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Recruitment agency margin calculator

Quote clients with confidence. Enter the worker's pay rate, the employer on-costs and the bill rate to see the margin per hour and per month.

The figures behind it · Employer on-costs (prefilled)
15 % NI + 3 % pension
Markup
(bill − pay) ÷ pay
Margin
(bill − cost) ÷ bill

Your figures

What the worker is paid per hour, gross.

What the client is invoiced per hour, excluding VAT.

Employer National Insurance, pension, holiday pay accrual and insurance as a share of the pay rate. Prefilled with 15 % NI plus 3 % pension on the whole rate; add 12.07 % holiday pay for hourly workers.

Payroll processing, compliance, timesheets, insurance per worked hour.

How agency margin is calculated

Markup and margin are different numbers, and the on-costs sit between them.

Cost per hour
Pay rate plus employer on-costs (employer National Insurance, pension, holiday pay accrual, insurance) plus any per-hour overheads such as payroll and compliance.
Markup
How much the bill rate exceeds the pay rate, as a share of the pay rate. A £15 pay rate billed at £24 is a 60 % markup.
Margin
What is left of the bill rate after the full cost, as a share of the bill rate. The same £24 with £17.70 of cost (the prefilled 18 % on-costs) is a 26 % margin, £6.30 an hour, about £1,010 a month on 160 hours.
Source and rules

Jober

Rule set 2026.1, last checked on October 12, 2026.

The result is an estimate based on the statutory rules. Your contract, collective agreement or tax code may change the figures. It is not tax or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

What is a typical staffing agency margin?

Gross margins of 15 to 25 % are common for temporary and contract staffing; high-volume industrial work sits at the lower end, specialist contractors higher.

What is the difference between markup and margin?

Markup compares the bill rate with the pay rate; margin compares the profit with the bill rate. A 50 % markup on pay is about a 20 % margin once on-costs are included.

What on-costs should I include?

Employer National Insurance at 15 % above £5,000 a year, pension at 3 %, holiday pay at 12.07 % for hourly workers, plus employer's liability insurance and payroll costs. The field is prefilled with 15 % NI and 3 % pension applied to the whole pay rate; add the 12.07 % holiday pay for hourly workers.

What next?

Filling roles for clients? Post them on Jober and manage every applicant in one place.

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