Hire in Europe: 25 country guides and EOR rankings
Every guide below lists what an employer pays on top of salary, what the EOR providers charge, how long the first contract takes and which providers rank best for that country. Same fields on every page, so you can compare two countries line by line.
Employer costs in Europe, country by country
Contributions as a share of gross salary, the EOR fee per employee per month as published by the providers, and the time to the first contract once the documents are in. Each row links to the full guide and to the ranking.
| Country | Employer on-cost | EOR fee | Income tax | First contract | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria | 29-31% | $550–950/mo | 0–55% progressive | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Belgium | 27-32% | $550–950/mo | 25–50% + municipal | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Bulgaria | 19-20% | $400–650/mo | 10% flat | 3-7 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Croatia | 16-17% | $450–700/mo | 15–33% progressive | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Cyprus | 15-16% | $450–750/mo | 0–35% progressive | 3-7 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Czech Republic | 33-34% | $400–700/mo | 15–23% | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Denmark | 1-2% | $500–900/mo | 8% AM + 37–57% | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Finland | 20-21% | $500–900/mo | ~7.6% municipal + 12.6–37.5% state | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 France | 25-45% | $600–900/mo | 0–45% progressive | 2-4 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Germany | 21-23% | $550–800/mo | 0–45% progressive | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Greece | 21-22% | $450–750/mo | 9–44% progressive | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Hungary | 13% | $400–650/mo | 15% flat | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Ireland | 11-13% | $450–700/mo | 20–40% progressive | 1-2 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Italy | 30-33% | $550–800/mo | 23–43% progressive | 3-7 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Netherlands | 17-19% | $500–750/mo | 35.75–49.5% progressive | 1-3 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Norway | 18-20% | $500–900/mo | 22% + 1.7–17.8% bracket | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Poland | 19-22% | $400–600/mo | 12–32% | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Portugal | 24-25% | $450–650/mo | 12.2% to 48% progressive | 1-3 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Romania | 2.25% | $350–550/mo | 10% flat | 2-3 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Serbia | 15.15% | $300–500/mo | 10% flat, 10–15% annual tax on high incomes | 5-10 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Spain | 32-33.5% | $550–800/mo | 19–47% progressive | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Sweden | 31-40% | $500–900/mo | ~32% + 20% state | 2-5 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Switzerland | 12-14% | $700–1100/mo | 0–11.5% federal, plus cantonal | 5-7 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 Ukraine | 22% | $250–400/mo | 18% flat | 2-3 Days | GuideTop 10 |
 United Kingdom | 15% | £450–600/mo | 0–45% progressive (Scotland up to 48%) | 1-2 Days | GuideTop 10 |
What changes when you hire across Europe
The 25 guides in Europe put employer contributions between 1% (Denmark) and 45% (France) on top of gross salary. Published EOR fees run from $250 to $1,100 per employee per month, before any setup fee.
The spread is the point: a €60,000 engineer costs the employer close to €85,000 in France and about €62,000 in Denmark, where most of the social cost sits on the employee's side of the payslip. Two things decide the shortlist here. In the EU an EOR is a temporary-work agency in the eyes of the labour inspectorate, so ask for the licence or registration in the country of hire (the German AÜG permit, the Dutch WAADI registration, the French financial guarantee), not a group-level attestation: an unlicensed placement is deemed an employment with the client. Then the collective agreement. In Austria, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Finland the sector agreement, not the statute, fixes the extra months or holiday pay and the pay floors, so have the provider name the agreement it will apply before the first contract is drafted.
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