Home / Hire vs. outsource vs. automate
Free tool · Intelligence before the hire
Hire, outsource or automate?
Your team is short of capacity. Compare the three most common answers on the same numbers: what each costs over 12 months, when it pays back, and how much cash it ties up first.
Over 12 months, the lowest total cost is
—Net result compared with holding steady. Positive means the option costs less than leaving the gap open.
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How the comparison works
The same transparent arithmetic as NWTS DecisionIQ™, applied month by month. Nothing is estimated by AI.
- Holding steady each month = your team’s loaded pay + (capacity needed − people on the team) × the cost of an unfilled FTE-month. Capacity needed grows 10% a year.
- Hire adds the new hires’ loaded pay from the month they start, plus recruiting. Their capacity rises evenly over the ramp-up period.
- Outsource adds the vendor’s monthly cost and a 10% oversight cost once the transition is complete, plus the transition cost.
- Automate spreads the build cost over the implementation months, then adds the run cost. Freed capacity phases in over three months.
- Net result = holding steady’s 12-month cost − the option’s 12-month cost. Break-even is the first month its cumulative savings turn positive after any start-up spend.
Questions
How does the calculator compare hiring, outsourcing and automating?
Each option is costed month by month over 12 months against holding steady. Holding steady costs your current team plus the cost of every unfilled FTE-month. Each option adds its own cost and adds capacity on its own timeline: hires after time to fill and ramp-up, a vendor after transition, automation after implementation. The net result is what each option saves or costs compared with holding steady.
What does break-even mean here?
The first month in which the option’s cumulative savings, compared with holding steady, cover what it cost to get started. Options that never recover their start-up cost within 12 months show no break-even.
What is peak cash exposure?
The deepest point the option goes into the red, cumulatively, before it starts paying back. It is the cash you need to be comfortable committing.
Why is reskilling not included?
This free version compares the three options leaders debate most. NWTS DecisionIQ adds reskilling, redesign and holding steady on a longer horizon, with briefs you can share.
Is my data stored?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us. If you click through to DecisionIQ, your numbers are kept in your own browser so your first scenario can start from them.