The Short Answer
A recruiter sources, screens, and presents candidates for open roles, usually working from active candidates (people applying or open to a move). They're often paid contingently (only if you hire) at 15 to 25 percent of first-year salary, or work in-house on salary. A headhunter runs a targeted search for passive candidates, almost always at the executive or scarce-skill level, usually under a retained model where you pay a portion of the fee up front. Headhunter fees typically run 25 to 35 percent of first-year compensation. Use a recruiter for individual contributor and mid-level roles. Use a headhunter for VP and above, or for niche roles where the right candidate isn't currently looking.
What a Recruiter Does
A recruiter's job is to fill an open role from the existing talent pool. They post on LinkedIn, Indeed, and niche boards, screen inbound applicants, run intro calls, and present a shortlist. Most recruiters work either in-house (corporate recruiting team) or at staffing agencies on a contingent fee.
Contingent agency recruiters get paid only when their candidate gets hired. Fees typically run 15 to 25 percent of first-year base salary, sometimes up to 30 percent for technical or specialized roles. Common categories: software engineers, marketing managers, operations managers, sales reps, accountants. Speed matters; a good contingent recruiter delivers a shortlist in 1 to 3 weeks.
The economics push recruiters toward volume. They often run 8 to 15 active reqs at once, which means each role gets less individual attention than a retained search. That's fine for fungible roles. It's a problem for roles where the right hire is one in a thousand.
What a Headhunter Does
A headhunter (executive search consultant, retained recruiter) runs a deep, targeted search for a single role. They start by mapping the market, building a target list of 80 to 200 people who match the profile, and reaching out to passive candidates who aren't currently job hunting. They run the full process: outreach, vetting, references, compensation negotiation, and offer close.
Headhunters typically work on retained search, meaning the client pays a portion of the fee up front (usually one third at engagement, one third at shortlist, one third at hire). Total fees run 25 to 35 percent of first-year cash compensation, occasionally higher for board-level roles. Engagement length is 8 to 16 weeks for a CXO search.
The retained model exists because passive search takes serious time. You can't run 12 retained searches at once and still do them well. Most headhunters cap at 3 to 5 active engagements.
Key Differences
- Candidate pool. Recruiter: active candidates and inbound applicants. Headhunter: passive candidates, often referrals and direct outreach.
- Role level. Recruiter: IC through director. Headhunter: VP, C-suite, board, or rare-skill specialists.
- Fee model. Recruiter: contingent (paid on hire) at 15 to 25 percent. Headhunter: retained (paid in stages) at 25 to 35 percent.
- Process depth. Recruiter: shortlist within 1 to 3 weeks. Headhunter: 8 to 16 weeks of market mapping, outreach, and vetting.
- Volume. Recruiter: 8 to 15 reqs in flight. Headhunter: 3 to 5.
- Risk. Recruiter: client pays nothing if no hire happens. Headhunter: client pays a retainer regardless of outcome.
When to Use Each
Use a recruiter when: the role exists across many companies (software engineer, AE, marketing manager), there's an active candidate market, the target compensation is under roughly $200K, and speed-to-hire matters more than perfect fit.
Use a headhunter when: the role is VP, C-suite, or specialized to the point that the right person almost certainly already has a job; the search needs confidentiality (replacing an exec, building a stealth team); or the cost of a wrong hire runs into the millions.
Skip both and go in-house when: you have a strong recruiting team, a steady flow of roles, and the target candidates respond to your brand directly.
Cost Comparison
Run the math on a $150K base salary hire.
- Contingent recruiter at 20 percent: $30,000, paid only if you hire.
- Retained headhunter at 30 percent of $200K total comp: $60,000, paid in three installments regardless of outcome.
- In-house corporate recruiter: roughly $150 to $400 per role at scale, but only if your req volume justifies the salaried headcount.
- RPO or talent platform like South: flat monthly fee or per-placement fee, often 30 to 60 percent less than agency contingent for senior LatAm hires.
For mid-level roles where 5 candidates would all be acceptable, contingent is usually the right answer. For a CFO replacement, the retained fee is cheap insurance against a $1M mistake.
Related Resources
- Recruiter or Talent Consultant: Key Differences
- What Is a Headhunter and How Does Headhunting Work
- Best RPO Companies
- Recruiter Role
Conclusion
The choice isn't recruiter versus headhunter; it's matching the search model to the role. Volume hires get a recruiter on contingency. Critical hires get a headhunter on retainer. Get this wrong and you'll either pay too much for a role that didn't need it or skim the market for a role that demanded depth. South operates closer to the recruiter end of the spectrum for LatAm placements, with retained-style vetting and a flat fee model that splits the difference on cost.
