Outplacement services cost anywhere from about $500 to more than $25,000 per laid-off employee in 2026, with most traditional programs landing between $1,000 and $5,000 per person for roughly three months of support. Modern platform-based providers have restructured what the money buys — DirectApplicant, for example, publishes program pricing at $749 per employee for a 3-month Core program (Plus $1,495, Executive $2,995), roughly a quarter of typical legacy quotes. The spread is enormous because providers sell very different things under the same label, and most don't publish prices.
What does outplacement cost by provider type?
| Provider type | Typical price per employee | Examples | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive / enterprise programs | $5,000–$25,000+ | LHH executive tiers, Right Management executive programs | Dedicated human coach, 6–12 months, in-person options |
| Standard legacy programs | $1,000–$7,000 | LHH ($2,400–$10,000 published program rates), Randstad RiseSmart (commonly $2,000–$7,000), Careerminds ($1,000–$5,000) | Scheduled coaching hours, resume help, resource portal, ~3 months |
| Budget virtual programs | $500–$1,500 | VelvetJobs (from ~$500), RiseSmart Express (~$500), A Life After Layoff (~$999) | Online-only coaching packages, fixed session counts |
| Modern outplacement platforms | $749–$2,995 per program (published) | DirectApplicant (Core $749, 3-month) | Real-time job alerts from employer career pages, AI coaching, application tracking, same-day deployment |
Two notes on reading this table honestly. First, several major providers (Careerminds, INTOO) do not publish standard pricing at all, so their ranges are estimates from buyer-reported quotes. Second, we build DirectApplicant — the platform row — so check the numbers yourself: our pricing is published and the legacy program rates above come from the providers' own published price lists and public buyer guides such as SelectSoftwareReviews' outplacement buyer guide and Gartner Peer Insights reviews.
What drives the price of outplacement?
Four factors explain almost all of the variation:
- Human coaching hours. Live one-on-one coaching is the dominant cost in legacy programs. Each scheduled hour of a certified coach's time is expensive, so programs meter it — often 3–5 total hours in a standard package.
- Program duration. Most programs run 3 months because that's the typical length of an active job search. "Until placement" models (Careerminds) price higher to absorb the open-ended risk.
- Seniority of the employee. Executive packages add personal branding, networking introductions, and longer terms — and multiply the price by 3–10x.
- Delivery model. Office space and in-person delivery (the traditional model) costs more than virtual delivery, which in turn costs more than software-led delivery where coaching is AI-based and available on demand.
How much should you budget for a layoff?
A worked example for a 100-person reduction:
| Option | Per employee | Total for 100 employees |
|---|---|---|
| Standard legacy program | $3,000 | $300,000 |
| Budget virtual program | $750 | $75,000 |
| DirectApplicant Core (3 months) | $749 ($636 at 50+ volume) | $63,650 |
For most companies under 1,000 employees, the legacy number is why outplacement gets cut from severance packages entirely — which is the worst outcome for departing employees. The practical question in 2026 is no longer "can we afford outplacement?" but "which delivery model fits our people?": executives with negotiated packages may warrant a human-coach program, while the broader workforce is often better served by a platform they'll actually use every day, at roughly a quarter of the legacy price.
Volume discounts and negotiation
If you're buying a legacy program for 50+ employees, ask for volume pricing — discounts of 20–40% off rate-card are routinely reported for bulk engagements, bringing a $1,500 basic program down to $750–$1,200 per person. Also ask what percentage of enrolled employees historically activate and complete the program; low engagement is the quiet failure mode of expensive outplacement, and providers tracking it well will share the number.