# Attrition Replacement Cost Calculator

> Estimate what it costs to replace employees who leave: separation, recruiting, onboarding, the vacancy and the ramp-up period, per hire and in total.

Category: Salary, HR & payroll · Applies to: Worldwide · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/attrition-replacement-cost-calculator

Replacing a leaver costs more than the recruiter’s fee. This adds up the direct costs with the value lost while the role is empty and while the new hire gets up to speed, using figures you supply.

Also called: Turnover cost calculator, Cost of attrition calculator.

## Inputs
- Leavers to replace (unit people; default 10)
- Annual salary of the role (default 52000)
- Separation cost per leaver (default 500; optional)
- Recruiting cost per hire (default 4000; optional)
- Onboarding and training per hire (default 2500; optional)
- Working days the role is vacant (unit days; default 30; optional)
- Value lost per vacant day (unit % of daily pay; default 100; optional)
- Months to full productivity (unit months; default 3; optional)
- Average shortfall during ramp-up (unit %; default 50; optional)
- Working days per year (unit days; default 260)
- Currency

## Results
- Total replacement cost
- Cost per replacement
- Cost per replacement as % of salary
- Vacancy cost per replacement
- Ramp-up cost per replacement

## Formula

```
Per hire = Separation + Recruiting + Onboarding + Salary ÷ Working days × Vacant days × Lost% + Salary ÷ 12 × Ramp months × Shortfall%;  Total = Per hire × Leavers
```

Where:
- Lost%: value of lost output per vacant day as % of daily pay
- Shortfall%: average productivity gap of the new hire during ramp-up

## Worked example
1. Vacancy = 52,000 ÷ 260 × 30 × 100% = $6,000; ramp-up = 52,000 ÷ 12 × 3 × 50% = $6,500.
2. Per hire = 500 + 4,000 + 2,500 + 6,000 + 6,500 = $19,500 (37.5% of salary).
3. Total for 10 leavers = $195,000.

**Result:** With these assumptions each replacement costs about $19,500, so ten leavers cost $195,000.

## What the result means

Compare the total with what retention would cost: a pay adjustment, a manager-training programme or better onboarding often pays for itself if it prevents a few departures.

## Assumptions and limits
- All leavers are in similar roles and are replaced.
- Vacancy and ramp-up costs are valued from salary using the percentages you enter.
- Published “percentage of salary” rules of thumb vary widely; this calculator uses only your own inputs and does not apply any benchmark.

## Questions

### Why value the vacancy at salary?

It is a simple, conservative proxy for lost output. If you pay overtime or temps to cover, enter that cost as a percentage of daily pay instead.

### Should I include lost customers or morale?

Those can be real but are hard to measure. Add a figure to separation cost only if you can justify it.

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Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/attrition-replacement-cost-calculator