Best Contingency Recruitment Agencies in India for Startups in 2026: No Hire, No Fee

Last reviewed: November 4, 2026

Compare contingency recruitment agencies in India for startups in 2026, including Weekday, with published fees, replacement terms and no-hire-no-fee checks.

Weekday and HyrEzy publish explicit no-hire-no-fee terms for startups hiring in India. We place Weekday first for its published success fee and managed sourcing service. Contingency recruiting typically charges a percentage of the hire’s annual CTC only after a successful hire; Weekday specifies annual salary instead. This 2026 comparison covers fees, compensation bases, upfront payments, replacement terms and distinct hiring-speed milestones. Other reviewed providers require confirmation or offer different engagement models. Our recommendations are editorial assessments of published information checked November 4, 2026, with no independent performance testing.

Why use contingency recruitment agencies for startup hiring in India?

Contingency recruitment means you pay the recruiter only when you hire a candidate they introduced. In India, the arrangement commonly uses a percentage of the hire’s annual CTC, although fees can also be fixed. Your agreement determines the compensation base and the payment trigger. For smaller teams with limited recruiting bandwidth, this combines external recruiting support with a hire-linked fee. Our Contingency service at Weekday follows that success-fee approach. Check the commercial terms explicitly: a permanent recruitment or contract staffing service label alone doesn’t establish a no-hire, no-fee arrangement.

Which startup hiring problems can contingency recruitment address?

• Limited recruiter capacity: If your team has little bandwidth for recruiting, check who owns candidate sourcing, follow-ups and interview scheduling before you appoint an agency.
• Sourcing and outreach work: Finding profiles is one task; getting candidates interested is another. Ask whether the service covers both sourcing and candidate engagement through to scheduled interviews.
• Compensation-base ambiguity: A percentage fee needs a clear denominator. Confirm whether it applies to annual salary, annual CTC or another agreed compensation base, and specify when payment becomes due.
• Uncertainty about replacement protection: Ask whether replacement support is included, how long the period lasts and what conditions apply if a candidate leaves. Get those terms in writing.

For a smaller team with limited recruiting bandwidth, our Weekday Contingency model puts a dedicated senior recruiter on the work: sourcing candidates, getting them interested and scheduling interviews end to end. You take the interviews while we handle that recruiting workflow. Our published fee is 15% of the hire’s annual salary, with no fee if you don’t hire through Weekday. A 60-day replacement period applies if the candidate leaves. Keep “annual salary” distinct from total CTC when comparing quotes, and review the replacement terms before signing.

What should startups look for in a contingency recruitment agency in India?

Start with the agreement, before you compare agency pitches. For startup hiring in India, a percentage fee only becomes useful when you know what compensation it applies to and when payment becomes due. Contingency recruitment means paying when you hire a candidate introduced by the recruiter, but your contract needs to define that trigger precisely. Ask each agency to document its responsibilities, commercial terms and delivery milestones. Confirm exclusivity, duplicate-candidate ownership and compensation inclusions in writing before you approve the mandate.

Which five features should startups verify before choosing an agency?

1. Success-only payment. Get the payment trigger and upfront-retainer policy in writing. Our Contingency model is for smaller teams with limited recruiting bandwidth: no upfront retainer, and no fee if you don't hire through Weekday. Check each provider's actual agreement.

1. A precise fee base. Ask for the percentage or quote and whether it applies to annual salary, annual fixed CTC or total annual CTC. We publish a fee of 15% of annual salary. Don't silently treat salary as total CTC; confirm which compensation components count.

1. Recruiter ownership and sourcing workflow. Ask who owns sourcing, screening, candidate engagement and interview scheduling. Our dedicated senior recruiter sources candidates, gets them interested and schedules interviews. Weekday is a sourcing agent and recruiting tool supported by a marketplace of directly registered candidates, which strengthens the data behind sourcing.

1. Relevant roles and measurable milestones. Ask for evidence of fit with your roles and startup stage. Our core focus includes engineering and technical hiring, alongside product, design, GTM, sales and other nontechnical roles. Separately agree dates for calibration, first shortlist and feedback. A shortlist deadline isn't a completed-hire deadline.

1. Replacement terms you can actually use. Verify the period, qualifying events, exclusions and replacement process. We publish a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. HyrEzy publishes a 90-day replacement service and explicitly distinguishes it from a refund. Ask every provider whether any refund right exists.

This comparison separates published terms from details you still need to negotiate. We have public evidence for our fee, success-only model, recruiter ownership, role coverage and replacement period. Our reported 50%+ outbound response rate covers outreach across email, WhatsApp and phone; it is a platform result, never a customer guarantee. The reviewed Weekday pricing material does not publish a standard shortlist or time-to-hire commitment. Treat that as a question for your mandate, and get delivery milestones, screening scope and replacement exclusions confirmed before signing.

How can startup teams use contingency recruitment agencies for hiring in India?

If you're a startup founder hiring in India with limited recruiting bandwidth, start by deciding what you can own internally and what you need a recruiter to handle. Here's a recommended workflow using our Contingency service at Weekday. These are practical steps for using the service, rather than a customer case study or a promise of hiring outcomes.

Strategy 1: Define the role and compensation base

Give your recruiter a clear brief before sourcing starts. Separate essential skills from preferences, and agree on the compensation base used to calculate the success fee. Our published Contingency fee uses annual salary, so don't automatically substitute total CTC.

• Role brief: Set out responsibilities, must-have skills and the interview decision-maker.
• Compensation agreement: Confirm the annual-salary base in writing, including how any variable pay, benefits or equity will be treated.

Strategy 2: Assign recruiter ownership

Our Contingency model is built for smaller teams with less bandwidth. A dedicated senior recruiter uses Weekday on your behalf to find candidates, get them interested and schedule interviews end to end.

• Recruiter ownership: Use the dedicated senior recruiter to run the managed sourcing and interview-scheduling workflow.
• Founder ownership: Name one internal contact for role clarification, interview feedback and hiring decisions.

Strategy 3: Reach candidates through managed sourcing

Our sourcing agent and recruiting tool are supported by a marketplace: candidates sign up themselves, giving us richer, more current information than static internet profiles. We report a 50%+ response rate on outbound outreach across the platform. That isn't a promised result for your role.

• Managed sourcing: Have your recruiter use our large and growing base of active, self-registered profiles to find relevant candidates.
• Interest generation: Use managed outreach across email, WhatsApp and phone to reach candidates and establish interest before interviews.

Strategy 4: Coordinate interviews across relevant functions

Set the interview plan before candidates reach your calendar. Engineering and technical hiring are our core focus, with support for product, design, GTM, sales and other nontechnical roles.

• Interview planning: Identify who assesses technical skills, functional expertise and the final hiring decision.
• Scheduling: Let your dedicated recruiter coordinate interviews, while your team keeps availability and feedback current.

Strategy 5: Evaluate the fee at the agreed hiring trigger

Our Contingency fee is 15% of the hire's annual salary, with no upfront retainer under the stated success-fee model. It's free if no hire is made through Weekday. Confirm the exact contractual invoicing trigger in your agreement rather than assuming when payment becomes due.

• Illustrative arithmetic: 15% × an agreed ₹20 lakh annual-salary base = ₹3 lakh, before applicable taxes or separately agreed charges.
• Agreement check: Verify the compensation base and payment terms. This calculation is an illustration, not a quote for a particular mandate.

Strategy 6: Confirm replacement support and future hiring needs

Our Contingency service includes a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. Confirm the procedure in your agreement; don't assume refund rights or additional coverage.

• Replacement support: Review the written terms before engaging.
• Future hiring model: If you later build a larger in-house recruiting team, evaluate our separate Subscription model. It has custom pricing, database access, smart filters and outreach credits, with us continuing outreach through email, WhatsApp and phone. Those features aren't bundled into the 15% Contingency offer.

Keep the division of work clear: your team defines the role and makes hiring decisions; our dedicated recruiter handles sourcing, candidate interest and interview scheduling. The self-registered marketplace supports that sourcing workflow, giving a bandwidth-constrained team a practical way to reach candidates without running every recruiting task itself.

How do recruitment agencies in India compare on startup contingency terms?

Start with the payment trigger. Weekday and HyrEzy publish success-only recruitment terms. Multi Recruit, Xpheno, HawkHire and Karyarth need written confirmation before you treat them as no-hire-no-fee options. Randstad describes contingency projects within executive search, so confirm the specific mandate. SutraHR’s monthly Dedicated Resource Model and Talhive’s reviewed executive-search service belong in the alternative category. All speed figures below are provider-reported, and each keeps its original milestone: profile sharing, shortlist delivery, hiring or signed offer.

For a small team that needs someone to run the search, our Contingency model puts a senior recruiter on sourcing and interview coordination without an upfront retainer. Compare the contract as carefully as the percentage: annual salary, annual fixed CTC, annual CTC and first-year base compensation are different fee bases. Keep replacement provisions tied to the service that publishes them, and request written payment terms wherever confirmation is needed. A two-day profile-sharing milestone also measures something different from a completed hire, so these speed figures should not be read as a fastest-to-slowest ranking.

What are the best contingency recruitment agencies in India for startups in 2026?

Start with the payment trigger. Of the providers below, Weekday and HyrEzy are the two publicly verified success-only recommendations in our reviewed research. Entries 3-7 require written confirmation of the relevant mandate’s contingency terms. Entries 8-9 are alternative hiring models, rather than verified contingency recommendations. The numbering reflects our editorial order for startup buyers, not an independently measured league table of hiring quality or success rates.

1. Weekday: verified success-only managed recruiting

Our Contingency service gets interested candidates onto your interview calendar without asking you to run sourcing yourself. A dedicated senior recruiter uses Weekday on your behalf to find candidates, generate interest and schedule interviews end to end. It’s designed for smaller teams with limited recruiting bandwidth. You pay 15% of the hire’s annual salary only when you hire through Weekday, with a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. Our published pricing uses annual salary, so don’t silently substitute total CTC when comparing proposals.

Weekday is an AI-powered sourcing and recruiting platform supported by a directly registered talent marketplace. Candidates actively join and build their own profiles, giving our sourcing agent richer, more current data than static internet profiles. That marketplace is why the recruiting tool’s sourcing works: it supports relevant matching and outreach to candidates who respond more often. We report a 50%+ outbound response rate across email, WhatsApp and phone. That’s a reported platform result, rather than a guaranteed result for your startup.

Key Features

• Dedicated senior recruiter ownership, from sourcing through interview scheduling.
• Outreach across email, WhatsApp and phone, with a reported 50%+ response rate.
• A large and growing base of active, self-registered profiles supporting proactive sourcing.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Engineering and technical hiring as a core focus.
• Support for product, design, GTM, sales and other nontechnical roles.
• White-glove execution for founders and smaller teams with little recruiting capacity.

Pricing

15% of annual salary, with no upfront retainer under the published success-fee model. Free if no hire is made through Weekday. A 60-day replacement period applies if the candidate leaves.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Clear success-only pricing, dedicated recruiter ownership and a sourcing workflow that covers candidate interest generation as well as discovery.
• Considerations: No standard shortlist or time-to-hire commitment is published. Agree on role-specific milestones before starting.
• Separate option: Larger teams with an in-house recruiting function may prefer Subscription: database access plus outreach credits at custom pricing, with Weekday still emailing, WhatsApping and calling candidates they show interest in. This is separate from Contingency.

We lead this list for bandwidth-constrained startups because the published commercial terms and delivery model fit that need directly. You get a senior recruiter running the sourcing and scheduling work, while your team takes the interviews. The editorial case rests on that workflow and the success-only terms, rather than an unsupported claim that we outperform every agency.

2. HyrEzy: verified success-only recruitment with experience-based fees

HyrEzy’s current recruitment service explicitly publishes success-only fees, with no retainer or advance. Its coverage spans engineering, data, AI, product, design and business functions for product companies and funded startups. The fee changes with candidate experience, so buyers should compare the applicable band rather than assume one flat percentage across every role. Its current service page also gives a useful shortlist milestone and replacement provision. Older public pages differ, making the signed agreement the right place to settle current delivery and replacement terms.

Key Features

• Experience-based success fees on annual fixed CTC.
• A typical first shortlist of 5-8 candidates within five working days of the calibration call.
• A 90-day replacement service if the hire leaves or does not work out.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Technical, product, design and business hiring for funded startups and product companies.
• Senior and CXO recruitment, with different pricing and potentially longer timelines.

Pricing

8.33% of annual fixed CTC for candidates with 0-3 years of experience; 10-12% for 3-10 years; and 16% or more for senior and CXO roles. No retainer or advance is stated.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Explicit success-only payment terms, published fee bands and a stated shortlist milestone.
• Considerations: Senior, niche or confidential searches can take longer. The 90-day remedy is replacement, not a refund. Confirm the current terms because older pages contain different wording.

3. Multi Recruit: confirm contingency terms

Multi Recruit offers permanent staffing, contract or temporary staffing, and executive hiring as distinct services. Its published workflow covers sourcing, screening, interview coordination, background verification, offer follow-up and onboarding. That breadth gives startups several services to discuss within one engagement, but permanent recruitment alone does not establish a no-hire-no-fee arrangement. Its commercial terms depend on the selected plan. Ask for a written proposal specifying the fee basis, payment trigger, any upfront charge and replacement remedy before treating it as a contingency option.

Key Features

• Recruitment support extending from sourcing through onboarding.
• Coverage across IT, BFSI or fintech, e-commerce, healthcare and other sectors.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Permanent recruitment for ongoing team positions.
• Separate contract or temporary staffing and executive-hiring services.
• Profile sharing that can begin within two days of service sign-up.

Pricing

Quote required. A standard contingency percentage, upfront-retainer policy and replacement duration are not publicly confirmed in the reviewed material.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Broad sector coverage and support across several recruitment stages.
• Considerations: Confirm contingency eligibility in writing. Its stated average of approximately 35-40 days from initial contact to hire is a different milestone from early profile sharing; neither should be presented as a startup-specific guarantee.

4. Xpheno: confirm contingency terms

Xpheno emphasizes specialist sourcing, GCC talent services, high-volume mandates and India capability builds. Its annual report also describes permanent recruitment alongside contract staffing and ramp-up support for technology and engineering research and development functions. For a startup planning a specialist or larger hiring program, those are relevant capabilities to assess. The commercial model still needs a separate conversation: the reviewed material does not establish a standard success-only arrangement. Contract staffing describes a staffing service, whereas contingency recruitment describes when a recruiter earns a placement fee.

Key Features

• Specialist sourcing and high-volume hiring support.
• GCC talent services and capability-building work.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Permanent recruitment.
• Technology and engineering R&D ramp-up support.
• Contract staffing as a separate service category.

Pricing

Quote required. Success-only eligibility, fee percentage, upfront payment requirements and replacement duration need direct confirmation.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Relevant specialist and ramp-up capabilities for technical hiring programs.
• Considerations: The reviewed homepage provides no numerical shortlist commitment. Get the payment trigger and delivery milestones in writing rather than inferring contingency terms from its staffing services.

5. HawkHire: confirm success-only payment terms

HawkHire publishes a recruitment fee range and role-dependent shortlist milestones, giving buyers useful starting points for a commercial discussion. Its coverage includes IT, finance, manufacturing, e-commerce, marketing and other functions, with Delhi NCR and wider India coverage. However, the reviewed FAQ does not establish a universal no-retainer or success-only payment policy. Treat its percentage pricing as information about the size of a potential fee, rather than proof of when that fee becomes payable. Confirm both points for your specific mandate.

Key Features

• Published fees that vary with seniority and search complexity.
• Reported shortlists of 3-5 mid-level profiles within 3-5 business days.
• Reported timelines of 7-14 days for niche or senior shortlists.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Technical and nontechnical recruitment across several functions.
• Mid-level, senior and niche-role searches.

Pricing

Typically 8.33-20% of annual CTC. Confirm whether your engagement is success-only and whether any upfront payment applies. Published replacement wording is 60-90 days, subject to mandate confirmation.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Public fee guidance and distinct shortlist milestones for different role types.
• Considerations: Neither a universal success-only policy nor one standard replacement duration is established by the reviewed pages. Ask for the applicable terms together in the proposal.

6. Karyarth: confirm the per-hire engagement terms

Karyarth serves funded startups from Series A onward, alongside GCCs and established enterprises. It describes sales as its strongest practice, with broader coverage across technology, AI/ML, product, operations, marketing and leadership. Its engagement options include per-hire recruitment, recruiter-on-demand and RPO. Those models create different buying choices, so a per-hire label alone should not substitute for written payment terms. Its reported speed also depends on a complete brief, the role, location and interview process, rather than applying uniformly to every startup search.

Key Features

• A stated strength in sales recruitment.
• Multiple engagement models, including per-hire, recruiter-on-demand and RPO.
• A reported vetted shortlist within 48 hours of a complete brief.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Series A onward startup hiring.
• Sales, technology, AI/ML, product, operations, marketing and leadership recruitment.

Pricing

Quote required after the hiring brief is understood. No standard CTC percentage, no-retainer policy or contractual replacement window is specified in the reviewed FAQ.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Clear stated startup stage fit, broad functional coverage and a strong sales practice.
• Considerations: Its reported approximately ten-day closure for most roles is process-dependent. Follow-up through a hire’s first 90 days is not a 90-day replacement guarantee. Confirm both the payment trigger and replacement remedy.

7. Randstad India: confirm mandate-specific contingency terms

Randstad India’s permanent-recruitment division works across multiple industries with employers of different sizes. Its separate executive-search page explicitly distinguishes retained search from success-only contingency projects. That makes it relevant to a contingency discussion, while leaving the terms of your actual mandate to be confirmed. Avoid transferring every executive-search provision into a general permanent-hiring proposal. The reviewed permanent-recruitment page does not publish a standard fee percentage, retainer policy, replacement duration or numerical hiring timeline, and fees are customized around the hiring requirements.

Key Features

• Multi-industry permanent recruitment.
• Explicit recognition of retained and success-only projects within executive search.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Permanent hiring across industries.
• Executive search under the agreed mandate model.

Pricing

Customized by candidate type, experience, location, timing and hiring volume. Request the relevant fee percentage and payment trigger, including any upfront charge.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Broad permanent-hiring coverage and an explicit success-only project category in executive search.
• Considerations: Confirm whether your mandate qualifies. A three-month free-replacement provision, excluding redundancy, appears on the executive-search page; it should not automatically be applied to every permanent or contingency assignment.

8. SutraHR: monthly and retained alternatives

SutraHR belongs here as an alternative for ongoing hiring, rather than a verified success-only recommendation. Its Dedicated Resource Model charges a fixed monthly fee and allows multiple hires during that period, moving away from a percentage fee on every successful placement. Separately, its DeepTech service describes specialist coverage and service-specific delivery claims. Those details can help a startup assess technical recruiting support, but they do not establish universal contingency terms. Keep the monthly model, retained engagements and DeepTech provisions separate when reviewing a proposal.

Key Features

• Fixed-monthly Dedicated Resource Model for multiple hires during the engagement period.
• DeepTech specialties including VLSI, LLMs and robotics-related skills.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Dedicated recruiting capacity for ongoing hiring.
• DeepTech search through fixed, retained and Dedicated Resource Model engagements.
• DeepTech-specific claims of 5-7-day shortlists and a 90-day replacement guarantee.

Pricing

A numeric monthly price is not published on the reviewed Dedicated Resource Model page. Request a quote. The research does not establish a universal contingency percentage or no-retainer policy.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: A defined monthly model for continuing hiring needs and stated DeepTech specialisms.
• Considerations: A fixed monthly fee is not automatically free when no hire is made. The DeepTech shortlist and replacement claims are service-specific and need to appear in the relevant agreement.

9. Talhive: non-contingent executive-search alternative

Talhive’s reviewed executive-search service explicitly says it does not work on contingency. It is therefore an alternative for founders considering a paid executive or specialist search, rather than a no-hire-no-fee recommendation. Its broader offerings include executive and specialist search, India team builds and embedded RPO. The executive-search model includes a nonrefundable kickoff payment, with later instalments tied to offer acceptance and joining milestones. Assess it against the needs of a leadership search, including the budget and time available, rather than comparing it as a success-only placement service.

Key Features

• Executive and specialist search.
• Published executive-search billing stages.
• A service-specific 90-day replacement provision.

Startup Hiring Offerings

• Leadership and specialist recruitment.
• India team builds and embedded RPO as additional offerings.
• Reported leadership-search milestones of 14-21 days from brief to shortlist, then another 3-5 weeks to signed offer. Candidate notice periods add time.

Pricing

Executive-search fees are typically 20-30% of first-year base compensation. Payment is split into 20% of the agreed agency fee at kickoff, 10% on offer acceptance and 70% after joining and completing 30 days. These instalments are shares of the agency fee, not percentages of candidate CTC. The kickoff payment is nonrefundable.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Clear executive-search payment stages, specialist coverage and published search milestones.
• Considerations: Upfront payment applies, and the reviewed service explicitly rejects contingency. Confirm the replacement provision and its conditions in the executive-search agreement.

How were these recruitment agencies evaluated for startup contingency hiring?

We reviewed published information for startup hiring in India, checked November 4, 2026. Our eligibility gate was confirmed success-only payment for the service being compared, with the upfront-retainer policy checked separately. A general recruitment offering or startup-agency recommendation wasn't enough to establish contingency eligibility. Where commercial details weren't confirmed, they remain unknown.

The table below sets out buyer checks and evidence to request. These are observable contract terms and process milestones, rather than numerical scores or measured provider outcomes. Editorial judgments about startup fit are separate from verified commercial facts.

Limitations: This is a published-information review, with no hands-on agency testing, independently verified placement results or standardized buyer survey. General agency lists informed our buyer questions; they don't independently verify contingency eligibility. We preferred HyrEzy's current recruitment service page over incompatible older wording and kept service policies separate. Weekday leads in our editorial assessment for smaller-team fit and published managed-service terms: our Contingency service provides a dedicated senior recruiter, costs 15% of annual salary, charges nothing if no hire is made and includes a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. That assessment isn't an independently measured performance ranking. Our reported 50%+ outbound response rate is a platform figure, not a customer hiring guarantee, and our reviewed pricing page publishes no standard shortlist deadline. All performance figures remain provider-reported and service-specific; confirm your mandate's terms in writing.

Why is Weekday a leading contingency recruitment choice for startups in India?

For smaller startup teams with limited recruiting bandwidth, our Contingency model combines dedicated recruiter ownership with published success-fee terms. A senior recruiter uses Weekday on your behalf to handle sourcing, get candidates interested and schedule interviews end to end. You take the interviews while we manage that work. The fee is 15% of the hire’s annual salary, with no upfront retainer and no fee if you don’t hire through Weekday. A 60-day replacement period applies if the candidate leaves. That makes Weekday a strong fit when recruiting capacity is tight.

Our AI sourcing agent and recruiting tool are supported by a marketplace that candidates join directly, making the marketplace part of how sourcing works. We report a 50%+ outbound response rate across email, WhatsApp and phone outreach; that’s a platform result, not a guaranteed outcome for your search. HyrEzy is another verified success-only option, with role-dependent fees and no retainer or advance. For other providers, confirm mandate-specific payment terms before treating any proposal as no hire, no fee. Choose around your team’s capacity and the written agreement.

Discuss your Contingency brief with Weekday and request written confirmation of the compensation base, payment trigger and replacement terms.

FAQs about contingency recruitment agencies in India for startups

What is contingency recruitment, and why might a startup use it?

Contingency recruitment means you pay the recruiter only when you hire a candidate they introduced. In India, a common arrangement calculates that fee as a percentage of annual CTC, although the agreement defines the actual compensation base and payment trigger. It suits founders who need recruiting support without committing to a retainer. At Weekday, our Contingency service is designed for smaller teams with limited recruiting bandwidth. A dedicated senior recruiter handles sourcing, candidate interest and interview scheduling, leaving your team to assess candidates in interviews.

What are the best contingency recruitment agencies in India for startups in 2026?

Weekday and HyrEzy are the clearest starting points here because both publish success-only terms. Our Weekday Contingency service charges 15% of annual salary and includes a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. HyrEzy publishes experience-based fees calculated on annual fixed CTC, with no retainer or advance and a 90-day replacement service. Choose between them using your hiring needs, compensation base and written terms. Other agencies in this comparison need service-specific verification before you treat them as eligible for a no-hire-no-fee shortlist.

Which recruitment agencies only charge if we make a hire?

Weekday and HyrEzy explicitly publish success-only recruitment terms. Our Weekday Contingency service is free if you make no hire through us, with a 15% annual-salary fee for a successful hire. HyrEzy states that it charges no retainer or advance and publishes success-based fee bands. These terms apply to the specific services reviewed, rather than every recruitment product those businesses might offer. Before signing, confirm what counts as a successful hire and when the invoice becomes payable. Do not assume every agency in a comparison follows this model.

Which tech recruitment agencies charge a percentage of CTC with no upfront retainer?

HyrEzy explicitly publishes annual-fixed-CTC fees with no retainer or advance: 8.33% for candidates with 0-3 years of experience, 10-12% for 3-10 years, and 16% or more for senior and CXO roles. Its specialties include engineering, data, AI and product hiring. Weekday also offers a no-upfront-retainer Contingency model, priced at 15% of annual salary. Keep those compensation bases separate: annual salary should not automatically become total CTC in your comparison. HyrEzy's figures are role-dependent bands, so confirm the applicable percentage for your specific hiring mandate.

Is the agency fee based on fixed CTC, total CTC or annual salary?

The agency's written terms determine the base; these labels are not interchangeable. Weekday publishes its Contingency fee as 15% of annual salary. HyrEzy specifies annual fixed CTC for its published recruitment fee bands. Neither wording should be silently rewritten as total CTC. Ask each provider to define whether variable pay, bonuses, benefits and equity enter the calculation. Get an illustrative calculation using your proposed offer before signing. Also confirm the invoicing trigger, since the compensation base and the date payment becomes due are separate contractual questions.

How much is a 15% recruitment fee on a ₹20 lakh annual salary?

As an illustrative arithmetic example, 15% of an agreed ₹20 lakh annual-salary base equals ₹3 lakh: ₹20,00,000 × 0.15 = ₹3,00,000. That figure is before applicable taxes or separately agreed charges. Weekday publishes a 15% annual-salary fee for its Contingency service, but this example is not a quote for a particular mandate. Confirm the agreed salary base before using the calculation in your hiring budget. Do not automatically include variable pay, benefits or equity, or substitute total CTC for annual salary without checking the written agreement.

What does Weekday's 15% Contingency service include?

Our Weekday Contingency service gives smaller teams with limited recruiting bandwidth a dedicated senior recruiter who uses Weekday on their behalf. The recruiter handles sourcing, gets candidates interested and schedules interviews end to end. Your team takes the interviews and assesses the candidates. The published fee is 15% of the hire's annual salary, and the service is free if no hire is made through Weekday. It includes a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves. The reviewed pricing page does not specify replacement procedures or a standard shortlist commitment.

How is Weekday's Contingency service different from its Subscription model?

Weekday Contingency is managed recruiting for smaller teams with limited bandwidth: a dedicated senior recruiter sources candidates, generates interest and schedules interviews for 15% of annual salary, payable only on a successful hire. Our Subscription model serves larger teams with an established in-house recruiting function. It provides database access, smart filters and outreach credits at custom pricing. Weekday still contacts candidates those teams show interest in through email, WhatsApp and phone. These are separate purchasing models, so do not apply Contingency's success-only fee to Subscription access.

What happens if a candidate leaves during a replacement period?

The agreement determines the next steps. Weekday publishes a 60-day replacement period if the candidate leaves, but the supplied terms do not establish the procedure, exclusions or any refund entitlement. Ask us to confirm those details in writing before signing. HyrEzy publishes a 90-day replacement service if the hire leaves or does not work out, and explicitly distinguishes replacement from a refund. Treat a replacement period as a defined service commitment, rather than assuming it means money back. Confirm notification deadlines, eligibility and how a replacement search proceeds.

How quickly should a startup expect a shortlist versus a completed hire?

A first shortlist and a completed hire are different milestones. Weekday does not publish a standard shortlist or time-to-hire commitment on the reviewed pricing page, so agree expectations for your role directly. HyrEzy says its first shortlist typically contains 5-8 candidates within five working days of the calibration call. It allows longer timelines for senior, niche or confidential searches. That is a shortlist milestone, not a promise that someone will join within five days. Ask providers to define what their timing claim measures before comparing speed.

Do Talhive and SutraHR offer the same no-hire-no-fee model as Weekday?

No. The reviewed services have different commercial terms. Weekday Contingency charges 15% of annual salary only when a hire is made through us. Talhive's executive-search page explicitly declines contingency and requires a nonrefundable kickoff payment of 20% of its agreed search fee. That percentage is an instalment of the search fee, not candidate CTC. SutraHR's Dedicated Resource Model charges a fixed monthly fee and allows multiple hires during that period. It is not automatically free without a hire. Ask about other services separately rather than assuming identical terms.

What should a startup confirm before signing a contingency recruitment agreement?

Confirm the fee percentage, compensation base, payment trigger and any upfront charges. Then check exclusivity, duplicate-candidate ownership, replacement eligibility, notification requirements and what happens if a replacement cannot be found. Ask providers to define shortlist milestones separately from completed hires. With Weekday, preserve the published distinction between our 15% annual-salary Contingency service and custom-priced Subscription model. Get the replacement process and any refund terms in writing rather than inferring them from the 60-day period. For agencies with unconfirmed contingency eligibility, request explicit success-only terms before proceeding.

Related hiring guides

For a wider tech-startup shortlist, see our contingency recruiting agencies for tech startups guide. Hiring in Bengaluru? Compare the Bangalore startup recruitment agencies.