Executive Search · Employer Resources
Executive Search Fees: What Firms Charge in 2026
Key Takeaways
- Retained search at Excelon runs 25 to 30% of first year compensation, billed in three milestone payments. A retainer buys our time and immediate priority.
- Contingency search runs 20 to 25%, a more passive engagement where you pay only if you hire our candidate.
- The fee is all inclusive except candidate travel, which is reimbursed at cost.
- Every placement carries a 90 day guarantee, scaling to 6 months at executive level.
- 88 searches completed in the last 12 months, with a qualified slate of 5 candidates delivered in 3 to 5 weeks on average.
What executive search costs
Most executive search firms charge between 20 and 30 percent of the placed candidate's first year compensation. At Excelon Associates, retained search runs 25 to 30 percent and contingency search runs 20 to 25 percent, and the gap is not arbitrary: a retainer buys our time, a dedicated team on your role immediately, while contingency is a more passive engagement paid only on a hire. Every placement carries a written guarantee either way. This guide covers what those numbers include, how payment actually works, and how to budget for your next senior hire.
What does an executive search firm cost?
The percentage reflects what you are buying. Retained search secures our time: a dedicated team works your role immediately, with priority over everything else on our desk, because the engagement exists to secure the candidate now. Contingency search is a more passive arrangement that moves at a casual pace, and you pay only on a successful hire. Here is how the two compare at Excelon Associates.
| Retained Search | Contingency Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | 25 to 30% of first year compensation | 20 to 25% of first year compensation |
| What you buy | Our time: a dedicated team on your role immediately, regardless of what else we are engaged in | Our network and process, engaged at a more casual pace |
| Pace | Urgent. Built to secure the candidate now | Passive. Candidates presented as the search surfaces them |
| You pay | In three milestone payments across the search | Only if you hire our candidate |
| Best fit | Roles you need filled immediately, with a committed team | Clients who want flexibility, or want us to prove our value first |
| Guarantee | 90 days, up to 6 months at executive level | 90 days, up to 6 months at executive level |
Retained vs. contingency pricing
How does retained search pricing work?
Retained search at Excelon is 25 to 30 percent of first year compensation, with the exact figure set by the difficulty of the specific search. The premium over contingency is not a markup on the same work. A retainer buys our time: your search gets a dedicated team the day it starts and holds priority regardless of what else we are engaged in, because the entire point of a retained engagement is to secure the candidate immediately. The fee is billed in three equal parts tied to milestones you can see, so payment tracks progress rather than promises.
- First third: the search begins
Your dedicated team kicks off discovery, builds the role profile, and launches sourcing and the digital campaign.
- Second third: slate presented and interviewed
Due when the first slate of qualified candidates has been presented and interviewed. Our average slate is 5 candidates, delivered in 3 to 5 weeks.
- Final third: candidate hired
The last payment lands only when your candidate is officially hired.
When does contingency search make sense?
Contingency search at Excelon runs 20 to 25 percent of first year compensation, and you pay nothing unless you hire our candidate. It is a more passive engagement by design: the search moves at a casual pace rather than on a sprint. That suits clients who want more flexibility, are not yet certain exactly who they want, or are not ready to commit to a retained engagement.
Many of our retained clients started exactly that way. For a deeper comparison, read our guide on retained versus contingent search.
What the fee includes
What is included in the fee?
Everything except candidate travel. Excelon's fee is all inclusive, which is not the industry norm; many firms bill advertising, assessments, and administrative costs on top of the percentage.
| Included in every Excelon fee | Billed separately |
|---|---|
| Dedicated search team, all digital marketing and advertising for the role including campaigns that reach the first page of Google, proactive outreach to candidates who are not actively looking, screening and credential verification, interview coordination, and offer support. | Candidate travel only. Excelon pays travel costs upfront and invoices them for reimbursement at cost, with no markup. |
What does the placement guarantee cover?
Every Excelon placement carries a 90 day guarantee. If the hire leaves or does not work out inside that window, we rerun the search at no additional fee. For executive level placements and above, the guarantee scales up to 6 months, because the cost of a leadership mis-hire deserves a longer safety net.
How much does temporary and interim staffing cost?
Temporary staffing is priced differently: a markup of 40 to 60 percent on the employee's hourly rate, depending on the state. That rate includes full employer of record service through our partner, People2.0. Payroll, benefits, compliance, onboarding paperwork, every piece of the administrative backend is handled for you. The only thing on your plate is the work itself.
If you decide to convert a temporary employee into a permanent hire, a conversion fee applies, scaled to how long the candidate has been on assignment. Details on interim leadership and contract placements are on our temporary staffing page.
What determines where your fee lands in the range?
Not your industry. Excelon prices higher education, healthcare, financial services, and government searches on the same basis. What moves the number is the anticipated difficulty of the specific search, which we score with a proprietary model before we quote: how scarce the talent pool is, how specialized the credentials are, the geography, the timeline, and the level of confidentiality required. A demanding search is priced as a demanding search, whichever sector it sits in. It also means a straightforward search is never priced as if it were a hard one.
Estimate your fee
Enter the expected first year compensation for the role and see the fee range under both models.
Retained Search
Contingency Search
Estimates for planning purposes. Your exact fee reflects the assessed difficulty of the search and is quoted before any engagement begins.
Want a firm number instead of a range? Tell us about the role.
Start a SearchExcelon in practice
What does this look like on a real search?
In 2026, the University of East London, a public university founded in 1898, engaged Excelon to fill multiple roles across three continents: the United States, Egypt, and India. Different markets, different credentialing requirements, one process.
From the Blog
Executive search fees: frequently asked questions
Most firms charge 20 to 30 percent of the placed candidate's first year compensation. Excelon Associates charges 25 to 30 percent for retained search and 20 to 25 percent for contingency search, with the exact figure set by the anticipated difficulty of the search.
The price difference reflects what you are buying. A retained fee, 25 to 30 percent at Excelon, secures the firm's time: a dedicated team works your search immediately and with priority, billed in three milestone payments, because the goal is to secure the candidate now. A contingency fee, 20 to 25 percent, is a more passive engagement that moves at a casual pace, and you pay only if you hire the candidate.
In three equal parts tied to milestones: one third when the search begins, one third when the first slate of candidates has been presented and interviewed, and the final third when the candidate is officially hired.
At Excelon, no. The fee is all inclusive, covering the search team, all digital marketing and advertising for the role, screening, and offer support. The single exception is candidate travel, which Excelon pays upfront and invoices for reimbursement at cost.
Every Excelon placement carries a 90 day guarantee, and for executive level placements the guarantee scales up to 6 months. If the hire does not work out inside the guarantee window, the search is rerun at no additional fee.
Temporary staffing is priced as a 40 to 60 percent markup on the employee's hourly rate, depending on the state. The rate includes full employer of record service through People2.0, which handles payroll, benefits, and the entire administrative backend. A scaled conversion fee applies if you hire the candidate permanently.
At Excelon Associates, no. Fees are set by a proprietary model that scores the anticipated difficulty of each individual search, not by the industry it sits in. A demanding search is priced as a demanding search whether it is in higher education, healthcare, or financial services.
Excelon delivers a qualified slate of candidates in 3 to 5 weeks on average, against an industry norm of 90 days or more. In a recent multi country engagement, candidates were presented within 10 days of each search launching and offers were accepted within 60 days.
The employer, always. Candidates never pay a fee to be represented, presented, or placed by Excelon Associates.
Headhunter fees and executive search fees are the same thing, and the math is identical: 20 to 30 percent of the placed candidate's first year compensation across the industry. At Excelon Associates the figure is 25 to 30 percent for retained search or 20 to 25 percent for contingency, and the employer always pays it, never the candidate.
Get an exact quote for your search
Tell us about the role and we will come back with a firm fee, a timeline, and the team that will run it. No obligation, and the first conversation is free.
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