Who actually employs your hire when you sign up with Hire with Columbus at $179 a month?

Summary

Hire with Columbus says it becomes the legal employer, but it also says its service runs on RemoFirst's EOR infrastructure, and RemoFirst says it works through vetted in-country partners. Neither company's public pages say which legal entity signs the employment contract in any given country. That arrangement is also how Columbus explains its price: EOR from $179 per employee per month in 193 countries, with no setup fee, no termination fee, and month-to-month terms.

Three companies, one contract

Columbus is direct about its role on its home page: "we become the legal employer for your international hires," and it lists contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits, and local compliance as its job. Under the sign-up form, the same page says "Powered by RemoFirst," and its FAQ explains the low price this way: "We partner directly with RemoFirst's established EOR infrastructure instead of building our own from scratch."

RemoFirst describes its own delivery model on its pricing page. It "works exclusively with proprietary vetted in-country partners who have managed local payroll and compliance for 20+ years." So there are up to three parties behind a Columbus hire, and the public pages stop before saying which one is the employer of record in any particular country. The About page does not mention RemoFirst and gives no company legal name or address.

The $179 against RemoFirst's own price

RemoFirst lists its EOR at "Starts at $199" per person per month, adds that the fee "may vary based on local country requirements," and says there are no setup, onboarding, or termination fees and no minimums. Columbus sells the service built on that infrastructure at $20 a month less, which comes to $240 a year per employee. At $179, one employee costs $2,148 a year in fees.

The coverage numbers differ as well. Columbus says 193 countries; RemoFirst's pricing page says 185+.

What $179 includes, and where the pages disagree

The pricing card lists employment in 193 countries, international payroll, compliant contracts, HR guidance and termination, and access to benefits and health insurance. The FAQ says there are "no setup fees, no onboarding costs, no contract termination fees," and that the service is month to month. Background checks and expedited visa processing are "available separately," with pricing on request. Contractors are a separate product at $25 a month.

Whether $179 holds everywhere depends on which line of the pricing page you read. The body says "The same flat rate applies across 193 countries." The FAQ says countries "with complex regulatory requirements or higher operational costs may have different pricing," and that country-specific pricing comes during a consultation. The About page drops the "from" altogether and shows "$179/month per employee."

Sources

• https://hirewithcolumbus.com/pricing/
• https://hirewithcolumbus.com/
• https://hirewithcolumbus.com/about/
• https://www.remofirst.com/price

Related on this site

• What an employer of record charges
• Who publishes an EOR price and who makes you ask
• Who employs your hire in a country where the EOR has no entity of its own?
• Does "130+ countries" mean an EOR can hire in the country you need?
• What does an EOR charge you on top of the monthly fee?