Agency, in-house recruiter or do it yourself: what each really costs

Free until you count the owner's hours: posting, screening calls, First Advantage chasing and no-shows run 8 to 15 hours a week for a 20-route operation. At any reasonable hourly value that is $1,500 to $3,000 a month of your time.

$40,000 to $75,000 a year plus a recruiting-software seat. Makes sense at roughly four stations or 100 routes; below that the recruiter is idle half the year and gone in peak.

$1,500 to $5,000 per driver placed, typically with a 30- to 90-day replacement. Fine for an occasional manager hire; brutal for drivers at 30 to 40 percent annual turnover.

A 25 to 40 percent markup on wages, and the agency carries the W-2. Flexible, expensive, and the drivers are theirs, not yours.

$400 to $2,000 a month for a defined number of road-test-ready candidates, with ads, screening and First Advantage handled. Best from 5 to 100 routes; the point where a dedicated recruiter starts to pencil out is where you stop.