Falnor / Tools
Automation vs hiring calculator
Should you hire someone for this work or build a system to do it? Enter what the hire would cost in full and what the build and running would cost. See the total over time and the month where automating becomes the cheaper choice. Free, no sign-up.
Book a discovery callThe hire
Employer taxes, pension, benefits, equipment, space. Planning rules often use 25% to 40%.
Agency fee, advertising, time spent interviewing.
If it fills half a week, only half the hire is counted.
The automation
Hosting, usage fees, upkeep, someone checking it.
The starting numbers are examples to show how the tool works. Replace every one with your own.
Which costs less
Check this £130,200 difference with usOver 36 months
Automating costs £130,200 less
Automating is the cheaper total from month 4.
Hire, a month
£4,550
£54,600 a year fully loaded.
Automation, a month
£600
After a £15,000 build.
Total hire cost, 36 months
£166,800
Total automation cost, 36 months
£36,600
Worth checking against the real work
A 30-minute discovery call goes through these inputs with you, checks them against how the work really runs, and tells you plainly if it is not worth building. Your numbers are filled in for you.
Total cost over time
- Hire
- Automate
Where the lines cross is the point automating becomes the cheaper total. This compares cost only. A person can handle judgement calls and change that a system cannot, and a system works every hour without cover for leave. Many teams do both. This is an estimate from the numbers you enter, not a quote. Real projects differ once the work is mapped.
Count the whole cost of the hire
A salary is not what a hire costs. Add employer taxes, pension and benefits, equipment and space, and the cost of finding the person. Workforce planning often uses a multiplier of about 1.25 to 1.4 times base pay for the total, so the starting value here is 30 percent on top. Use your own payroll figures if you have them.
Count the whole cost of the automation
The build is the visible part. Add what it costs to run each month, including hosting, usage fees and upkeep when a connected tool changes, and the time of someone who checks its work and handles exceptions. That last item never reaches zero, so set it honestly.
The part most comparisons skip: how much of the role the work fills
Automation usually takes a slice of several jobs, not a whole job. If the work would fill only half of a new hire's week, only half of the hire is a fair cost for this work. The share field does that. The reverse also holds: if automating covers only part of the task, a person is still needed for the rest.
What the result does not tell you
- It compares cost only. People handle judgement and change. Systems work every hour, without cover for leave.
- Hiring is often the better choice when the work varies a lot, depends on relationships, or you need capacity now and the process is still changing.
- Many teams do both: automate the repetitive volume, then see whether the hire is still needed.
Related reading
For the wider choice between working with a specialist and building in-house, see automation agency or in-house. To test the automation side on its own, use the automation return on investment calculator.
Sources
Questions people ask
How much does a new hire cost on top of salary?
Often 25 to 40 percent more once employer taxes, benefits, equipment and overheads are counted. This is a planning rule, not a fixed number. Your payroll provider can give your actual figure.
Does automation replace the person?
Rarely a whole role. It takes the repetitive part of the work. Use the share field to say how much of a role the work would fill.
What if the lines never cross?
Then hiring is cheaper for the period you chose. That is a valid answer. Try a longer period, or check whether the running cost or build cost has been set too high.
Are the starting numbers real averages?
No. They are examples so the page shows a result straight away. Replace every one with your own figures.
Is this a quote?
No. It is an estimate from what you enter. A real project is priced once the work has been mapped.