Time to Fill Calculator
Updated August 2026 · Free · No sign-up
Calculate time to fill and time to hire — the recruiting speed KPIs — plus the vacancy cost that makes slow hiring a finance problem, not just an HR one.
Quick answer: Time to fill = days from job requisition opening to offer acceptance. Benchmarks: ~36-44 days average across industries; engineering and healthcare run 50-70+. Every vacant day costs roughly the role's daily revenue contribution or 1-2× daily salary.
Time to Fill vs Time to Hire (Different Questions)
| Metric | Clock | Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Time to fill | Requisition open → offer accepted | Business impact: how long the seat stays empty |
| Time to hire | Candidate enters pipeline → offer accepted | Process speed: how fast you move a person through |
| Time to start | Req open → first day | Adds notice periods — the seat's true empty duration |
Long fill + short hire = a sourcing problem (nobody in the funnel). Short fill + long hire = a process problem (candidates stuck in interview loops). The distinction decides what you fix.
Worked Examples
Example 1. Req opened March 1, offer accepted April 18: 48 days to fill. Candidate applied March 20 → 29 days to hire — the first 19 days were sourcing lag.
Example 2 — vacancy cost. An $85,000 role vacant 48 days: conservative cost = daily salary ($327) × 48 ≈ $15,700 of undone work — before overtime for coverage (see overtime percentage), team slowdown, and manager backfill time. Revenue roles: use revenue per employee ÷ working days instead, which typically triples the figure.
Benchmarks by Function
| Function | Typical time to fill |
|---|---|
| Retail / hourly operations | 14-30 days |
| Corporate / G&A | 30-45 days |
| Sales | 35-50 days |
| Engineering | 50-70 days |
| Healthcare specialists / niche | 70-120+ days |
Where the Days Actually Go (Stage Audit)
Instrument the pipeline stages and the bottleneck reveals itself: req approval (3-10 days of internal sign-offs before sourcing even starts), sourcing lag, recruiter screen scheduling, hiring-manager review SLAs (resumes sitting 5 days in an inbox), interview loop scheduling (the classic killer — calendar Tetris across 4-6 interviewers), debrief-to-decision gaps, and offer approval chains. Most organizations lose more days to internal waiting than to candidate availability.
Compressing Time to Fill
- Pre-approved reqs and comp bands: the 10 pre-sourcing days are pure administrative waste.
- Interview loops in ≤5 business days: block standing interview slots weekly; batch panels into single days.
- 24-hour SLAs at every human handoff: resume review, debrief, offer approval — measured and reported.
- Evergreen pipelines for repeat roles: roles hired 3+ times a year should never start sourcing from zero.
- Watch the quality guardrails: speed gains that tank the offer acceptance rate or 90-day retention (see retention rate) are just moving the cost downstream — pair the speed KPI with cost per hire and quality metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is time to fill?
Days from requisition opening to offer acceptance — the business-impact metric for how long a seat stays empty. Average across industries: ~36-44 days.
What is the difference between time to fill and time to hire?
Time to fill starts at req opening (includes sourcing lag); time to hire starts when the candidate enters the pipeline (pure process speed).
What is a good time to fill?
30-45 days for corporate roles; engineering 50-70; hourly roles 14-30. Trend and stage-level breakdown matter more than the single number.
How much does a vacant position cost?
Conservatively 1-2× daily salary per vacant day; revenue-generating roles cost their daily revenue contribution — a 48-day engineering vacancy commonly exceeds $15-40k.
How do I reduce time to fill?
Pre-approved reqs and comp bands, interview loops compressed to one week, 24-hour handoff SLAs, and evergreen pipelines for repeat roles.
Where do most hiring days get lost?
Internal waiting: approval chains, resumes sitting unreviewed, and interview scheduling — usually more than candidate-side delays.
✓ Formula verified • Last updated: August 20, 2026