Cost calculator
What does a sales lead cost in Switzerland?
Salary is the smaller half of the bill. Bonus, employer contributions, recruiting and the workplace come on top — and so do the months the seat stays empty. The calculator puts both side by side.
What the calculation covers
It covers the first year, because that is where the difference is decided: a hire carries one-off costs for the search and the ramp-up, a retainer does not. Every assumption is listed under the calculator and can be checked.
Share of base salary
Permanent hire, year 1
- Base salary
- CHF 155,000
- Bonus and commission
- CHF 23,250
- Employer contributions Swiss social insurance and pension
- CHF 32,085
- Recruitment
- CHF 34,100
- Workplace and tools Hardware, licences, expenses
- CHF 4,800
Total cost in year oneCHF 249,235
Mandate, year 1
- Monthly retainer CHF 2,500 · 12 months
- CHF 30,000
- Bonus and commission
- none
- Employer contributions
- none
- Recruitment
- none
- Workplace and tools
- none
Total cost in year oneCHF 30,000
Your saving in year one
CHF 219,235
that is 88% less
Cost per percent of a full role
CHF 2,492CHF 1,500
The fair comparison: even adjusted for equal working time the mandate stays cheaper, because contributions and recruitment fall away.
Time to impact
3 to 6 months to hire, then onboarding2 weeks to start, first opportunities from week 4
If it doesn't work out
Notice period, the search starts againCancellable monthly
How this is calculated
Salary ranges follow Swiss salary comparisons for 2026. Employer contributions are calculated at 18 percent of gross salary, the usual employer share across Swiss social insurance and occupational pension. Agency placement at 22 percent of the annual base salary; in-house search at a flat CHF 6,000 for advertising and internal effort. Workplace at CHF 4,800 per year. The mandate retainer is CHF 2,500 per month for one day a week (20 percent) and scales linearly with the commitment. All other figures are indicative and do not replace a quote.
How the retainer works
What the retainer includes, how quickly it becomes operational and what it does not cover is on the home page.