Pricing
Pay for outcomes, not access.
Browsing and shortlisting are completely free. You only pay a placement fee when a hire succeeds, and stays for 90 days.
For browsing & sourcing
Free forever
Everything you need to find and evaluate talent.
- Unlimited search across all candidates
- Filter by skill, role, level & visa status
- Compare up to 5 candidates side-by-side
- Full profiles, GitHub activity & salary benchmarks
For hiring
15–20% of first-year salary
A single success fee, invoiced only after a 90-day hire.
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Direct contact unlock, message candidates yourself
- Nothing charged until day 90 is cleared
- Free replacement if the hire doesn't work out
Estimate your fee
What would a hire actually cost?
Placement fee calculator
Adjust the salary and seniority to see your success fee, and how it compares to a traditional agency's 25%.
Your Careerly placement fee
$22,500
Due only after a successful 90-day hire
Typical agency (25%): $37,500
Save $15,000
How we compare
The recruiter alternative, reinvented.
| Careerly | Traditional agency | Job boards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free | Retainer common | Per-post fees |
| When you pay | After 90-day hire | On signing | Upfront |
| Placement fee | 15–20% | 20–30% | n/a |
| Visa-status filter | Built-in | Manual | None |
| AI ranking & GitHub signal | Yes | No | No |
| Replacement guarantee | Included | Sometimes | No |
Pricing FAQ
The fine print, in plain English.
Never while browsing or shortlisting. The placement fee is invoiced only once your new hire has been employed for 90 continuous days. If they leave before then, you owe nothing.
The rate scales with the role's seniority, roughly 15% for junior, 17% for mid-level and 20% for senior hires, applied to the candidate's first-year base salary. We confirm the exact rate before you make an offer.
If a placement leaves or is let go within the first 90 days, you're not charged. If it's after the fee is paid but still early, our replacement guarantee finds you a new candidate at no additional placement cost.
No. There are no monthly fees, no per-seat charges and no retainers. The only thing you ever pay is the success-based placement fee.
Absolutely, hire as many as you like. Each successful placement is billed independently on its own 90-day clock, so your risk stays capped per hire.
Zero risk to try
Start free. Pay only when it works.
Open the marketplace and build your first shortlist today, no card, no commitment.