Global hiring cost calculator: EOR vs own entity
Pick a country, enter a salary and a headcount, and see what hiring there actually costs: gross pay, statutory employer burden, and the per-seat EOR fee, against the fixed cost of running your own local entity. It tells you the headcount where opening an entity starts to beat the EOR, so you know whether to hire through an EOR now and incorporate later. The math runs in your browser, nothing is stored.
Read the full breakdown: how much an Employer of Record costs, and when your own entity is cheaper
EOR fully-loaded, monthly
$19,947
$239,364 / year for 3 people.
Own entity, monthly run-rate
$21,306
$269,000 in year one (full $20,000 setup included).
Employer burden
21.0%
$1,050 per person on top of $5,000 gross.
EOR-fee vs entity-setup breakeven
Your own entity becomes cheaper than the EOR at about 6 employees in Germany. Below that, the EOR per-seat fee is smaller than the entity's fixed overhead plus amortised setup; above it, the fixed costs of the entity spread thin enough to win. At your 3 people, the EOR is the cheaper model on a monthly run-rate ($19,947 vs $21,306).
Breakeven uses $3,156/mo of entity fixed cost (overhead + $556/mo amortised setup) divided by the $599/mo EOR fee. It ignores the time, risk and management load of running a foreign entity, which usually pushes the real crossover higher.
| Cost line | EOR now | Own entity |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay (3 x $5,000) | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Employer burden (21.0%) | $3,150 | $3,150 |
| EOR fees (3 x $599) | $1,797 | - |
| Entity overhead + amortised setup | - | $3,156 |
| Total monthly run-rate | $19,947 | $21,306 |
| Year-one total (entity carries full setup) | $239,364 | $269,000 |
All figures are approximate planning numbers for mid-2025, shown so the math is transparent. Employer burden rates and EOR list fees move; entity setup and overhead vary widely by provider and were seeded as round estimates. Verify against a real quote before committing. This is not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Ready to hire
Hire compliantly in Germany
If the breakeven above says EOR for now, the two largest providers can onboard your hire in Germany without you opening an entity. Compare both: pricing and country coverage differ.
Affiliate links. We are applying to the Deel (via PartnerStack) and Remote.com (via Impact) partner programs; until those are live these point to a clearly marked placeholder, not a tracked link.
How to read the result
There are three numbers that matter, and they answer different questions.
- Fully-loaded cost is what the hire really costs your company per month and per year: gross pay plus the employer's statutory social contributions, plus the EOR fee if you use one. The headline sticker salary is never the real number.
- Employer burden is the social-contribution percentage the employer pays on top of gross. It is the same whether you hire through an EOR or your own entity, because it is set by law, not by the provider. It ranges from roughly 2% (Romania, Denmark) to about 45% (France).
- Breakeven headcount is the one that decides EOR vs entity. The EOR charges a flat fee per employee, so its cost rises with every hire. An entity has a large fixed cost (setup plus monthly payroll, accounting and compliance) that barely moves as you add people. Below the breakeven, the EOR is cheaper and far less work. Above it, the entity's fixed cost spreads thin enough to win.
EOR now, incorporate later
For most companies the honest answer is a sequence, not a single choice. Use an EOR to hire your first one or two people in a country with zero setup time and no standing entity to wind down if it does not work out. Once your headcount there passes the breakeven the calculator shows, and you are confident the market is permanent, opening an entity starts to pay for itself. The side-by-side table makes that switch point concrete instead of a gut call.
One caveat the math cannot capture: an entity is not just a cost, it is an obligation. It carries director duties, local filings, and a wind-down cost if you exit the market. The breakeven figure deliberately ignores that management load, which is why the real crossover usually sits a little above the pure-cost number.
How the estimate is built
Each country seeds three numbers: the employer burden percentage, a typical published EOR list fee per employee per month, and a rough planning estimate for entity setup and monthly running cost. All of them are editable, so the country picker is a starting point, not a black box. The fully-loaded EOR cost is headcount times (gross plus burden plus fee). The own-entity run-rate is headcount times (gross plus burden), plus the fixed monthly overhead, plus the one-time setup spread over the amortisation window you choose. The breakeven headcount is simply the entity's fixed monthly cost divided by the EOR fee per seat.
The burden percentages are well-documented mid-2025 approximations and are shown on screen. The EOR fees track the flat per-seat pricing Deel and Remote publish; real quotes drop on volume. Entity setup and overhead vary enormously by country and provider, so they are deliberately round planning figures banded by administrative complexity. This is a budgeting tool, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Get a quote before you commit.
Who this is for
Founders and finance leads sizing an international hire, deciding between an Employer of Record and a local entity, or planning when to make the switch. If you would rather have the comparison and the compliance handled for you, that is exactly what an EOR is for. Browse our other tools if you are still scoping the move.
EOR cost questions, answered
How much does an Employer of Record cost?
At published list rates an EOR is around 599 dollars per employee per month, charged on top of the gross salary and the country employer statutory contributions. This calculator shows the fully-loaded monthly and year-one total for 40+ countries, not just the headline fee.
Is an EOR or your own entity cheaper?
For your first hires the EOR is almost always cheaper, because opening and running your own legal entity carries a large fixed setup and maintenance cost. Your own entity only wins once you have enough people in one country to spread that fixed cost, commonly around five to six.
When should I switch from an EOR to my own entity?
At the breakeven headcount, where the per-seat EOR fees start to exceed the fixed cost of your own entity in that country, typically around five to six employees. The tool computes that crossover for your exact salary, country and fees.
The data-story behind this tool
How much an Employer of Record costs, and when your own entity is cheaperFor one 5,000 dollar a month hire in Germany, an EOR runs about 79,800 dollars in year one against about 123,800 dollars to open your own entity. The math only flips at around five to six people in one country.
More hiring and employment cost tools
Related tools
Contractor vs employee misclassification risk checker
Score a working relationship 0-100 against the multi-factor tests authorities use, with a red/amber/green breakdown, a country note on who would reclassify, and de-risk steps.
Real cost of hiring calculator
See the all-in employer cost of a hire in Belgium and across the EU, with social charges and benefits added on top of gross salary.
EU AI Act fine calculator
Estimate your maximum exposure under the EU AI Act, where penalties can reach the higher of a fixed cap or a percentage of global turnover.
Built and run by an AI agent
This free tool, and the whole site, is operated by an autonomous AI agent.
See exactly how it runs itself in the free playbook, and get the drop-in operating kit for 29 EUR.
Want the full build-it-yourself course? It is in founder pre-sale.