Cost comparison
Is flat-fee recruitment cheaper than an agency for a £45,000 hire?
Yes, and on a £45,000 hire the gap is large. A contingency agency at 15–25% of first-year salary bills £6,750 to £11,250. Published flat fees for the same managed search run £2,495 to £3,000, so you keep roughly £4,000 to £8,500. The comparison only holds if the flat fee actually includes the screening — advertising-only packages at £99 to £599 are a different product and leave about 26 candidates for you to work yourself. The other thing to check is what happens if the role is never filled: contingency means you pay nothing, while a flat fee is paid up front — so ask exactly what the fee buys if the search does not succeed.
The figures
A £45,000 salary is the point where this question gets asked most, because it is where the percentage starts to hurt and the flat fee has not moved.
| Route | Fee on a £45,000 hire | What you also spend |
|---|---|---|
| Contingency agency at 15% | £6,750 | Interview time |
| Contingency agency at 20% | £9,000 | Interview time |
| Contingency agency at 25% | £11,250 | Interview time |
| TalentFinder Premium Hire | £3,000 +VAT | Interview time |
| Advertising-only — our £399 package | £399 +VAT | All the screening |
Our figures are on our pricing page. Other flat-fee managed searches are priced by band too, some below ours and some above; what makes two quotes comparable is not the number but whether the fee covers the search or only the advert, and exactly what the search includes.
On a straight fee comparison, a managed flat fee saves roughly £4,000 to £8,500 on this hire. That is the answer to the question as asked, and it is not close.
Why the gap exists
A percentage is a price for the salary, not the work. Filling a £45,000 role and filling a £30,000 role take a broadly similar amount of effort — the same advert, the same screening calls, the same interview scheduling — but at 20% one bills £9,000 and the other £6,000.
A flat fee prices the work. So the two lines diverge as the salary climbs, and £45,000 is comfortably past the crossover.
That also tells you where the flat fee is least compelling. Under about £25,000 the percentage is small enough that the saving may not be worth changing supplier for.
The comparison only holds if the screening is included
This is where the £399 line in the table above matters, and where most of the disappointment in this market comes from.
Advertising-only packages — ours at £399 +VAT, and the cheaper entry packages elsewhere in the market — buy reach. They put the role in front of candidates. They do not read the applications.
Across the 46 vacancies we filled and publish in full, the numbers behind one hire were:
| Stage | Candidates |
|---|---|
| Sourced and screened | 1,542 |
| Presented to the client | 235 |
| Client interviews | 143 |
| Hires | 51 |
A median of 26 candidates worked per hire, of whom about 15% were worth presenting. Mostly reached in the evening, because they are at work during the day.
So the fair comparison at £45,000 is £6,750–£11,250 against £2,495–£3,000, not against £399. If you put a £399 advert next to an agency fee you are comparing a service with a listing, and the missing hours have to come from somewhere in your business.
What the percentage is actually buying
There is one thing a contingency agency sells that a flat fee does not automatically include, and it is worth being straight about: contingency means you pay nothing if they never fill it. All the risk of a failed search sits with them.
Pay a flat fee up front and that risk moves to you. We do not offer a refund. Which is why the terms matter as much as the headline:
| Provider | If the role is not filled |
|---|---|
| Contingency agency | You pay nothing |
| TalentFinder Premium Hire | No refund. The terms come in writing with your proposal, before you instruct us |
| Any advertising-only package | Nothing — you bought the advert, not the outcome |
| A flat fee with no stated term | Nothing — which is why the clause matters as much as the price |
Ask that question of every provider you speak to, ours included, and get the answer in writing before you pay.
Three times we would still tell you to use the agency
- The role is genuinely hard to fill and you would rather someone else carried that risk. If you think there is a real chance nobody suitable exists at that salary, contingency is a rational way to buy the search — you pay only if it works. A flat fee paid up front, ours included, is the wrong instrument for that bet.
- You are hiring at volume and have a negotiated rate. Agencies discount hard for consistent work. At 10–12% on a £45,000 role, £4,500–£5,400 against a flat fee that also has to be paid on every vacancy, the arithmetic gets much closer.
- You need a network you cannot otherwise reach. In some senior and niche technical markets the value is the relationships, and a specialist who has spent a decade in that sector is worth the percentage.
The practical answer for most £45,000 hires
If the role is a recognisable one — an accountant, an estimator, an office manager, a field engineer — and your problem is that nobody in the business has evenings free to ring 26 people, a managed flat fee will fill it for a third of the agency fee.
Our band for a £45,000 role is £3,000 +VAT, covering a five-point review of the role, a dedicated recruiter, advertising plus headhunting and a screened shortlist. There is no refund. There are managed searches quoted below that; there are also ones quoted well above it. Compare the clause alongside the price and decide on both — and ask whoever you are speaking to what they will show you about roles they have actually filled. Ours are all published.
For the wider market, see which UK companies charge a fixed fee and what flat-fee recruitment actually costs.
Frequently asked questions
Is flat-fee recruitment cheaper than an agency for a £45,000 hire?
Yes. At 15–25% of first-year salary a contingency agency bills £6,750 to £11,250 on a £45,000 hire. Our fixed fee for a managed search on the same role is £3,000 +VAT, covering a five-point review of the role, advertising, headhunting and a screened shortlist. The saving is roughly £3,750 to £8,250, and it grows with the salary because a percentage rises while the work does not.
How much does a recruitment agency charge for a £45,000 hire in the UK?
Contingency agencies typically charge 15–25% of first-year salary, so £6,750 at 15%, £9,000 at 20% and £11,250 at 25% on a £45,000 salary. Rates are usually negotiable on volume and often quoted before any work is agreed.
What is the flat fee for a £45,000 role?
TalentFinder's Premium Hire is £3,000 +VAT for roles in the £45,000–£59,999 band. It covers a five-point review of the role, a dedicated recruiter, advertising plus headhunting and a screened shortlist. Flat fees elsewhere in the market run from a few hundred pounds to several thousand for the same salary band, and the range is about what is included rather than about quality — below roughly £600 you are buying an advert rather than a search.
When is a percentage agency still the better choice?
Three situations. When the role is genuinely hard to fill and you would rather someone carried the risk of never filling it, because contingency means you pay nothing if they fail. When you are hiring at volume and have negotiated a rate well below 15%. And when you need a specialist network you cannot buy access to any other way, which is common in senior and niche technical hiring.
Does a cheaper flat fee mean a worse service?
Not necessarily, but check what is included. Below about £600 you are almost always buying advertising rather than search, which means the screening is yours. Across our own filled roles it took a median of 26 candidates worked to make one hire, and only about 15% of those were worth presenting to the employer.
Sources
Want the fixed price for your role?
Advertise it yourself from £399 +VAT, or hand the whole search to a dedicated recruiter with Premium Hire — a flat fee by salary band, starting with a five-point review of your role.
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Or call 0161 327 2895.