The Short Answer
Hiring a PM through an agency costs $30K–$50K per role. Posting directly costs $29–$99. See your numbers below.
A recruiting agency charges 15–25% of first-year salary — $30K–$50K on a $200K PM. A Best PM Jobs post costs $29–$99. Enter your salary, headcount, and agency fee below to see your exact cost per hire and savings.
Your scenario
Typical Senior PM total comp is $180K–$300K.
Contingency agencies typically charge 15–25%.
Cost per hire
20% of salary × 1 hire
$29 in job posts + $4,000 of your own process time
You save
$35,971
90% less than going through an agency
Estimate only. Agency fees, internal time, and time-to-fill vary by role and market.
How to read the result
The agency figure is the fee a contingency recruiter would charge to place the same hire. The Best PM Jobs figure is the cost of your job posts plus a conservative allowance for internal process time, so you’re comparing all-in cost to all-in cost — not a job-post price against an agency fee.
For most PM roles the gap is enormous, because agencies price for the hardest-to-fill searches while the large majority of PM hires can be sourced directly from an audience that’s already looking. Read more in what it really costs to hire a product manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the PM recruiting cost calculator work?
Enter the first-year base salary, how many PMs you plan to hire, and a recruiting-agency fee percentage. The calculator compares the agency total (salary × fee % × number of hires) against direct hiring on Best PM Jobs (the cost of your job posts plus a conservative estimate of internal process time), and shows the difference.
What agency fee percentage should I use?
Most contingency recruiting agencies charge 15–25% of the candidate’s first-year base salary. Retained search for executive PM roles (Director, VP, CPO) can be 25–33%. The slider defaults to 20%, a common midpoint.
Why does the direct-hire estimate include process time?
To keep the comparison honest. Posting a job isn’t free of effort — someone still sources, screens, and schedules. We add a conservative internal-process cost to the job-board price so the calculator doesn’t overstate the savings. Even with that included, direct hiring on a PM-only board is dramatically cheaper than an agency for most roles.
How much does it cost to post a PM job on Best PM Jobs?
Postings start at $29 (Basic), with Promoted at $49 and Featured at $99. All include a 30-day listing and 365-day credit expiry.
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