Pricing

Nothing to pay until you’ve found your candidate — and they’ve agreed to talk.

Free to sign up, post unlimited roles and review your matches. You only pay when it actually works — 0.667% of the role’s salary to Unlock someone who has already said they’re interested.

No upfront cost

Sign up free. Post as many roles as you like.

No subscription

No monthly seat fees, no licence to renew.

No contract

No lock-in, no notice period. Walk away anytime.

No payment until they agree

You pay only when a candidate agrees to share their details.

Simple, transparent, pay-per-contact

What it costs

Sign-up & platform access Free
Role postings Unlimited
Smart Matching & benchmarking Included
Staying Power & Smart Match Profile Included
Cost per Unlock 0.667% of salary
Role Builder & free shortlist Free
Subscription / contract None
An Unlock is simply revealing a candidate’s contact details so you can reach them. Browsing matches and viewing Staying Power scores is always free — you only pay to Unlock. The fee is based on the role’s maximum salary and your plan, always shown before you Unlock anyone. No hidden fees, no surprise invoices.
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No signup — see your shortlist before you spend a thing

You always see it before you commit

  • Quoted before every Unlock See the exact price before you Unlock a candidate’s details — never after.
  • Based on the role’s salary Pricing scales with the role’s maximum salary and your plan, so it’s always proportionate.
  • Only when they say yes The candidate chooses to share their details. No agreement, no charge.
  • Referred candidates are free Contacts on candidates you referred are free forever, across your whole company. See the referral programme →

What an Unlock actually costs

One published rate. It scales with the role’s maximum salary, so a junior hire never costs what a director does.

The rate

Per Unlock 0.667% of salary
Minimum per Unlock £100
VAT Added at 20%
Rate guarantee Fixed for 6 months
Billing Monthly, in arrears
The rate in force when your company is verified is held for 6 months, as a term of your payment agreement — not a marketing line. If our published price rises in that window, it doesn’t apply to you.

Against what an agency would charge

Role salary One Unlock Typical agency fee
£40,000 £266.80 £6,000–£8,000
£45,000Mid-level £300.15 £6,750–£9,000
£50,000 £333.50 £7,500–£10,000
Worked example. On a £45,000 mid-level role, Unlocking three interested candidates costs £900.45 + VAT. A single agency placement on the same role would typically run £6,750–£9,000 — so you’d be paying 87–90% less.

The honest caveat. The two aren’t charged the same way. An agency fee is normally contingent on a hire; an Unlock is charged when you Unlock, and buys the contact details of someone who has already told us they’re interested in your role. You carry the risk that they don’t work out — which is why the number is a fraction of a placement fee rather than a discount on one. Agency figures are indicative, at the 15–20% of first-year salary typical for UK permanent recruitment; we’re comparing against a published industry norm, not a named competitor.

How it compares

Traditional / LinkedIn Recruiter

  • £6,000–£10,000/year licence, paid upfront
  • Annual contract, locked in
  • Pay whether you hire or not
  • Keyword search; hundreds of CVs to screen
  • 15–25% response rate on outreach

describe.me

  • £0 base cost, pay only per contact
  • No contract — cancel anytime
  • Pay only when a candidate agrees to connect
  • Multi-layer matching; a curated top 10
  • 78% response rate — they already want the role

Technology that amplifies, not replaces

What we use our technology for

Benchmarking roles, matching, scoring and ranking candidates, standardising profiles, and explaining the “why” of every match. The grunt work that used to eat your week.

What we don’t

It never makes the hiring decision. It never interviews anyone. It never replaces the human judgment, intuition and relationship-building that makes great recruitment work — because 84% of UK candidates want a human to decide, and so do we.

  • Every candidate is a real, verified human with genuine aspirations
  • You decide who to contact, interview and hire
  • Staying Power is designed to be Equality-Act-safe — fit and motivation, never protected characteristics
  • We make recruiters sharper, never redundant

Recruiter FAQs

When exactly do I pay?

Only when you Unlock a candidate’s contact details — and only once they’ve agreed to share them. The price is quoted upfront before you Unlock anyone, so there are never surprises. Browsing matches and viewing Staying Power scores is always free.

What’s an “Unlock”?

An Unlock is when you reveal a matched candidate’s contact details so you can reach out. Browsing your matches and viewing Staying Power scores is always free — you only ever pay to Unlock.

Is there really no subscription or contract?

Correct. No monthly seat fees, no annual licence, no lock-in. You pay per successful contact and nothing else. Walk away whenever you like.

How is the price of an Unlock worked out?

It’s 0.667% of salary of the role’s maximum salary, with a minimum of £100 per Unlock, plus VAT. So a £45,000 role is £300.15 + VAT to Unlock one candidate. The exact figure is always shown before you commit, and the rate you verify on is fixed for 6 months.

What if candidates don’t respond?

78% response rate — 3–4× higher than traditional outreach. Candidates only see roles matching their own stated aspirations, so they’re genuinely interested before you spend anything.

How is this different from LinkedIn Recruiter?

LinkedIn charges £6,000–£10,000/year upfront for keyword search. describe.me costs £0 upfront, uses multi-layer skills-and-aspiration matching, and you only pay when a candidate agrees to share their details.

Is there a referral programme?

Yes. Earn £10 platform credit for every professional you refer who completes their profile — plus free Unlocks on every referred candidate, forever, across your whole company. See full programme details.

What’s included, free

Technology

  • Multi-layer semantic matching
  • Role & salary benchmarking
  • Staying Power retention score
  • Shareable Smart Match Profiles

Features

  • Unlimited role postings
  • Uniform, rich profiles
  • Candidate comparison
  • Transparent, explained scoring

Trust & support

  • GDPR fully compliant
  • Consent-gated contacts
  • Onboarding included
  • Email & live chat

Start free. Pay only when it works.

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Candidates' data stays theirs. Every contact is gated on the candidate's explicit consent. Read the data promise