eorHQ

Employee Cost Calculator

Estimate gross-to-net pay, employer contributions, and EOR management fees across 86 hiring markets on eorHQ. Use this as a planning model before requesting final payroll quotes.

Estimated Costs

Employee net pay (monthly)

$6,065

Employee taxes (monthly)

$1,935

Employer statutory burden (monthly)

$732

Total employment cost (monthly)

$9,232

Employee gross-to-net breakdown (annual)
Employer total cost breakdown (annual)

Assumptions data as of: Feb 2026 • US federal single-filer style bands and common payroll taxes (FICA + FUTA/SUTA estimate). State and local taxes excluded.

Note: Estimates only, not legal or payroll advice. Country tax and contribution rules are simplified and may differ by region, employee profile, benefit plan design, and payroll setup.

How to use this calculator before procurement

Use this calculator to shortlist viable EOR options before procurement. If a provider-country combination is already above budget in this model, final EOR quotes usually increase once implementation, visa handling, onboarding overhead, and support-tier pricing are included.

The sequence is simple: estimate total employment cost here, shortlist 2-3 EOR providers, then validate commercial terms against the same hiring plan. Teams that skip this step often negotiate on headline monthly fees while missing the line items that drive real total cost.

What to validate before signing

  • Run three scenarios: base case, +10% buffer, and +15% buffer. Do not approve annual budget on a single point estimate.
  • Compare fee deltas at real headcount: at 20 employees, even a $150 monthly fee gap is $36,000 per year before FX and add-ons.
  • Stress-test FX impact: if payroll is cross-currency monthly, model 3-4% on top of your base assumption and treat it as an operating cost, not noise.
  • Confirm legal accountability: validate who carries payroll and employment risk in your top countries, especially for termination disputes and tax filings.
  • Price the non-obvious items: ask for implementation, offboarding, contract amendments, and premium support fees in writing before signature.
  • Check scale behavior: test pricing and support quality at current headcount and at 2x. The cheapest provider at 5 employees is often not the cheapest at 25.

Quick rule of thumb

For multi-country hiring under 10 employees, speed and compliance coverage usually matter more than small fee differences. Once you are scaling in one country and headcount stabilizes, unit economics start to favor local entity options. Use this calculator to spot that inflection point early so you do not renegotiate your operating model under pressure.

Use this output to build a shortlist, then compare finalists with the EOR comparison library and country hiring guides before finance approval.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate the total cost of employment when using an EOR?

TCO here is gross salary plus employer statutory contributions plus EOR management fee plus FX markup. Deposits, visas, and offboarding are excluded. An $8,000/mo gross US hire with a $599 fee is not $8,599; employer FICA/FUTA and the default 2% FX sit on top. Treat the output as a planning floor, then get a quote.

How do I calculate the total monthly cost of using an EOR?

Monthly TCO is gross monthly pay + monthly employer on-costs + monthly provider fee + 2% FX on gross (default). Deposits are not included. Switch the provider dropdown to compare fees on the same salary and country. At 20 employees, a $150/mo fee gap is $36,000/year before add-ons.

What is the true cost of an EOR?

The management fee is the visible line. True cost is salary + employer taxes/social charges + fee + FX + deposits (often 1–2 months of salary, not in this model) + setup/offboarding. A $199/mo EOR with 3% FX and a two-month deposit can cost more in year one than a $599/mo fee with no deposit.

Does this employee cost calculator include employer taxes and EOR fees?

Yes. Statutory employer contributions come from country assumption tables. Provider fees come from review frontmatter, or a custom fee you type. Default FX is 2% of gross. Net pay on the employee side is shown separately and is not employer TCO. Figures are directional, not a payroll engine.

Are these numbers exact payroll outputs?

No. Tax bands, contribution caps, and benefits are simplified. Region, visas, and 13th-month pay can move the number. Run three scenarios (base, +10%, +15%) before you lock a headcount budget. The signed quote plus your tax advisor is the final number.

How do enterprises calculate total cost of ownership for global payroll vendors?

Same stack, times headcount, times 12, plus implementation and FX. At 1,000+ employees you also price audit controls and vendor consolidation. This calculator is the per-employee building block. Multiply it, then add deposits, visas, premium support, and entity-versus-EOR conversion costs.

For entity-versus-EOR timing, see the EOR vs entity guide. For fee line items, see hidden EOR costs.