EOR Lens
Switch from EOR

EOR vs your own entity

At a certain headcount, the fixed cost of opening a local entity beats per-employee EOR fees. Here's where the lines cross for your specific country and salary band.

At 10 hires in United States
EOR is cheaper
Saves $33,845 USD over 3 years vs the other option
Break-even point
30 hires
Above this, opening an entity beats RemoFirst.

3-year total cost curve

EOR baseline: RemoFirst · stand-up ~3 mo
EOR (RemoFirst)Own entityYour headcount (10)
Break-even
30 hires
EOR · 3y · 10 hires
$2,670,715 USD
Entity · 3y · 10 hires
$2,704,560 USD

Entity line includes the ~3-month stand-up window where you're still paying EOR per employee. Setup ($15,000 USD), annual compliance ($12,000 USD/yr), and payroll software ($150 USD/employee/mo) are baked in.

FX: Bundled fallback rates · updated 2026-11-01

Cost is only half the decision

The calculator answers the dollar question. These trade-offs answer the rest.

DimensionEOROwn entity
Time to first hire5–10 business days2–4 months (6+ in IN, CN, BR)
Up-front costDeposit (~1 month payroll)$15k–$80k setup + legal
Per-employee cost$199–$699/mo platform fee + payrollLower at scale, fixed overhead applies regardless
Compliance burdenProvider absorbs itYou own filings, audits, statutory reporting
Statutory benefitsStandard packages, limited customisationFull control, design your own
IP chain of titleVia EOR contractor agreementDirect, cleaner for VC / M&A diligence
PE / tax nexus riskRises after 12–24 months in DE/FR/ESResolved, you ARE the local taxpayer
Exit / downsizingCancel monthly, no liability tailWind-down 6–12 months, residual filings
Best for1–10 hires per country, testing markets10+ hires, regulated sectors, long-term commitment

Assumptions & formulas

Exact inputs powering the chart above for United States, billed in USD. Change HQ, country, or salary and these update live.

EOR inputs (baseline: RemoFirst)

Employee total comp / mo
$7,217 USD
Platform fee / mo (after FX spread)
$202 USD
One-time setup fee
$0 USD
One-time offboarding fee
$0 USD
FX spread applied
1.50%
EOR 3-year formula (per employee × N)
EOR = N × [ (comp/mo + platform_fee/mo) × 36 + setup_fee + offboarding_fee ]

Own-entity inputs (United States)

One-time entity setup + legal
$15,000 USD
Annual compliance / filings
$12,000 USD/yr
Payroll software / employee / mo
$150 USD
Stand-up window (still on EOR)
3 months
Employee total comp / mo
$7,217 USD
Entity 3-year formula
Entity = setup + (annual_compliance × 3) + N × (comp/mo + payroll_sw/mo) × (36 − standup) + N × (comp/mo + platform_fee/mo) × standup

Comp/mo = (employee total annual cost incl. employer taxes) ÷ 12, converted to USD at the live mid-market rate. FX: Bundled fallback rates. Entity setup, compliance, and payroll-software figures are USD constants converted to USD at the same rate.

Break-even at a glance

Lines cross at 30 employees in United States.
HeadcountEOR 3y totalEntity 3y totalΔ (entity − EOR)Cheaper
1$267,071 USD$316,356 USD+$49,284 USDEOR
5$1,335,357 USD$1,377,780 USD+$42,422 USDEOR
10$2,670,715 USD$2,704,560 USD+$33,845 USDEOR
25$6,676,787 USD$6,684,899 USD+$8,112 USDEOR
50$13,353,573 USD$13,318,798 USD−$34,775 USDOwn entity

Positive Δ means the entity costs more than the EOR at that headcount; negative Δ means the entity is cheaper. The break-even chip flips at 30 employees.

Stay on EOR if...

  • You have under 5 hires in the country
  • You're testing market viability or hiring a first founding engineer
  • Speed matters, you need the hire onboarded this month
  • The country is high-friction (Brazil, India, China) and entity setup eats 6+ months
  • You may exit the market within 24 months

Open your own entity if...

  • You're past the break-even headcount the calculator shows
  • The country is PE-strict (Germany, France, Spain) and hires have decision authority
  • You're in financial services, healthcare, or defence, audit chain matters
  • M&A or fundraising in the next 18 months and IP cleanliness is a diligence point
  • You want full control over benefits design and equity treatment

FAQ

Related comparisons