Executive Search Fees: What Retained Search Costs in 2026

The retained-search industry standard fee is about 33% of a role's total annual compensation (salary, bonus and signing bonus combined), according to SHRM, typically billed in installments across the search rather than only on success. Our comparably scoped Full Search model combines a launch fee with a success fee set per role.

Key numbers

• 33%: SHRM's reported industry-standard retained-search fee, calculated on salary, bonus and signing bonus combined.
• $82,500: illustrative math on a $250,000 total-compensation role at that 33% convention.
• $132,000: illustrative math on a $400,000 total-compensation role at the same convention.
• $35,879: SHRM's 2025 average cost-per-hire for executive roles, roughly 6.5 times the $5,475 non-executive figure.
• Full Search: a launch fee plus a success fee, both quoted per search.

What "33%" actually means in dollar terms

SHRM's guidance on working with executive search firms describes the retained model's standard fee as roughly a third of the role's total first-year compensation, meaning base salary, bonus and any signing bonus added together, not base alone. That distinction matters because it changes the bill by tens of thousands of dollars depending on how a firm defines "compensation" in its contract.

To make the math visible, take two clearly hypothetical compensation figures, not actual placements:

• A role with $250,000 in total annual compensation, at a 33% fee, works out to roughly $82,500.
• A role with $400,000 in total annual compensation, at the same 33% convention, works out to roughly $132,000.

Retained firms typically bill this in installments tied to milestones (engagement, shortlist delivery, placement) rather than as a single invoice on the back end. That billing rhythm is the defining feature of retained search: the fee is owed for the work of running the search, regardless of whether a hire happens on the timeline the client expected. The what is retained search piece covers how that structure differs from contingency, where nothing is owed until a candidate starts.

Retained search (SHRM market convention) Engagement fee portion of ~33% total Shortlist delivered next installment due Placement / close final installment, ~33% total reached

Full Search Launch Fixed, quoted on request Calibration through assessment, interviews Offer and close success fee set per role

Same scope, different billing shape: one fee split into installments against a fixed percentage, one small fixed cost plus a fee scoped to the role.

Why executive fees run higher than junior-role fees

The 33% convention is not arbitrary. SHRM's 2025 benchmarking data puts average cost-per-hire at $35,879 for executive roles versus $5,475 for non-executive roles, a gap of roughly 6.5 times. Executive searches carry more assessment work, more rounds of internal alignment, and more risk if the hire is wrong.

Time matters too. SHRM's 2026 recruiting benchmarking data reports that non-executive time-to-fill fell to a median of 39 calendar days, while executive time-to-fill held flat year over year. Junior roles are getting faster to fill industry-wide; executive roles are not moving, because the candidate pool is smaller, the vetting is heavier, and the cost of a bad hire at that level is harder to absorb. A retained fee at roughly a third of total compensation is priced against that reality, not against how long the search takes.

How Full Search compares, structurally

Full Search is our comparably scoped model for a high-impact or hard-to-fill hire: we manage calibration, candidate assessment, interviews, offer and close, the same end-to-end scope a retained search firm covers. The published structure is a launch fee plus a success fee on placement.

We do not publish a percentage for that success fee. The footnote on the Hiring Scorecard states it plainly: success fees vary based on role seniority, search complexity and hiring volume, and executive-level, highly specialized or unusually complex searches may be quoted individually. That is a structural difference from the flat 33% convention SHRM describes: rather than one number applied across every search, the fee is set to the specific role, and pricing is available on request.

What that means for a buyer: the launch fee is a fixed, quoted line known before the search starts. The success fee is not a public number to plug into a spreadsheet, it is set per search based on the same factors that make a Head of Growth search different from a founding engineer search or a cleared program manager search.

Comparing the models side by side

A related comparison, retained vs contingency search, covers the tradeoff between billing on effort versus billing only on outcome in more depth if the choice between those two models is still open.

A worked example, clearly labeled as hypothetical

Suppose a company is filling a VP-level role with a hypothetical $300,000 total compensation package. Under the SHRM-reported retained convention, a 33% fee on that figure works out to roughly $99,000, typically split across installments as the search proceeds.

Under our Full Search model, the launch fee is a fixed line, quoted on request. The success fee is not a published percentage, since it is set based on the seniority of a VP-level role, the complexity of the search, and whatever hiring volume the client has. That fee would be quoted for the specific search rather than calculated from a public formula. The structural point stands regardless of the number: a Full Search separates a small, fixed cost to begin the work from a fee that is scaled to the specific hire, rather than applying one flat percentage across every role a company fills.

What to ask a retained firm before signing

1. What triggers each installment. Retained fees are commonly split across stages (engagement, shortlist, placement). Ask what specifically has to happen for each payment to become due, and whether any installment is owed if the search is paused or the mandate changes.
2. What happens if the search runs long. SHRM's data shows executive time-to-fill has held flat rather than shortening. Ask whether the fee changes, whether additional work is billed separately, and whether there is any point at which the firm re-scopes the search.
3. Whether the fee is against base salary or total compensation. A percentage fee on base salary alone and the same percentage on base, bonus and signing bonus combined can differ by tens of thousands of dollars on the same role. Get this written into the contract, not stated verbally.

These three questions apply whether a firm is charging a flat percentage or a scoped fee like Full Search's. The goal is the same either way: know exactly what triggers a bill before the search starts, not after.

When a Full Search is the wrong tool

A single, well-defined mid-level role with steady applicant flow rarely needs a search of this scope. Full Search exists for hires where the mandate is genuinely hard to define, the candidate pool is thin, or the cost of a wrong hire is high enough to justify calibration and end-to-end management. For sourcing-only support on a role a hiring team can interview and close itself, a Sourcing Sprint is a lighter, cheaper fit. For multiple open roles at once, an embedded recruiter is usually the better structural match. The Hiring Scorecard walks through a short assessment and recommends which of the three fits a given search.

The short version

The retained-search market convention, per SHRM, is about 33% of a role's total first-year compensation, billed across the search rather than only at close. On a $250,000 role that works out to roughly $82,500, and on a $400,000 role to roughly $132,000, both illustrative rather than actual figures. Our comparably scoped Full Search is structured as a launch fee plus a success fee set for the specific role, not a flat public percentage, with pricing available on request. Before signing with any retained firm, get clear answers on what triggers each installment, what happens if the search extends, and whether the fee is calculated against base salary or total compensation, since that single definition changes the bill.