Which is stronger in Europe?

Both are strong in different modes. Akkodis leads engineering programs and project staffing in continental Europe, particularly Germany and France. Hays leads perm and temp specialist recruitment through its UK and German desks. Hyring places European roles remote-first at a flat 14%.

What do Akkodis and Hays charge?

Neither publishes rates. Buyers report 20 to 28% of first-year salary on permanent hires and 40 to 60% markups on contract staff, with Akkodis R&D programs priced as custom statements of work. Hyring publishes a flat 7% of CTC in India and 14% in the US, UAE, and Europe.

Which is better for hiring in the UAE?

Hays, between the two: its Dubai desks are established with local salary data and depth in banking and technology. Akkodis' Gulf presence is program-led and thinner. Hyring's Dubai delivery team places the same roles at a flat 14% with AI-screened shortlists in 72 hours.

Which is better for engineering project staffing?

Akkodis: staffing whole engineering programs under SOW is its founding model, inherited from AKKA Technologies. Hays places individual engineers well but does not run engineering programs. For remote-capable software engineering, Hyring's flat-fee model typically prices lowest.

How fast can each deliver candidates?

Consultant-led shortlists typically take one to three weeks at both firms. Hyring delivers AI-screened shortlists with recordings and calibrated scores in 48 to 72 hours because screening runs from the day candidates apply.

Can European tech roles be filled remotely from India?

Most software, data, and QA roles can, on European-overlap hours. Hyring employs the engineers in India, handles payroll and compliance, screens everyone with AI coding and English tests, and keeps engagements transparent through Insight by Hyring.

How is Hyring different from Akkodis and Hays?

Hyring is an AI-native recruitment agency with flat, published fees: 7% of CTC in India and 14% in the US, UAE, and Europe. AI screening backed by 900,000+ interviews covers every candidate, thousands of recruiting partners work each role, and clients get a live portal with Insight on augmented teams. Book a call to price your open roles.

Agency Comparison

Akkodis vs Hays: Which Wins European Tech and Engineering Hiring?

Two Europe-strong firms with different products: Akkodis staffs engineering programs, Hays runs specialist recruitment desks. Fees, geographies, and the remote-first flat-fee route compared across all three columns.

Last updated on: April 14, 2026Read time: 9 mins

Written byAdithyan RKFact checked bySurya N

DE+FR

Akkodis engineering heartland

255K

Hays placements per year, perm + temp

7% / 14%

Hyring flat fee, India / rest of world

48–72h

Hyring AI-screened shortlist

European employers know both these names, usually from different meetings. Akkodis appears when a program needs engineers, plural, staffed as a capability: automotive software in Germany, aerospace work in France, inherited from AKKA Technologies and fused with Modis' IT staffing under the Adecco Group. Hays appears when a role needs the right individual: a specialist desk in London, Berlin, or Dubai, backed by the salary guides the whole market reads and a 255,000-placement annual engine.

Hyring, the AI-native agency in the third column, plays the same markets a third way: remote-first delivery across Europe and the UAE at a published flat 14%, AI screening on every candidate, and a portal that shows the funnel instead of narrating it. Programs, desks, or instruments; the tables below price all three.

Quick Verdict

Akkodis wins engineering programs in continental Europe, Hays wins specialist desk recruitment, and Hyring wins fee and speed on remote-capable roles.

Pick Akkodis

When you are staffing an engineering program as a capability, especially in Germany, France, or certification-bound industries.

Pick Hays

When the hire is one specialist role in London, Berlin, Dubai, or Sydney and desk knowledge is the purchase.

Pick Hyring

When the role can run remotely or the fee must shrink: flat 14% across Europe and the UAE, 7% in India, shortlists in 72 hours.

Who Are Akkodis and Hays?

Akkodis is the Adecco Group's engineering and digital brand; Hays is an international specialist recruiter with technology as its largest business line.

Akkodis sells engineering as a service. Programs staffed under statements of work, consultants with domain credentials, delivery concentrated where European industry is: automotive, aerospace, industrial platforms. The AKKA half brought the R&D bench; the Modis half brought global IT staffing reach.

Hays sells matches. One consultant, one specialism, one city, multiplied across the UK, Germany, the UAE, and Australia, with 43,000 permanent and 212,000 temporary placements in its 2024 fiscal year. Its January salary guides and seven-million-strong LinkedIn following keep candidate funnels full without Akkodis-style program machinery.

What Do Akkodis and Hays Cost?

Buyers report 20 to 28% permanent fees and 40 to 60% contract markups across both firms, against Hyring's published flat 7% and 14%.

Permanent placement: 20 to 25% typical at Akkodis, 20 to 28% at Hays with senior international roles at the top.
Contract staffing: 40 to 60% markups over pay rate at both.
Engineering programs: custom SOW pricing at Akkodis, effectively consulting economics.

Hyring's direct hire fee holds flat across the map: 7% of CTC in India, 14% in the US, UAE, and Europe. On a €95,000 senior engineer in Germany, 14% is €13,300 against a typical €19,000 to €26,600 at reported ranges, and our free salary benchmarks keep the base itself defensible before any fee applies.

Perm fee on a €95,000 senior engineer in Germany

Competitor figures are typical reported ranges; Hyring fee is published

On a Dubai package of AED 340,000, the same 14% is AED 47,600 against a typical AED 68,000 to 85,000 at reported ranges.

Full Comparison Table: Akkodis vs Hays vs Hyring

Programs versus desks versus instruments: the three models differ on delivery shape, fee transparency, and screening evidence.

Head-to-head across ten buying criteria
Criteria	Akkodis	Hays	Hyring
Parent / structure	Adecco Group brand	Independent, LSE-listed	Independent, AI-native
Delivery shape	Engineering programs under SOW	Specialist desk placements	AI-instrumented funnel, portal-visible
Perm fee	~20–25% (typical)	~20–28% (typical)	7% India, 14% US, UAE, Europe, flat
Contract pricing	~40–60% markup, SOW for R&D	~40–60% markup (typical)	~30% below big-firm quotes
Continental Europe	Engineering heartland, DE and FR	Strong desks, UK and DE led	Remote-first delivery at 14% flat
UAE presence	Program-led, thinner	Established Dubai desks	Dubai delivery team, 14% flat
Remote India model	Delivery centers in some programs	Not a lead offering	Core: 60–70% savings, compliance handled
Screening	Consultant screens, domain vetting	Consultant interviews, skills checks	AI coding, video, and English tests on every candidate
Time-to-shortlist	One to three weeks	One to three weeks	48–72 hours for most roles
Best for	Engineering capability programs	Individual specialist hires in core markets	Remote-capable and fee-sensitive roles anywhere

Europe, the UAE, and the Remote Route

Akkodis owns continental engineering programs, Hays owns Gulf and UK specialist desks, and remote India delivery reprices every role that travels.

Honest map first. A certification-bound program in Bavaria belongs with Akkodis; a banking-technology hire in Dubai belongs with Hays' desks, and both firms have earned those defaults. The move neither leads with is the one our global staffing desk is built on: European placements delivered remote-first at a flat 14%, Gulf roles through our Dubai team at the same rate, and for anything that runs in an IDE, dedicated engineers in India at 60 to 70% below Western cost through IT staff augmentation, on European-overlap hours, employed and payrolled by us.

The evidence layer travels with every candidate: AI coding interview, AI video interview, and English proficiency test where the role demands it, ranked by the AI Resume Screener across applicants from the Hyring Jobs portal and the Recruiting Partners network of thousands of independent recruiters. Candidates prep with the free Jobseeker Toolkit and interview questions library, and augmented teams run on Insight by Hyring, tracked hours and focus patterns visible to both sides, employees first.

Fact

Cross-border hiring questions, answered before the sales call: the market-entry guides in our Learn hub cover UK, UAE, and India specifics, and the free HR Toolkit holds offer-cost and build-vs-augment calculators among its 150+ tools. The platform, Insight included, is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified.

STEP 1

Brief the role

Send your JD or adapt one from 900+ templates in the JD library. Intake call within 24 hours.

STEP 2

AI screens the pool

Portal applicants and partner submissions pass coding, video, and English screening automatically.

STEP 3

Review in the portal

Watch recordings, compare calibrated scores, shortlist in 48 to 72 hours.

STEP 4

Hire flat-fee

14% Europe, UAE, US. 7% India. Augmented teams run on Insight.

Which One Should You Pick?

Programs to Akkodis, desk hires to Hays in their core markets, and every remote-capable role to the flat-fee quote before signing either.

Delivery shape decides this one. Buying an engineering capability: Akkodis. Buying one specialist match in a market Hays owns: Hays. Buying seats that can sit anywhere with good screening behind them, which is more of the modern requisition list than either incumbent's pricing admits, brief the flat-fee model first and let the invoice difference argue for itself.

Written by

Adithyan RK

View Profile

CEO & Co-founder, Hyring

18+ years of experience

Adithyan RK is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hyring, an AI-native recruitment platform that has run over 900,000 AI interviews for companies ranging from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500. He has spent 18 years building technology businesses, starting with a digital consultancy in 2008 and a staff augmentation firm in 2017, before founding Hyring in 2022 to rebuild hiring around evidence instead of guesswork. Read more

Expertise

AI RecruitmentAI InterviewsRecruitment AutomationHR TechnologyHiring AnalyticsApplicant TrackingRecruiter Operations

Fact checked by

Surya N

View Profile

CTO & Co-founder, Hyring

6+ years of experience

Surya N is the Co-Founder and CTO of Hyring, where he architected the AI interviewing engine that has now conducted over 900,000 interviews for companies ranging from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500. A mechanical engineer who moved into artificial intelligence, he spent 6 years building AI applications inside a technology consultancy before co-founding Hyring, and wrote the first version of its AI interviewer from scratch. Read more

Expertise

AI Interview SystemsConversational AIInterview Fraud DetectionPlatform ArchitectureMachine Learning EngineeringApplied AISpeech and Voice AIBias Testing and Model Evaluation

Price the European role three ways

Send us a role you would brief to Akkodis or Hays. Within 72 hours: local hire at 14% flat, Dubai delivery at 14% flat if relevant, and the remote India option fully loaded, each with an AI-screened shortlist sample. Compare against your incumbent quote and keep the best.

FAQs

Akkodis is the Adecco Group's engineering and digital brand, staffing engineering R&D programs and technical roles, strongest in continental Europe. Hays is a specialist recruitment firm placing about 255,000 people a year through sector desks, strongest in the UK, Germany, UAE, and Australia, with technology as its largest specialism.