Bill rate calculator

Calculate a bill rate – temporary staffing calculator

What does an hour of temporary staffing cost? The calculator shows how a bill rate is built: wage, employer costs, downtime, overhead and profit. Companies use it to check offers, staffing agencies to calculate their rate.

Your bill rate

All values are guide values – adjust them to your position.

Hourly wage of the worker (€)gross, without sector surchargeSector surcharge (%)depends on sector and assignment length, else 0Employer costs (%)social security, levies, accident insuranceDowntime (%)holidays, public holidays, sickness, gaps

Overhead and profit (%)dispatching, office, recruiting, margin

Bill rate per hour

net, plus VAT · month with 151.67 hours (35-hour week)

Wage (incl. surcharge): €16.00
Employer costs: €3.84
Downtime: €4.96
Overhead and profit: €6.20
Bill rate: €31.00
Per month: €4,702

Bill rate about €31.00 per hour – 1.94 times the hourly wage.

The link contains your values – for an offer or a comparison, for example.

Compare real bill rates

Post the position anonymously as temporary staffing: staffing agencies with a verified permit state their bill rate directly in the proposal. You compare before releasing a contact.

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Guide values for orientation, not a calculation for an individual case and not legal advice. Collective wages and sector surcharges follow the applicable collective agreement.

What the rate is made of

Wage and sector surcharge

The basis is the worker's hourly wage. In some sectors a collectively agreed surcharge applies after a few weeks on assignment, for example in the metal and electrical industry.

Employer costs

The employer's share of social security in Germany is about 21% of wages in 2026. Levies and statutory accident insurance come on top – often 22 to 26% in total.

Downtime

The staffing agency pays for holidays, public holidays, sickness and days between assignments but can't bill them. The rate spreads these hours over the billable ones.

Overhead and profit

Dispatching, payroll, office, recruiting and the margin. This is where basic and specialised providers differ.

Rules for temporary staffing in Germany

Wage floor

The statutory minimum wage has been €13.90 per hour since 1 January 2026 and rises to €14.60 on 1 January 2027. The temporary staffing collective agreement (GVP/DGB) is higher: pay group 1 at €15.33 since 1 September 2026 and €15.87 from 1 April 2027.

Equal pay

Under Section 8 AÜG, temporary workers are in principle paid the same as permanent staff. A collective agreement may deviate – usually only for the first nine months, up to 15 months with sector surcharges.

At most 18 months

Under Section 1(1b) AÜG, the same person may be assigned to the same client for at most 18 months, unless a collective agreement provides otherwise.

Permit required

Only holders of a permit under Section 1 AÜG may lend workers. On SilentHire we check the proof before a staffing agency sees temporary staffing jobs.

How to apply for the AÜG permit

Placement or temporary staffing?

If the worker should stay for good, a direct placement is often cheaper: a one-off fee instead of an hourly rate. The cost calculator compares both routes for your position.

Go to the cost calculator: placement or staffing

Frequently asked questions about bill rates

What is a bill rate?

The price a staffing agency charges the client for each hour a temporary worker works. It covers wage, employer costs, downtime, overhead and profit and is quoted net, plus VAT.

How do you calculate a bill rate?

Hourly wage including sector surcharge, plus employer costs, spread over the billable hours (divided by 1 minus downtime), plus a markup for overhead and profit. That is exactly how the calculator above works.

Which calculation factor is usual?

There is no fixed value; it depends on the collective agreement, surcharges, sickness rate and utilisation. As a rule of thumb, about 1.6 times the hourly wage only covers employer costs and downtime – overhead and profit come on top.

Why is the bill rate so much higher than the hourly wage?

Because the staffing agency is the employer: it pays social security, holidays, public holidays, sickness and time between assignments, and carries the risk and the administration. The client only pays for hours actually worked.

When does equal pay apply in temporary staffing?

Under Section 8 AÜG, in principle from day one. A collective agreement may deviate, usually only for the first nine months of an assignment; with a sector surcharge agreement up to 15 months.

Where do I find staffing agencies with fair rates?

On SilentHire you post the position anonymously as temporary staffing. Staffing agencies with a verified permit state their bill rate directly in the proposal – you compare before releasing a contact.

Sources

As of November 2026