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 shortlist. 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 |
| 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.
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?