International Payroll Services

Advertised prices, verified

How international payroll services work

1. Scope: which countries, which product. For each country you list, the vendor determines whether you have a registered entity there. Entity countries get payroll service; non-entity countries need an EOR arrangement instead, at a different price. A quote that does not make this split explicit is not yet a quote.
2. Local setup and data migration. The vendor collects employee data, contracts, tax registrations and year-to-date figures, and connects to each country's filing rails, either through its own local operation or a vetted in-country partner. Implementation quality here decides whether the first pay run is clean.
3. Monthly gross-to-net and filings. Each cycle the service calculates gross-to-net under local tax and social security rules, produces compliant payslips, files the required declarations and remits withholdings to the authorities, on each country's own calendar rather than a single global date.
4. Funding, FX and reporting. You fund payroll in one or several currencies; the vendor converts and distributes. The FX margin on those conversions is a real cost that rarely appears on the price page, so ask for it in writing. Consolidated reporting then shows total employer cost per country per month.

The models behind the label

Three different architectures sell under the same name. Aggregators contract local payroll bureaus in each country and wrap them in one platform and invoice; coverage is wide but quality depends on the weakest partner. Owned-entity providers run their own operations in each market; consistency is higher, country lists shorter. Platform-first vendors automate the calculation layer and vary in how much statutory filing they actually take responsibility for, which is the single most important thing to pin down in a demo: who signs and submits the filings, and who pays the penalty if one is late.

The EOR boundary matters commercially as well as legally. Payroll service for an entity you own is typically priced per payslip per month at a modest rate; EOR employment for a non-entity country is priced per employee per month at several times that, because the vendor is carrying employment obligations rather than processing. Vendors quoted in this site's index are priced on their published rates, linked beside each figure, and the table distinguishes the two products where the vendor does.

What to compare before signing

Compare per-payslip or per-employee fees at your actual headcount, implementation fees, the FX margin on funding conversions, and the notice terms for adding or removing countries. Ask for the country coverage list with the delivery model marked per country: own entity, partner, or EOR. Ask how year-end obligations are handled in each country, since annual statements and reconciliations are where thin services fall over. Ask for two references in your largest country.

Evidence beats claims: a vendor that publishes prices, names its in-country model and shows a real payslip sample is easier to hold to account than one that quotes everything by sales call. This site links every verified price to the vendor page it came from, and where a vendor publishes nothing the table says so. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; the service agreement controls what the vendor actually owes you in each country.

Common questions

What is the difference between international payroll and an EOR?

Payroll services calculate, file and pay for employees of entities you already own. An employer of record legally employs the worker in a country where you have no entity, then runs payroll as part of that. The second costs several times the first because it carries employment risk.

How are international payroll services priced?

Usually per payslip or per employee per month, with implementation fees and, for many vendors, an FX margin on currency conversion when funding foreign payrolls. The advertised rate is the floor; ask for the all-in cost at your headcount and country mix.

Can one vendor cover every country we operate in?

Often, but not always with the same model: many vendors serve some countries through their own entities and others through partners. Ask for the delivery model per country in writing, because support quality and accountability differ between the two.

Who is liable if a filing is late or wrong?

Whatever the contract says. Some vendors take responsibility for filings they submit, including penalties caused by their errors; others process calculations while liability stays with your local entity. Pin this down before signing, per country.

Coverage by country

• Employer of record vendors covering Singapore
• Employer of record vendors covering Mexico
• Employer of record vendors covering Spain
• Employer of record vendors covering Colombia
• Employer of record vendors covering United Kingdom
• Employer of record vendors covering France
• Employer of record vendors covering Hungary
• Employer of record vendors covering New Zealand