covers active sourcing for 2 concurrent roles: candidate research, outreach and follow-ups handled by Recruo. Interested candidates arrive in your included Recruo ATS workspace for review. Your team runs interviews with the AI agent, note taker and voice assistant. Recruitment tools, onboarding and team training are included; additional active-role capacity is agreed with sales.
When should we choose Executive Search?
For a C-level, VP or Head-level appointment that calls for an exclusive, confidential search. We align with your stakeholders on the leadership mandate, map the relevant market, approach leaders individually, assess their experience and judgment, and conduct reference checks with candidate permission. A dedicated search lead provides regular updates and supports stakeholder interviews and offer discussions; your team makes the appointment.
How are Executive Search fees and timelines agreed?
Executive Search is a retained engagement scoped around the leadership role and the target market. We agree the scope, confidentiality arrangements, fee, payment milestones and timeline privately with sales, then confirm them in writing before the search begins. Standard search commitments do not apply to an executive mandate.
How does the 90-day replacement guarantee work?
If your hire leaves or is let go within their first 90 days from starting, we provide one replacement search of up to 60 days at no additional recruitment fee, subject to the replacement conditions agreed before launch. This provides a replacement search rather than a cash refund of the placement fee.
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