- 2026-09-11
There is no single price. Published figures for Poland cluster around 20% of annual salary, while other agencies quote a fixed amount per hire instead. The two models cannot be compared on the headline number alone — and in both, what decides the real cost is the replacement clause: what the agency does, and what the client pays, if the placement ends in the first three months.
How is a recruitment fee in Poland calculated?
Three billing models cover most of the market. A success fee, paid only when a hire starts, is priced either as a share of annual salary or as a fixed amount. A retainer is paid in instalments during the search. Monthly RPO pricing is used mainly for volume hiring. The differences matter more than the numbers.
We at Winged IT work on a success fee with no upfront cost, and restart a search at no additional cost if a placement ends within the first three months. If you want to know more details about our IT recruitment services, we recommend checking our dedicated page.
Why does the replacement clause matter more than the percentage?
A two-point difference in fee percentage is worth far less than the difference between an agency that restarts a failed search for free and one that does not. A placement that ends in month two costs the recruiting company the fee, the onboarding time, the project delay, and a second search — a total that dwarfs the two points.
Three questions worth asking before comparing percentages:
- How long is the replacement period, and what triggers it? Resignation and dismissal are often treated differently.
- Is the remedy a restarted search or a refund? A restart is only useful if the agency still has access to the market for that role.
- What is excluded? A role that changed scope after signing is a common exclusion.
What costs sit outside the agency fee?
The agency fee is the visible cost. The hidden one is internal time: the hours a hiring manager and a technical interviewer spend on candidates who do not pass, plus the cost of the vacancy itself while the search runs.
A vacancy left open on a delivery-critical role is usually the largest number in this calculation, and the one least often written down.
What should you check before signing a recruitment agreement?
Five clauses decide what the agreement actually costs:
- the fee basis (gross annual salary only, or including bonus),
- the payment trigger (signature or start date),
- the replacement period and its exclusions,
- whether the arrangement is exclusive,
- how long the agency retains ownership of a candidate it introduced.
Beyond the cost of working with a recruitment agency in Poland, there are several other factors that make Poland an attractive destination for building a tech team, including the cost-efficiency of its engineering talent. We covered why building a tech team in Poland can be a smart move and what advantages the Polish market offers in our article.
