Recruiting Business Valuation
Recruiting Firm Valuation Calculator & Exit Planning Built for Search Firm Owners
We built one platform that tracks your recruiting firm's value monthly, identifies exit gaps early, and ensures your personal finances align with your exit timeline.
1,000+ Businesses have joined YourExitValue.com
Most Recruiting Firm Owners Have No Idea What Their Business is Actually Worth
Current Recruiting / Executive Search Valuation Multiples (2026)
Recruiting firm valuations depend on fee structure, client concentration, and recruiter team. Here's the market:
Every business is different. That's why you need to track your value.
Included in Your Exit Value is a complete Exit Planning Assessment where you track your progress quarterly against your results from the previous quarter.
Know your number and watch it grow
Most business owners guess at their value. You'll know it with precision.
Our platform uses six proven valuation methodologies to give you a complete picture of what your business is worth today—and tracks how that number changes month over month. No more waiting for annual appraisals or paying $15K+ for outdated reports.
See your trends. Spot opportunities. Make informed decisions
What Actually Drives Recruiting Firm Value
Your placements matter, but sophisticated buyers evaluate these factors that determine premium pricing:
Recruiter Team
Productive Recruiters Beyond Owner
If you're making all the placements, revenue walks out when you do. Having productive recruiters who own client relationships and make placements independently demonstrates capacity. Recruiter retention matters—it takes time to build pipelines and relationships. Track recruiter tenure and productivity.
Owner-only placements = key person risk
Client Concentration
No Client > 20% Revenue
What happens if your biggest client freezes hiring or changes vendors? Concentration risk is real—buyers discount heavily when revenue depends on a few clients. Diversify across companies and ideally industries. No single client should exceed 20% of revenue.
Concentrated = dangerous dependency
Specialization
Defined Industry/Function Focus
Generalist recruiters compete on relationships. Specialists in specific industries (healthcare, technology, finance) or functions (sales, engineering, executive) develop expertise that commands premium fees. Clear specialization attracts buyers seeking specific capabilities.
Generalist = commodity positioning
Fee Structure
Retained + Contingency Mix
Retained searches provide upfront payment and committed client relationships. Contingency searches are competitive but more volume-oriented. The ideal mix depends on your market position. Higher retained percentage indicates premium market position.
Contingency-only = competitive pressure
Repeat Client Rate
High Repeat Business
Do clients come back search after search? High repeat business indicates service quality and strong relationships. It also reduces client acquisition costs. Track your repeat client percentage; it demonstrates relationship strength.
No repeat = constant selling
Systems & Database
ATS/CRM with Clean Data
Your candidate database and client records are primary assets. Professional ATS/CRM systems with complete data enable efficient operations and demonstrate organizational maturity. Firms with data scattered across spreadsheets and email face transition challenges.
Poor systems = asset unclear
How to Value a Recruiting Firm
The U.S. recruiting and executive search industry includes over 20,000 firms generating approximately $30 billion in annual revenue. Recruiting firms span contingency placement, retained executive search, and RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) models.
Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) is used for smaller firms, while EBITDA applies to larger operations. Recruiting firms typically sell for 2.0x to 4.0x SDE, or 3.0x to 6.0x EBITDA. Retained search firms and RPO companies with recurring contracts command the highest multiples.
Revenue multiples generally range from 0.40x to 0.80x annual revenue. Firms with niche specializations and RPO contracts achieve the upper end.
The unique valuation factor for recruiting firms is the recruiter retention and specialization. Recruiting is a relationship business where individual recruiters maintain the candidate networks and client relationships. Recruiter turnover directly impacts revenue, making team stability the primary concern for buyers. Firms specialized in high-demand verticals — technology, healthcare, finance, engineering — command premiums because their expertise creates defensible market positions. RPO contracts, where the firm embeds recruiters within a client's hiring function, create recurring revenue that transforms the traditional placement model.
Recruiting firm M&A activity tends to be countercyclical — firms are most valuable when the labor market is tight and hardest to sell during recessions. Firms with diversified verticals weather cycles best. Use our free calculator above to get your instant estimate, then track your value monthly with YourExitValue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What multiple do recruiting firms sell for?
Recruiting firms typically sell for 2.0x – 4.0x SDE or 4x – 7x EBITDA. Firms with productive recruiter teams, clear specialization, and diversified clients command premium multiples.
How important is the recruiter team?
Critical. If you're making all placements, value leaves when you do. Productive recruiters with client relationships demonstrate transferable capacity.
Who buys recruiting firms?
Larger staffing and search firms expanding, PE-backed recruiting platforms, strategic buyers seeking specific industry expertise, and individual buyers with recruiting experience.
Does specialization affect recruiting firm value?
Yes. Specialized firms command premium fees and attract strategic buyers. Industry or functional focus creates expertise that generalists can't match.
How important is client diversification?
Very important. Concentration risk is real when clients can freeze hiring. Diversify so no single client exceeds 20% of revenue.
What's the fastest way to increase my recruiting firm value?
Three high-impact moves: 1) Hire and develop productive recruiters, 2) Develop clear industry or functional specialization, 3) Diversify client base to reduce concentration.