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PricingAug 18, 2026·6 min read
Recruiting agency vs. AI screening: an honest comparison
Agencies still send you a shortlist you must interview. The difference is what you pay for it and how fast it arrives.
The pitch for an agency is that they take hiring off your plate. In practice they take sourcing off your plate. You still read the shortlist, run the interviews, and make the call.
Side by side
- Cost: agency 15–25% of salary vs $1 per screened applicant
- Speed: 3–6 weeks to a shortlist vs a few days
- Reach: an agency's existing network vs 200+ boards in 50+ countries
- Evidence: a summarised CV vs a video of the person answering your questions
- Who decides: you, in both cases
When an agency is still the right call
Executive search, roles requiring discreet outreach to employed candidates, and highly regulated positions still benefit from a human recruiter with a relationship network. For operational roles at volume, the economics do not hold up.
The middle ground does not exist any more
Paying thousands for a process whose main deliverable is a list is hard to justify when the same list arrives pre-screened on video for the price of a coffee.