A Self-Serve Alternative to Recruitment Agencies
Traditional recruitment agencies in India typically charge a contingency fee of 8.33% to 16.67% of the hired candidate's annual CTC — roughly one to two months' salary — payable only on a successful hire. That model works well for hard-to-fill or highly confidential searches. But it scales with salary, and you're dependent on the agency's own sourcing turnaround and whatever shortlist they choose to send. Hire22.ai replaces that with a self-serve platform where Hunter AI, CoNCT AI, and JoinX AI do the sourcing, outreach, and ranking work an agency recruiter would otherwise do manually.
| Feature | Hire22.ai | Recruitment Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat hiring package from ₹1,999, covering up to 3 job postings over 3 months — free to post and browse before that | 8.33% to 16.67% of the hired candidate's annual CTC, payable per hire on success |
| Candidate sourcing | Hunter AI scans 40+ platforms for matching candidates the moment you post a role | Manual sourcing from the recruiter's own network and database |
| Candidate visibility | You see the full JoinX-ranked candidate pool yourself, not just a filtered shortlist | You only see the shortlist the agency chooses to send you |
| Speed to first candidates | JoinX-ranked shortlist delivered within 22 hours of posting | Typically 1 to 3 weeks before you see any candidates |
| Candidate engagement | CoNCT AI handles initial outreach automatically, without revealing your identity until a candidate accepts | Recruiter manually calls or emails shortlisted candidates on your behalf |
| Anonymous hiring | Candidate identity hidden until both sides opt to connect | Depends on the agency — candidate identity is typically visible to the agency team throughout the search |
| Cost as hiring scales | One hiring package can cover up to 3 job postings over 3 months, regardless of each role's seniority | A new fee applies to every hire, scaling with that role's salary |
Cost
A recruitment agency fee scales with the candidate's salary — a senior hire at ₹30 LPA could mean an agency fee of ₹2.5–5 lakh at typical India contingency rates. On Hire22.ai, job posting and browsing JoinX-ranked previews are free, and a hiring package to unlock full candidate profiles starts at ₹1,999 — a flat price that doesn't scale with the role's seniority or salary.
Speed
An agency needs time to source and shortlist before you see any candidates. On Hire22.ai, JoinX AI ranks candidates against your job as soon as you post it, so you're reviewing profiles the same day rather than waiting on an external search.
Control
With an agency, you're reviewing a shortlist someone else curated. On Hire22.ai, you see the full ranked candidate pool yourself and decide who to unlock and contact — CoNCT AI can help with outreach, but the hiring decision stays with you.
Where Candidates Actually Come From
A typical recruiter sources candidates from their own network and database, one search at a time. Hunter AI scans 40+ platforms for matching candidates the moment you post a role, building a wider pool automatically instead of relying on one person's existing contacts.
Who Makes First Contact
With an agency, a recruiter calls or emails shortlisted candidates on your behalf, and you only see the ones who respond and clear an initial screen. CoNCT AI handles that first round of outreach automatically on Hire22.ai, without revealing your identity until a candidate accepts — and you see the full ranked pool yourself, not just who the agency chose to forward.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
Hire22.ai
- Flat hiring package from ₹1,999 instead of a per-hire percentage fee
- JoinX-ranked candidates visible the same day, not after a multi-week search
- You see the full ranked pool, not a filtered shortlist
- No dedicated account manager running the search for you
Recruitment Agency
- Hands-off — the agency runs the search and shortlist for you
- Useful for highly confidential or hard-to-fill executive searches
- Fee scales with the hired candidate's salary (8.33%–16.67% of CTC)
- Turnaround typically 1–3 weeks before you see any candidates
Moving from an Agency to Hire22.ai
There's no dependency on an agency relationship to get started — you can post a role on Hire22.ai the same day you decide to try it. The workflow is different from working with a recruiter: instead of waiting for a shortlist, you review the JoinX-ranked candidate pool yourself as it comes in, and decide who to unlock and contact. Teams typically keep an agency on retainer for the hardest, most confidential searches while moving standard hiring to a self-serve platform.
Why Teams Are Moving to Self-Serve Hiring
An agency fee that scales with salary is easy to underestimate until the invoice for a senior hire arrives. Hire22.ai's flat hiring package doesn't change based on a role's seniority, and Hunter AI, CoNCT AI, and JoinX AI handle the sourcing, outreach, and ranking work an agency recruiter would otherwise do by hand — so you're not paying a percentage fee for tasks a self-serve platform can automate.
When an agency might be the better fit
For highly confidential executive searches, or roles where you have no internal bandwidth to review candidates at all, a retained agency's hands-off service may still be worth the higher cost.
By Jais Augus, Head of Recruitment & Talent at Hire22.ai · Updated August 2026. "An agency fee at 10% of a senior hire's CTC is a number most founders only calculate after the invoice arrives. It's worth comparing against a flat unlock fee before you commit to that model."
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Goodspace.ai — Recruitment Agency Fees in India: What Employers Actually Pay in 2026
- PlacementIndia.com — What Is The Cost Of Recruitment Agency In India?