Employer of record costs are one of the first questions companies ask when hiring internationally — and for good reason. Understanding how EOR pricing works, what drives the fees, and how different providers compare helps you budget accurately and avoid surprise charges down the line.
Is an employer of record expensive?
We found that the average cost for an employer of record service is around $459 per month per employee and $30 per month per contractor. This is fairly inexpensive compared to the costs of doing everything yourself, especially when hiring remote employees.
We compared the pricing of eight of the most popular employer of record services, and broke down their costs below.
These EOR services have different costs because each offers a range of additional services. The cheaper ones tend to charge extra for things like payroll, while the more expensive solutions tend to have all-in-one packages.
- Remofirst: $199 per employee per month
- Multiplier: $300 per employee per month
- Oyster: $399 per employee per month
- Lano: 400€ per employee per month
- Deel: $500 per employee per month
- Atlas: $494 per employee per month
- Remote: $599 per employee per month
- Papaya Global: $770 per employee per month
- Remofirst: free!
- Lano: 15€ per contractor per month
- Papaya Global: $25 per contractor per month
- Remote: $29 per contractor per month
- Oyster: $29 per contractor per month
- Multiplier: $40 per contractor per month
- Deel: $49 per contractor per month
- Atlas: $49 per contractor per month
Remote
Remote fully owns local legal entities in the countries it covers, which allows the company to offer flexibility and speed at competitive prices. The company’s platform is a globally-distributed HR hub that enables users to process payroll, perform salary simulations, onboard new team members, manage benefits, and handle many of the administrative tasks associated with a distributed team.
Employees: $599 per employee per month
Contractors: $29 per contractor per month
Additional costs: Global payroll and customized pricing for enterprise clients.
Oyster
Oyster stands out among EOR and payroll vendors for its ability to assist with hiring, compliance, benefits, payroll, and other HR processes in over 180 countries. The platform enables companies to hire and onboard top talent quickly, regardless of their location. Oyster is a remote-first company, with a distributed team across 30+ countries and 5 continents. This remote-first philosophy is reflected in both its product and operations.
Employees: $399-699 per employee per month
Contractors: $29 per contractor per month
Additional costs: Additional HR and legal support for enterprise clients
Lano
Lano is a platform that provides all the necessary tools for successful collaboration between companies and their contractors. With Lano, companies can hire from anywhere in the world, automate their onboarding process, avoid compliance risks, streamline invoice processing, and save time and resources.
Employees: 400€ per employee per month
Contractors: 15€ per contractor per month
Additional costs: Payroll is 15€ per employee per month
Multiplier
Multiplier is an EOR platform that enables users to quickly send contracts, run payroll in over 120 countries, and grant equity to employees through employee stock option plans. The platform also offers 24/7 customer support.
Employees: $300 per employee per month
Contractors: $40 per contractor per month
Additional costs: $20 per employee per month for insurance packages and $20 per employee per month for payroll services.
Remofirst
Remofirst is a software platform and employer of record provider that helps global teams with hiring employees and contractors in places where they don’t have a legal presence. In the past two years, the company has updated its product with a new user interface, same-day onboarding, and 24/7 customer support. Remofirst is known for its transparency, customer service, wide coverage of countries, and reasonable prices.
Employees: starts at $199 per employee per month
Contractors: free!
Additional costs: health insurance, equity, bonuses, equipment provisioning
Deel
Deel makes it easy for companies to hire employees in multiple countries. From a single dashboard, users can manage international payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance in up to 150 countries. Additionally, companies should factor in permanent establishment tax exposure that could affect overall EOR costs.
Employees: $500 per employee per month
Contractors: $49 per contractor per month
Additional costs: Payroll services & contractor classification assistance
Atlas
Atlas is a direct employer of record (EOR) and international payroll platform that allows companies to hire and pay talent in many locations around the world. The platform assumes the role of a legal employer on behalf of its clients, helping them manage the employee lifecycle from onboarding to payroll processing while remaining compliant with local labor laws. Atlas offers its services in many countries around the world.
Employees: $595 per employee per month
Contractors: $49 per contractor per month
Additional costs: Visas are $2,500. You will also need to pay a platform fee which has two plans from $99-$149 per month. They have custom pricing for enterprise clients.
Papaya Global
Papaya Global is a company that aims to revolutionize global payroll management. The platform is one of the most comprehensive solutions for companies with employees in multiple countries. In addition to cross-border payments, Papaya Global’s platform can also be used for hiring, onboarding, and employee management. The platform also offers a global equity management tool, which enables companies to offer equity to employees as part of their compensation, regardless of their location.
Employees: $770-1,000 per employee per month
Contractors: $25 per contractor per month
Additional costs: Payroll is $20-$100 per month for all employees. They also have a payroll intelligence suite priced at $250 for an annual plan or $320 quarterly per location.
Hidden EOR Fees Most Providers Don’t Advertise
The monthly per-employee rate you see on a provider’s pricing page rarely tells the full story. Budget overruns almost always come from add-on charges buried in the contract or invoicing details. Here are the most common hidden fees to watch for:
- Currency conversion markup: Many EORs apply a 1–3% spread on salary conversions. On a $60,000 salary, that’s an extra $600–$1,800 per year per employee, according to Remote People’s 2026 pricing analysis.
- Off-cycle payroll runs: Need a mid-month correction or bonus payout? Most providers charge $50–$150 per off-cycle run.
- Onboarding and setup fees: A one-time $150–$500 per employee is standard. Some providers waive it for annual contracts, others don’t.
- Termination and offboarding fees: Ending an employment relationship through an EOR typically costs $150–$500 per event, covering severance calculations and local compliance filings.
- Equipment and benefits add-ons: Laptop provisioning, private health insurance, and equity administration are almost always billed separately, typically $20–$100 per employee per month each.
When comparing choosing the right EOR provider, ask for a fully-loaded cost estimate that includes currency markups, off-cycle payroll, and termination scenarios — not just the headline monthly fee.
EOR vs Setting Up Your Own Entity: When Does an EOR Make Financial Sense?
Setting up a local entity costs between $20,000 and $150,000 in legal fees, registration, and ongoing compliance, per data from the Gloroots EOR cost breakdown. That’s before you hire a single employee. For companies with fewer than 10–25 employees in a given country, an EOR is almost always the cheaper path.
The crossover point depends on three factors:
- Headcount per country: Below roughly 15 employees, the EOR’s per-employee fee is cheaper than entity maintenance costs. Above 25, the math flips.
- Country complexity: High-regulation markets (France, Germany, Brazil) have steeper entity costs, pushing the crossover higher. In simpler markets (UK, Ireland), it may come sooner.
- Longevity of the hire: A two-year contract justifies entity setup more than a six-month project. If you’re unsure about duration, start with an EOR.
Understanding what an employer of record does helps clarify why the service fee exists — you’re paying for compliance infrastructure, legal employment, and local payroll, not just a software subscription. And if you’re weighing how PEOs compare to EORs, remember that PEOs require a co-employment arrangement and only work in countries where you already have an entity.
Frequently Asked Questions About EOR Costs
The median EOR service fee in 2026 is approximately $399 per employee per month. Budget-focused providers start at $199, mid-market options range from $400 to $700, and enterprise plans with dedicated support run $800 or more. These figures cover only the EOR fee — salary, statutory employer contributions, and any benefits are billed on top.
No. The quoted EOR fee is strictly the provider’s service charge. You pay the employee’s gross salary plus the statutory employer burden (social security, pension, insurance — which ranges from roughly 8% in the US to over 40% in France) in addition to the EOR fee.
Yes, most providers charge separately for onboarding ($150–$500), off-cycle payroll ($50–$150 per run), currency conversion (1–3% markup), and termination ($150–$500). Always request a fully-loaded cost breakdown before signing.
For teams under 10–25 employees in a single country, almost always. Entity setup costs $20K–$150K plus annual compliance overhead. An EOR lets you hire compliantly without that upfront investment. For more on the benefits an EOR provides beyond cost savings, see our full breakdown.
Statutory employer contributions are the biggest variable. A $60,000 engineer in France costs roughly $112,000 all-in (salary + employer burden + EOR fee), while the same role in the Philippines might cost around $48,000. The tax implications of using an EOR vary significantly by jurisdiction and are worth modeling before you commit.
Our recommended EORs
Unlike a PEO, an employer of record can provide everything you need to hire remotely. Here are our top recommended EORs to choose.
Remote is a robust and modern platform for remote-first teams. EOR, contractor management, payroll, benefits, and more.
Oyster is an intuitive platform that allows you to hire, pay, and care for a global team in more than 180 countries. EOR, contractor management, payroll, benefits, and more.
TFY has features for applicant tracking, freelance management, payroll, and more in a single platform. The platform supports diversity hiring and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Lano is both a B2B & B2C platform. Businesses can use it to process global payroll, hire remote talent and manage contractors, while employees and freelancers can benefit from its payslip service, invoicing app, multi-currency wallet, and more.
