Compare · vs a recruiting agency

Half the fee. And we'll tell you when an agency is the better call.

A contingency agency charges 20–30% of first-year base. We charge 10%, due only on hire, refunded in full if they leave inside 90 days. That does not make us right for every search.

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until you hire: €0
of first-year base: 10%
full-refund window: 90 days
data processing: EU

The honest version

When an agency wins.

Choose the alternative when

You are hiring at board or C-level, where the consultant's personal network genuinely IS the product and a pool cannot substitute for it.
The role is so scarce that nobody is on the market and the only route is patient, targeted headhunting over months.
You need someone physically in the room — sitting with the team, managing a long process, handling the politics of a sensitive replacement.

Choose us when

You are hiring engineering, product, sales or ops in a 20–200 person company, where candidates exist and the problem is finding and screening them.
You want the reasoning behind every shortlist, not a consultant's assurance that they are good.
You are not willing to pay 25% or sign a retainer for a search that might not work out.

Side by side

What actually differs.

WhyBrilliant — Recruiting agency
	WhyBrilliant	Recruiting agency
Fee	10% of first-year base	20–30% of first-year base
When you pay	On hire only	On hire, often with a retainer up front
If the hire leaves early	Full refund inside 90 days, in cash	Usually a replacement search, not money back
Exclusivity	None. Keep every other channel running	Often requested, sometimes required
Who screens	Every candidate given a structured interview by our AI recruiter, every profile cleared by a person	Depends on the consultant and how busy they are
Capacity	Every role worked at once	Your search competes with their other mandates
Where the shortlist lands	Exported into your own ATS, source-attributed	Email, usually

Fee
WhyBrilliant
10% of first-year base
Recruiting agency
20–30% of first-year base
When you pay
WhyBrilliant
On hire only
Recruiting agency
On hire, often with a retainer up front
If the hire leaves early
WhyBrilliant
Full refund inside 90 days, in cash
Recruiting agency
Usually a replacement search, not money back
Exclusivity
WhyBrilliant
None. Keep every other channel running
Recruiting agency
Often requested, sometimes required
Who screens
WhyBrilliant
Every candidate given a structured interview by our AI recruiter, every profile cleared by a person
Recruiting agency
Depends on the consultant and how busy they are
Capacity
WhyBrilliant
Every role worked at once
Recruiting agency
Your search competes with their other mandates
Where the shortlist lands
WhyBrilliant
Exported into your own ATS, source-attributed
Recruiting agency
Email, usually

One role, both ways

A €70,000 role, both ways.

The fee difference on one mid-level hire is roughly the cost of a month of that person's salary — twice over.

Fee on hire
€7,000
€14,000 – €21,000
Owed if the search fails
€0
€0, or the retainer
Owed if they leave in month two
€0 — refunded
€14,000 – €21,000, replacement offered

An illustration on a €70,000 base salary, not a quote. Put your own numbers in the calculator.

Agency percentages are the published market range for contingency search in Germany.

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Before you decide

The questions we get.

Other comparisons

When an agency wins.

Twenty minutes, no preparation, no obligation.

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