Headcount Plan Cost Calculator
Cost out a hiring plan with fully-loaded salaries, benefits overhead and one-time recruiting fees — annual, monthly and first-year totals.
How it works
Loaded cost = salary × (1 + load) · Annual payroll = hires × loaded cost · Year one = annual payroll + hires × recruiting cost
A hire costs far more than their base salary: payroll taxes, benefits, equipment and office space add a load that commonly runs 25–40% on top, and recruiting adds a one-time fee on hire. Multiplying the fully-loaded figure by the number of hires gives the real ongoing payroll, while dividing by twelve shows the monthly burn the plan adds. Founders who budget only base salaries routinely understate a hiring plan by a third or more.
Worked example
Five hires at a $120,000 average base with a 30% load cost $156,000 each fully loaded, or $780,000 of ongoing annual payroll — about $65,000 added to monthly burn. Add $15,000 of recruiting per hire ($75,000) and the first-year cost is $855,000.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fully-loaded cost?
It is base salary plus everything else an employee costs the company — payroll taxes, health and retirement benefits, equipment, software and a share of office and overhead. The load percentage bundles all of that into one multiplier on base pay.
Why separate recruiting from ongoing cost?
Recruiting is a one-time expense paid when you hire, while salary and benefits recur every year. Splitting them shows both the first-year hit and the steady-state payroll the plan commits you to going forward.
How does this affect runway?
The added monthly burn is what erodes your cash runway. Feed it into a runway calculator to see how a hiring plan shortens the time until you must be profitable or raise again.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.