Developer Hiring Cost Calculator
The true cost of hiring a developer is far more than salary. See the full year-one cost — taxes, recruiting, equipment, management — versus a subscription.
A developer’s salary is only part of what they cost. Employer taxes, benefits, equipment, software, recruiting fees, and the management time every hire consumes can add 50% or more on top of the headline number — and that is before the one-to-two months of ramp before they are fully productive.
This calculator breaks down the real, fully loaded cost of hiring in-house, line by line, and compares the year-one total to a fixed monthly subscription. It is built for founders deciding whether to take on the risk and overhead of a permanent hire, or get senior output another way.
A developer costs far more than their salary. A senior developer on an €85,000 gross salary in Western Europe typically costs €120,000–€145,000 in the first year once employer taxes (~30%), a recruiting fee (15–25% of salary), equipment and management time are added, plus lost output during a one-to-two month ramp. An AsyncForge subscription is a fixed €2,000–€8,000 per month — €24,000–€96,000 a year — with no recruiting, payroll, equipment or commitment. The calculator below breaks the true cost down line by line for your role and region.
The hire
What it really costs to put someone on payroll.
Advanced assumptions
Your time, per person, per month.
Months to full productivity.
48-hour turnaround
True first-year cost of hiring in-house
€144,183
€10,008/mo loaded · €120,100/yr ongoing
Where the money goes (year one)
| Base salary (gross) | €85,000 |
| Employer taxes, benefits, equipment | €25,500 |
| Recruiting fee (one-time) | €17,000 |
| Management & coordination time | €9,600 |
| Onboarding ramp (lost output) | €7,083 |
| Total first-year cost | €144,183 |
Hire in-house
€144,183
first year, fully loaded
AsyncForge Standard
€48,000
€4,000/mo · cancel anytime
≈ €96,183 less in year one — with no recruiting, payroll or management overhead.
How this estimate is calculated
Salary is the starting point, not the total
We start from a typical gross salary for the role, seniority, and region, then add employer on-costs — social charges, benefits, pension, equipment, and software — at a configurable rate (30% by default).
The costs that hide off the payslip
On top sit a one-time recruiting fee (15–25% of first-year salary is typical), your own management and coordination time per person, and the lost output during onboarding while a new hire ramps to full productivity.
The subscription comparison
The year-one total is set against an AsyncForge subscription — a fixed monthly fee with no recruiting, no payroll, no equipment, and no commitment. One subscription is one senior stream of work; for founders who need output without fixed cost, the year-one math is rarely close.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the true cost of hiring a software developer?
How much does it cost to hire a developer beyond salary?
Should I hire a developer or use a subscription service?
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