Your vacancy, in dollars and days.
Transparent assumptions, editable inputs, instant results.
Vacancy Cost Calculator
Estimate the true cost of an unfilled role and compare it with contract and permanent hiring options. Adjust the sliders or inputs below to reflect your organisation. Click on the info icons i for guidance.
How we estimate the cost of a vacancy
Role impact: We model a role’s daily value using two lenses and take the higher of the two for a conservative estimate:
Salary-based value = (Annual salary × role impact: 1×/2×/3×) ÷ 260 working days
Revenue-based value = (Company revenue ÷ headcount ÷ 260) × role impact
Revenue lost = daily role value × time-to-fill (days)
Payroll savings: While the role is open, you’re not paying full comp. We subtract salary + benefits prorated by day (benefits default 31.4% of salary; editable).
Soft costs: Research shows intangible costs (missed opportunities, team burnout, slower throughput) are a big share of the total. We include an “Intangible cost factor” (default 66%) applied to the revenue-lost portion. You can tune this up/down.
Comparison options:
• Contract: total employee cost × markup (default shown in Advanced).
• Permanent: placement fee % × salary.
We show break-even days (when vacancy loss exceeds each option’s cost).
Refresh cadence – Benchmarks and defaults are reviewed quarterly and after major market shifts.
Last updated: August 12, 2025.
Limitations & notes – The calculator is an estimator. It assumes 260 working days, ignores taxes/overheads unique to your org, and treats impact multipliers as guidance (1× entry, 2× mid/high-impact ICs, 3× leadership/critical roles). Time-to-fill is editable because it varies by market, seniority, and urgency.
Sources – Common industry benchmarks on benefits load and vacancy/turnover economics, plus our own experience across legal, healthcare, and warehousing.
Typical break-even vs a 20–25% placement fee for mid/high-impact roles.
Clients using our RPO model reduce their average time-to-fill by up to 72%, accelerating growth without sacrificing candidate quality.
Typical monthly cost of a mid-level vacancy ($60–$100k base, 35–45 days).
FAQ
It shows the true dollar impact of leaving a role open (lost output + soft costs – payroll savings), then compares that to filling the role with contract or permanent hiring. You also get break-even days and a recommendation.
We use two lenses and take the higher (to avoid underestimates):
Salary lens: (Annual salary × role impact 1×/2×/3×) ÷ 260 working days
Revenue lens: (Company revenue ÷ employees ÷ 260) × role impact
Revenue lost = daily role value × time-to-fill.
Then we subtract prorated salary + benefits savings and add an intangible cost factor for soft costs.
A shorthand for how much output a role drives: 1× entry/assist roles, 2× mid/high-impact ICs, 3× leadership/critical. Not seniority for its own sake—impact on throughput.
260 working days/year
Benefits load: 31.4% of salary (editable)
Intangible factor: 66% of revenue-lost (editable)
Time-to-fill: industry/role defaults you can override
We review these quarterly and after major market shifts.
They’re the non-payroll hits: delayed projects, missed revenue, overtime/burnout, lower service levels. Empirical studies show soft costs represent a large share of vacancy/turnover impact, so 66% is our conservative starting point—you can dial it down if your coverage is strong or up for hard-to-cover roles.
Contract often wins for urgent, short-term coverage, uncertain headcount, or when a backlog must be cleared fast.
Permanent usually wins if the seat will exist long-term; the break-even line in your result shows how many days of vacancy loss equal the permanent fee. If you’ll exceed that, hire.
If time-to-fill is short, impact is 1×, benefits are high, or the intangible factor is low for this role, vacancy losses can be close to payroll savings. That’s a signal to re-check assumptions (impact, days, markup/fee) or consider redistributing work until a bigger need surfaces.
Yes. Enter your best estimate, or leave revenue modest and the model will lean on the salary lens, which still produces a realistic order-of-magnitude.
Annualize it: hourly rate × 40 × 52. If schedules vary, use your typical weekly hours.
Two quick levers:
Increase intangible if the team is absorbing work with overtime/burnout.
Decrease intangible if coverage is strong (temps/automation).
You can also shorten time-to-fill to reflect an expedited search.
Change it. Every assumption (time-to-fill, benefits, intangible, markup, fee, impact) is editable so your output reflects your reality.
Quarterly (and ad-hoc when new data lands). The “Last updated” date appears under the calculator.
They’re saved locally in your browser so you don’t lose your work. Nothing is sent to Staffwell unless you click Email/Book a consultation.
