Hiring in India through an EOR: a 6.1% floor, a gratuity accrual, and a fee that looks large
Summary
India has the lightest employer cost of this site's fifteen countries, 6.1% on a salary of ₹1,800,000. The shape of that 6.1% is unlike the others. The social-security lines stop at ₹180,000 a year, and most of what remains is an accrual for gratuity, the statutory lump sum due after five years' service. The fee, meanwhile, is in dollars, so how it looks inside a rupee budget depends on an exchange rate this site does not publish.
Inside the 6.1%
| Line | Rate | Annual ceiling | On ₹1,800,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS, employees' pension scheme, employer share | 8.33% | ₹180,000 | ₹14,994 |
| EPF, provident fund, employer share | 3.67% | ₹180,000 | ₹6,606 |
| EDLI, deposit-linked insurance | 0.50% | ₹180,000 | ₹900 |
| EPF administrative charges | 0.50% | ₹180,000 | ₹900 |
| ESI, employer share (only staff on ₹21,000 a month or less at entry) | 3.25% | not applicable | ₹0 |
| Statutory contributions | ₹23,400 | ||
| Gratuity accrual (4.81%, vests at five years) | ₹86,580 | ||
| Added to the salary | ₹109,980 |
Employer cost ₹1,909,980, 6.1% above the salary; 5.5% at ₹3,600,000. The four PF lines stop at the ₹15,000-a-month wage ceiling, ₹180,000 a year, so no rupee of salary above that attracts anything more. The headline rate adds up to 13%; the effective rate on an ₹18 lakh salary is 1.3%.
The ₹86,580 accrual is not cash leaving every month. Gratuity becomes payable after five years of service, and this site carries it as an annual rate (15 days' pay over 26 days, divided by 12, which is 4.81%). Whether an EOR bills it monthly as an accrual or in one sum at exit differs by provider and belongs in the quote.
Not in this floor. The statutory bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act (8.33% to 20%, only for staff on ₹21,000 a month or less, so not this hire), and the holidays and leave that each state sets. Anything an EOR adds as a benefit is outside it too.
The Labour Codes. The central codes came into force on 21 November 2025, and under them at least half of total remuneration counts as wages for provident fund and gratuity. That can widen the base compared with the old practice of using basic pay alone. This site corrected its note on the commencement date on 2026-09-06. Application still varies by state.
Against Deel's "13.1% of basic"
Deel's India hiring page puts employer cost at "13.1% of basic salary + INR 75, or INR 1,950 per month." It is tempting to set that against 6.1%, but the bases differ. 13.1% is the sum of the rates before the ceiling (8.33 + 3.67 + 0.5 + 0.5 = 13.0%, the rest rounding or a small extra item), expressed on basic pay. Apply the ₹15,000 monthly ceiling and an ₹18 lakh hire costs ₹1,950 a month, ₹23,400 a year. Deel's ₹1,950 and this site's ₹23,400 are the same number.
So the two do not contradict each other: Deel shows the pre-ceiling rate, this site the post-ceiling amount. What the page does not say is whether Deel's quote carries a gratuity accrual.
What a dollar fee looks like in rupees
| Provider | Published fee, monthly | Year | Checked | Provider site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Teams | $99, starting | $1,188 | 2026-09-28 | See Native Teams EOR pricing |
| RemoFirst | $199, starting | $2,388 | 2026-09-28 | See RemoFirst EOR pricing |
| Skuad | $199, starting | $2,388 | 2026-09-06 | See Skuad EOR pricing |
| Horizons (RemotePeople) | $199, list | $2,388 | 2026-09-06 | See Horizons EOR pricing |
| Deel | $599, list | $7,188 | 2026-09-06 | See Deel EOR pricing |
| Remote | $699, list | $8,388 | 2026-09-06 | See Remote EOR pricing |
Scroll sideways on a phone.
This site publishes no exchange rate. The formula, for your own rate:
For an ₹18 lakh hire on Deel, that share is likely to exceed the 6.1% statutory layer. The fee is fixed in dollars and the lower the rupee salary, the larger it looms. India is the country with the lightest statutory cost and, for the same reason, one where a flat fee is most visible, and where the gap between $199 and $599 counts for the most.
Provider terms that matter in India
- Remote's cutoff. The 16th in India, not the standard 11th.
- Days to start. Remote lists India among its three-working-day countries; Deel's page says "as little as 3 days."
- RemoFirst's "varies by country." What $199 becomes in India is only in the quote.
Who can employ in India
| Provider | India on its own pages | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Remote | Country explorer, Employer of Record listed | 2026-10-01 |
| Deel | Country hiring page | 2026-10-01 |
| Oyster | In the "Hire in" list | 2026-10-01 |
| The other eleven | Not checked |
Links on this page currently go directly to providers without affiliate tracking.
Sources
- Employer cost of hiring in India, on this site (statutory lines, sources per line, read 2026-08-21; Labour Codes note corrected 2026-09-06)
- https://www.deel.com/hiring/employees/india/
- https://remote.com/country-explorer
- https://support.remote.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410446893965-What-is-the-payroll-cutoff
- https://www.oysterhr.com/country-availability
- EOR pricing per employee, by published price, on this site
Each line's source is on the India country page.
Related on this site
- Employer cost of hiring in India in 2026
- Which country is cheapest to hire in, and why that is the wrong question
- Do EOR providers charge a flat fee or a percentage of salary?
- Employer contribution ceilings in 2026, 15 countries
Related on this site
- Hiring in the UK through an EOR: £9,846 of employer cost on £55,000, then the fee
- Hiring in Mexico through an EOR: 21.1% with the aguinaldo inside the base
Written by Kaz, independent publisher. No commercial relationship with the providers named unless it is listed on the disclosure page.
Page last updated 2026-10-02. Sources are listed per figure and labeled statutory or payroll reference. Rates last verified 2026-08-21. This is not legal, tax or payroll advice and we do not file anyone's payroll.
Every formula on this site is written out in full on Method. Ordering is by computed cost, never by what a provider pays us.
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