RESOURCES · EXPERTINI ATS

Job Ad ROI Benchmarks

The published figures worth knowing, and an honest statement that Expertini has no operating history yet to publish its own.

3 min read · Updated July 2026 · Expertini Editorial

Cost-per-hire and time-to-fill are the metrics that ultimately matter for job advertising spend, and they're both genuinely hard to attribute cleanly to a single channel — a hire is usually the product of several sourcing efforts, not one ad click. This page covers the published, externally-sourced benchmark figures worth knowing, how to think about whether paid distribution is worth it for a specific role, and states plainly that Expertini itself has no track record yet to cite its own numbers against.

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~$4,700widely cited SHRM average cost-per-hire, all sourcing channels

36days average time-to-fill across roles, per widely cited SHRM benchmarks

0Expertini-specific ROI benchmarks published yet — too early in this product's history to claim any

3real numbers the order tracking view gives you today: clicks bought vs. delivered, spend, applications

01Published external benchmarks, with their caveats

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimated average cost-per-hire across all sourcing channels at $4,683 in 2022, and average time-to-fill at 36 days globally — figures worth knowing as a general reference point, though they aggregate every recruitment channel and cost category, not paid digital advertising specifically, and vary widely by sector, seniority, and market. Treat them as an order-of-magnitude reference, not a target to hit.

02A useful way to think about whether paid distribution is worth it

One reasonably sound framework: multiply the number of days a role's time-to-fill improves by the estimated daily productivity cost of leaving it vacant, and compare that to what the paid distribution actually cost. A mid-level role with meaningful vacancy cost can make even a moderate reduction in time-to-fill worth more than the ad spend that achieved it — the arithmetic is simple, the hard part is having a reliable estimate of both numbers for your own organisation.

03What Expertini's dashboards actually let you measure today

The Programmatic Job Ads order view shows clicks bought versus delivered, spend, and resulting applications for a specific paid distribution order — real numbers, not modelled estimates. Turning that into a full cost-per-hire or time-to-fill figure still requires connecting it to your own pipeline data (interview stage timestamps, offer dates) inside the ATS, since a click or an application isn't the same event as a hire.

04An honest limitation, stated plainly

Expertini's ad tools were rebuilt natively into this ATS recently enough that there is no meaningful operating history yet to publish Expertini-specific ROI benchmarks — no claimed average cost-per-application, no claimed average time-to-fill improvement attributable to these tools specifically. Any vendor citing precise ROI figures this early in a product's life is citing something unverifiable; we'd rather say plainly that we don't have that data yet than invent a number that sounds credible.

Frequently asked questions

What's a reasonable cost-per-hire to expect?⌄

SHRM's 2022 estimate puts the average across all channels at $4,683, but that aggregates every sourcing method and cost category and varies enormously by sector and seniority — useful as an order-of-magnitude reference, not a target.

Does Expertini publish its own ROI figures for these ad tools?⌄

Not yet, deliberately. The tools were rebuilt into this ATS recently enough that there's no honest operating history to cite specific numbers against. We'd rather state that plainly than publish a figure we can't stand behind.

How do I know if paid distribution is worth it for a role?⌄

Compare what it cost against the estimated productivity value of filling the role faster — days saved in time-to-fill multiplied by the role's daily vacancy cost is a reasonable framework, though it depends on having a real estimate of vacancy cost for your organisation.

What can I actually measure today?⌄

The Programmatic Job Ads order tracking view shows clicks bought vs. delivered, spend, and applications generated for a specific order. Connecting that to a full hire outcome requires linking it to your own pipeline data inside the ATS.

At a glance

Widely cited SHRM benchmarks: roughly $4,700 cost-per-hire, 36 days time-to-fill, all channels
These are external, all-channel aggregates — not paid-ads-specific, not Expertini-specific
Order tracking gives real clicks-bought-vs-delivered and application numbers today
No Expertini-specific ROI benchmark published yet — stated honestly, not invented
Days-saved × daily vacancy cost is a reasonable framework for weighing spend
A click or application isn't a hire — full ROI needs your own pipeline data too

See job ad roi benchmarks on your own hiring.

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