A consultant's fee on a ₹30 lakh role can be ₹2.5 to ₹5 lakh. That is the part you see. The weeks of searching, the empty seat and the candidate who drops out cost more.
This guide breaks down the five parts of a senior hire's cost, works through an example, and shows where the savings are.
The fee is the visible part. For a senior or mid-level role in India, five things decide what the hire really costs.
A consultant’s percentage of CTC, a job portal or LinkedIn licence, or a per-job price on a hiring platform. This is the only line most budgets track.
Hours spent searching, calling people who turn out not to be interested, and running interview rounds. For senior roles this often runs into weeks of recruiter and hiring-manager time.
Every week a senior role stays open, the work is delayed or lands on someone else. With 60 to 90 day notice periods common, a slow search pushes joining day out by months.
Notice-period buyouts and joining bonuses are common for senior hires in India. Decide your limits before you make an offer.
A candidate who accepts and then takes a counter-offer costs you the whole search again. This is the most expensive line, and the easiest to miss.
Consultant fees scale with the salary, so the more senior the role, the bigger the bill. A per-job price does not.
| Route | Fee |
|---|---|
| Contingency consultant at 8.33% | ₹2,49,900 per hire |
| Contingency consultant at 16.67% | ₹5,00,100 per hire |
| Hire22 Trial Package | ₹2,999 + GST for 3 job postings, no success fee |
| Hire22 Starter Package | ₹60,000 + GST for 15 job postings over 6 months, no success fee |
Consultant fees are typical market ranges, not quotes. Hire22 prices exclude GST. See all plans.
Most of the cost sits in time and drop-outs, so the biggest savings come from finding interested people faster and checking fit before the first interview.
That is what Hire22 does on every job posting. Hunter AI finds candidates, including people who are not applying. CoNCT AI asks each one if they are interested. The JoinX Score ranks the people who said yes on skills, expected CTC and notice period. You get an interview-ready shortlist in about 22 hours and pay per job, not per hire.
For the full comparison with agencies, see how to reduce hiring costs. For the time side, read how long a senior hire takes in India.
Questions HR and finance teams ask about the cost of senior hiring.
Hire22 works differently depending on who is hiring. Pick the page closest to your situation.
For recruiters at funded companies juggling 20 open roles and a hiring manager who wanted the shortlist yesterday.
Hire22 for TA teamsMove senior hiring off consultants without losing quality, and take numbers to your MD that justify it.
See the cost comparisonNo HR team? Get a ranked shortlist you can read in one sitting.
Hiring as a founderShortlists in 22 hours for Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune teams, with dashboard data for global TA reviews.
Hire22 for enterpriseA sourcing layer that finds passive mid-senior candidates while your consultants stay with clients.
Hire22 for agenciesEligible early-stage startups can apply for the Hire22 for Startups programme.
Check eligibilityPost the role as a JobCoNCT and get a ranked shortlist of interested, interview-ready candidates in about 22 hours. The Trial Package is ₹2,999 + GST for first-time employers: 3 job postings, 3 months.