In Singapore and Hong Kong, a recruitment agency charges the employer a percentage of the hire's annual salary, paid once the hire is made, and no government in either place publishes an employer rate. The agencies and guides that do state a range put contingency search at 15% to 25% of annual salary. What the law caps is the job seeker's side: in Hong Kong a commission of at most 10% of the first month's wages, in Singapore at most one month of fixed salary per year of service, up to two months.
ROUND.1's pricing for employers: [FEE & GUARANTEE WORDING — pending Alex O, #4530] Candidates pay nothing. Nothing is charged before a hire, and there is no subscription. The percentage and the guarantee window are held in ROUND.1's configuration, the same values the product bills with, and this page reads them from there, so the figure cannot drift from what a company is invoiced. For how fee models work worldwide, see how much do recruiters charge.
What agencies charge employers, as the sources state it
| Market | Range, as the source states it | Who says so | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Contingency fees "commonly sit somewhere around 15% to 25% of annual salary, depending on the role" | JTE Recruit, a licensed agency, on its own blog | 21 Jul 2026 |
| Singapore | "PMET roles: Usually 15% to 25% of annual salary"; "There is no single standard recruitment fee in Singapore." | Tyson Jay, an agency, on its own blog | 28 Mar 2026 |
| Singapore | "Most recruitment agencies in Singapore charge employers 15% to 25% of the hired candidate's annual salary" for permanent placements | Terris, a content site; its own figure | updated 25 Aug 2026 |
| Hong Kong | Contingency: "typically 15–25% of first-year salary". Retained: "typically 25–35% of first-year total compensation" | HoiSum, a job-search service's guide | updated 2 Jul 2026 |
| Hong Kong | "The official guidance does not publish a standard employer percentage." | headhunter.com.hk, a directory | 22 Jul 2026 |
None of these is a government figure or a market survey, so each range is that writer's view of the market on the date shown.
Terris's list of Singapore agencies, updated 25 August 2026, gives a line per agency. None of the ten agencies publishes these numbers on its own site, so they are Terris's figures, not the agencies'.
| Agency | Permanent placement, as Terris states it |
|---|---|
| Randstad | "15% to 25% of annual salary for permanent placements (as of 2026)" |
| Michael Page | "Typically 20% to 25% of annual salary for permanent management roles" |
| Robert Walters | "18% to 25% of annual salary" |
| Hays | "permanent roles at 18% to 25% of annual salary" |
| Robert Half | "15% to 25% of annual salary" |
| JAC Recruitment | "18% to 25% of annual salary for specialist professional placements" |
| Adecco | "permanent placements at 12% to 20% of annual salary" |
| ManpowerGroup | "permanent placements at 15% to 22% of annual salary" |
| CGP Group | "Executive search at 20% to 30% of annual salary" |
| Morgan McKinley | "18% to 25% of annual salary for permanent roles" |
What the law caps, and on which side
| Hong Kong | Singapore | |
|---|---|---|
| Charge to the job seeker | A commission of at most 10% of the first month's wages, after placement (Labour Department, last revision 10 Aug 2026; Cap. 57A, Second Schedule, Part II) | No more than one month of the worker's fixed monthly salary per year of service, capped at two months' salary (MOM FAQ, 3 Jul 2024) |
| Refund to the job seeker | Not addressed on these pages | At least 50% if the employment ends within 6 months (MOM FAQ, 14 Mar 2024) |
| Limit on what the employer pays | Neither the Labour Department page nor Cap. 57A sets a limit on employer fees | MOM removed the cap on fees that agencies can charge employers (MOM FAQ, 14 Mar 2024) |
| Penalty for overcharging the job seeker | A maximum of $350,000 and imprisonment for 3 years (Labour Department, 10 Aug 2026) | "It is an offence for an EA to charge excessive agency fees" (MOM FAQ, 3 Jul 2024) |
Hong Kong
The Labour Department's page on using employment agencies, last revised 10 August 2026, says the prescribed commission "is currently set at 10% of the first-month salary of the job-seeker after successful placement". Beyond that commission, an agency "is prohibited from charging directly or indirectly from job-seekers any fees". The Second Schedule to the Employment Agency Regulations (Cap. 57A), read on the HKLII mirror in its version of 25 April 2018, sets the maximum at "a sum equal to ten per cent of the first month's wages received by such person after he has been placed in employment by the employment agency". The Employment Agencies Portal, last reviewed 17 September 2026, adds that "The provisions are applicable to all job-seekers".
Neither source sets a limit on what an agency may charge an employer. The word "employer" does not appear in Cap. 57A. What the Labour Department page does say to employers is to check the agency's licence, to sign a written service agreement before engaging it, "specifying the relevant terms such as the details and scope of service provided, itemized fees, refund arrangements etc", and to get a receipt for every payment. For start dates, see notice periods in Hong Kong.
Singapore
The Ministry of Manpower's guide to the 2011 regulatory framework states that from 1 April 2011 "There will not be a cap on the fee that employment agencies may charge employers for the services provided." Its FAQ, last updated 14 March 2024, gives the reason: employers "are unlikely to be exploited by employment agencies (EAs) charging unreasonable fees as they have a stronger bargaining power compared to workers".
The worker's side stayed capped. MOM's FAQ of 3 July 2024 says agencies "are allowed to collect no more than 1 month of a worker's fixed-monthly salary for each year of service, capped at 2 months' salary". In a forum reply of 8 November 2024, MOM added that agencies "must provide itemised receipts", must "refund the workers half of the fees if their employment is terminated within six months", and "must not collect fees upfront before a placement has been secured".
Pay-on-hire services, side by side
The services below charge a fee on a successful hire, though some also charge monthly fees. Each row quotes the service's own pricing page.
| Service | What the employer pays, as the page states it | If the hire leaves early | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartHire by Jobstreet (SEEK) | "SmartHire fees are charged only on successful hiring, at 50 percent cost-savings versus traditional recruitment." No rate is published. | Not stated | Jobstreet release, 7 Apr 2025 |
| Glints TalentHub | "One-time recruitment fee (18% of first-year salary) plus the EOR monthly rate", on its Full Suite plan, which bundles recruitment with employer-of-record services | Not stated on the pricing page | Glints TalentHub, read 15 Oct 2026 |
| Wellfound Autopilot | "$500 / month / open role" plus "10% placement" on a successful hire. The page does not say what the 10% is a percentage of. | Not stated | Wellfound pricing, read 15 Oct 2026 |
| Jack & Jill | "10%" "of first year salary", "only when Jill makes a hire" | "If a hire leaves or is dismissed in the first 3 months, you get a full refund." | Jack & Jill pricing, read 15 Oct 2026 |
| WhyBrilliant (WhyBrilliant GmbH) | "10%" "Of first-year base salary. Paid on hire." | "Full refund if a hire leaves or is dismissed within the first 90 days." | WhyBrilliant pricing, read 15 Oct 2026 |
| ROUND.1 | [FEE & GUARANTEE WORDING — pending Alex O, #4530] | Stated in the same sentence | /ai-info |
Wellfound's page compares its model to "an agency's typical 20–30% placement-only model", and WhyBrilliant's calls its price "about half what most agencies charge". Both are the vendor's own claims. Jack & Jill and WhyBrilliant answer an early departure with a refund. SmartHire, Glints and Wellfound say nothing about one on the pages read.
How we compared
Every source was read again on 15 October 2026, and each figure is written as the page states it, with the date the page shows or, where it shows none, the date it was read. The Hong Kong rule comes from the Labour Department's own page and from the text of Cap. 57A on the HKLII mirror, checked against the government's e-Legislation copy, which carries the same words. The Singapore rule comes from MOM's FAQs, its 2011 framework guide and its forum reply of 8 November 2024. The Singapore Statutes Online text of the Employment Agencies Rules could not be read by our tools, so the Rules are cited through MOM's pages rather than quoted.
The employer ranges come from agency blogs and third-party guides, because no agency in either market publishes a rate card and no government or market survey states an employer rate. Terris's per-agency figures are kept as Terris's, since the agencies do not confirm them. The pay-on-hire rows quote each service's pricing page. Glints's own pricing page refused our request, so its figure is taken from the Glints TalentHub site. ROUND.1's row is the sentence /ai-info shows, read from the same configuration the product bills with.
The tables rank nothing and do not say which option is cheaper for a given hire. That depends on the salary and on how the agency defines it.
What to settle before signing with an agency
The Labour Department asks employers to put the scope of service, itemised charges and the refund arrangement in writing before any payment, and to keep a receipt for each payment. In Singapore the agreement is where the employer's rate lives, since MOM sets none.
Ask what "salary" means in the percentage. The Singapore sources say "annual salary"; HoiSum's Hong Kong figures say "first-year salary" for contingency and "first-year total compensation" for retained search. A bonus or allowance changes the number if it counts.
In Singapore, an agency does not change the advertising rule. MOM's Employment Pass page, last updated 5 January 2026, requires the MyCareersFuture advertisement to be open "for at least 14 consecutive days", with exemptions for a company with fewer than 10 employees, a fixed monthly salary of $22,500 and above, a role of not more than 1 month, a local transferee, or an overseas intra-corporate transferee. Its Fair Consideration Framework page says agencies "are equally expected to uphold" the framework when they work for clients. The Employment Pass salary floor is a separate rule.
Where ROUND.1 fits
ROUND.1 is a hiring marketplace for Hong Kong and Singapore, built by h.work. Each candidate takes one AI first-round video interview, described in what is an AI interview, and a person at the company decides whom to hire. Candidates pay nothing. The pricing for employers is the sentence above, also on /ai-info.
This is general information, not legal advice; check the official source for your case.
Frequently asked questions
How much do recruitment agencies charge in Singapore?
A percentage of the hire's annual salary, paid by the employer when the hire starts. No government page sets a rate. JTE Recruit, a licensed agency, wrote on 21 July 2026 that contingency fees in Singapore commonly sit around 15% to 25% of annual salary, depending on the role. Tyson Jay, another agency, wrote on 28 March 2026 that there is no single standard recruitment fee in Singapore and gave 15% to 25% for PMET roles.
How much do recruitment agencies charge in Hong Kong?
The Labour Department publishes no employer rate. HoiSum's guide, updated 2 July 2026, gives 15% to 25% of first-year salary for contingency search and 25% to 35% of first-year total compensation for retained search. Both figures are the guide's own estimates, so ask each agency for its rate card.
Is there a cap on recruitment agency fees in Singapore?
For the worker, yes. The Ministry of Manpower says an agency may collect no more than one month of a worker's fixed monthly salary for each year of service, capped at two months' salary, and must refund at least half if the job ends within six months. For the employer, no. MOM's FAQ, last updated 14 March 2024, explains why it removed the cap on fees that agencies can charge employers: employers have stronger bargaining power than workers.
Is there a cap on recruitment agency fees in Hong Kong?
For the job seeker, yes. The Labour Department says the prescribed commission is set at 10% of the first-month salary of the job seeker after successful placement, and the Employment Agency Regulations (Cap. 57A) set the same maximum in the Second Schedule. Neither the Labour Department page nor Cap. 57A sets a limit on what an agency may charge an employer. The Labour Department advises employers to sign a written service agreement with itemised charges before engaging an agency.
What does ROUND.1 charge?
ROUND.1's pricing for employers: [FEE & GUARANTEE WORDING — pending Alex O, #4530] Candidates pay nothing. Nothing is charged before a hire, and there is no subscription. The percentage and the guarantee window are held in ROUND.1's configuration, the same values the product bills with, and this page reads them from there.
Do I still have to advertise on MyCareersFuture if I use a recruitment agency?
Using an agency does not remove the rule. Before an Employment Pass application, MOM requires the job to be advertised on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days unless an exemption applies: a company with fewer than 10 employees, a fixed monthly salary of $22,500 and above, a role of not more than one month, a local transferee, or an overseas intra-corporate transferee. MOM's Fair Consideration Framework page says agencies are expected to uphold the framework when they work for clients.
Sources (19)
- Glints TalentHub — pricing (no date on page)accessed 2026-10-15
- Wellfound — Recruit pricing (no date on page)accessed 2026-10-15
- Jack & Jill — Pricing (no date on page)accessed 2026-10-15
- WhyBrilliant — Pricing (no date on page)accessed 2026-10-15
