How much does outplacement cost?

Outplacement cost by employee level

The all-levels average lands near $1,900 per employee. That average is close to useless for budgeting, because almost nobody pays it. A warehouse cohort and a VP exit sit at opposite ends of a forty-fold spread, and blending them produces a number that describes neither.

What the large providers publish

Most outplacement pricing arrives as a custom quote, which makes comparison hard on purpose. A few figures are public.

LHH, one of the largest providers globally, lists catalog pricing for two of its programs. Job Search Essentials, aimed at hourly and non-exempt staff, runs $2,400 for three months or $3,000 for six. Professional Outplacement runs $5,200 for three months, $7,600 for six, or $10,000 for nine.

Turbo Transitions publishes a three-tier structure at $275, $795, and $1,296 per employee, with access windows from 90 days to a full year.

Use those as your anchor when a quote lands on your desk. If a provider will not tell you what their own catalog costs, that is information too.

The four ways outplacement gets billed

Per-employee flat package

The most common structure. You pay a set price per departing employee, priced by their level. Simple to approve, simple to expense against a specific layoff event. You pay for every seat whether or not the person ever logs in.

Cohort or volume bundle

Group pricing for a larger reduction, typically $300 to $5,000 per person depending on level and volume. Per-head cost drops as the group grows. Works when the group is roughly uniform in seniority; less well when one VP and forty warehouse staff exit in the same week.

Annual retainer or subscription

You commit to a yearly spend and draw against it as exits occur. Smooths budgeting across a year and usually buys a better per-head rate. The risk is straightforward: unused commitment rarely refunds.

À la carte coaching hours

Base platform access at a low price, with coaching hours, webinars, and onboarding billed separately. The advertised number is the floor, not the cost. Ask what the program costs with the coaching the employee will actually use, then compare that figure.

The cost question nobody puts in the quote

Every quote you receive prices seats. None of them price redemption.

Redemption is the share of departing employees who actually use what you bought. Providers hold this number and do not publish it, which is itself the answer. Coaching credits expire unused. Portal logins happen once, during the exit meeting, and never again.

Run the math on your own quote. A $2,400 program that 30% of the group opens costs you $8,000 per employee who got real help. The invoice still says $2,400. Your finance team sees the invoice; your departing employees see nothing.

Ask two questions before you sign. What percentage of enrolled employees complete at least one coaching session? What percentage finish with a completed resume? A provider that tracks its own outcomes will have both numbers. A provider that sells access will change the subject.

What it costs to offer nothing

The comparison that matters is not one provider against another. It's the program against no program.

Wrongful dismissal claims. In Canada, a terminated employee has a duty to mitigate. Documented, employer-funded job search support is evidence that the employer supported that duty. A single defended claim costs more in legal fees than outplacement for the entire cohort.

Public review damage. A poorly handled exit reaches Glassdoor and Indeed months after severance clears, and it stays there. Your next twenty candidates read it before your careers page.

The people who stay. Survivors of a layoff watch how their colleagues were treated and calibrate their own loyalty accordingly. Voluntary attrition in the two quarters after a badly run reduction routinely costs more than the reduction saved.

Rehiring. Replacing a mid-level professional runs six to nine months of salary once you count recruiting, ramp, and lost productivity. Alumni who left well come back. Alumni who left badly tell others not to apply.

Estimate your cohort cost

What Noticeable charges

$395.95 per departing employee. Flat. No platform fee, no per-seat minimum, no coaching hours to allot or expire.

Each person receives six strategist-built documents: a finished ATS-tested resume, a cover letter written for a real target role, a strategic plan for running the search, a LinkedIn optimization, a Blind Spot Report, and a role-alignment / live-market report. Delivered in 24 to 96 hours, built by a human strategist who has sat on the hiring side — the same standard behind our outplacement program and the Fresh Start transition kit.

That sits below the digital-only band most providers charge for platform access alone, and it buys finished documents instead of a login. There is nothing to redeem, so redemption is not a risk you carry.

Cohort and enterprise pricing runs below $395.95 per head at volume. Book a discovery call and we'll scope your next cohort.

Pricing sources: figures compiled from published 2026 provider catalogs and industry pricing surveys: LHH, Turbo Transitions, INTOO, Career Agents.