Free decision tool
Which hiring approach fits your situation?
Startups arrive here in very different places: one urgent role, a whole first team, or a requirement nobody has written down yet. Answer a few questions and we will point you at the part of this site that is actually useful to you — and tell you why.
About two minutes
Five multiple-choice questions. Answer two and a suggestion appears straight away.
No hidden scoring
A short set of readable rules, and the result explains itself in plain English.
Stays in your browser
No account, no cookies, nothing stored and nothing sent to us unless you choose to get in touch.
Points both ways
If a traditional one-off fee suits you better, the result says so rather than pretending otherwise.
Five short questions
0 of 5 answered
Answer what you can — a suggestion appears as soon as you have answered two. Nothing is sent to us and nothing is saved.
Your suggestion
Answer two questions to see a suggestion
It appears here, with the reasoning written out in full. There is no score and no hidden model — just a short set of rules applied to what you selected.
This is a signpost to the right tool on this website, based only on what you selected. It is not advice, not a quote and not a recommendation that the SUS model is the cheapest or best option for your company — it is not always cheaper, and it does not suit every business. Actual commercial terms are agreed with you individually in writing.
Related reading
Guides from the resource hub that cover the thinking behind this page. Each one is written by us and reviewed before publication.
- Team planning
Single hire vs team hiring: planning cost and sequencing
When to run one search at a time and when to plan a team, how sequencing changes cash and interview load, and how to phase multiple roles sensibly.8 min read · Reviewed 15 August 2026 - Hiring strategy
When not to hire
The cases where a permanent hire is the wrong answer, the alternatives worth testing first, and the signals that a role is genuinely ready.5 min read · Reviewed 15 August 2026 - Recruitment models
Recruitment fee models compared
Contingent, retained, embedded, in-house and monthly recruitment models compared on cash timing, risk, control and where each one genuinely fits.8 min read · Reviewed 15 August 2026
Prefer to go straight there?
- Rate calculatorModel one hire and see the crossover against a traditional fee.
- Hiring brief builderTurn a rough requirement into a brief people can act on.
- How it worksThe five steps, the leaver terms and where the model does not fit.
- SUS vs traditionalAn honest comparison of the two fee models.
- Hiring readiness checkNine questions on whether you are ready to hire, and what to fix first.
- Hiring resourcesGuides on costs, briefs, interviews and team planning.
- Arrange a conversationTalk it through with a person instead.