Employer of Record in Albania: what one employee really costs
Albania, Europe. One software engineer at $28,000 gross per year, priced through 12 providers with a published fee, on the European Commission's September 2026 exchange rate. Change the salary and headcount below.
- Employer on-cost
- +16.7%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $2,922 – $3,422
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
- Onboarding through an EOR
- 5 days
- per Deel - Hire employees in Albania ('your next hire could start in as little as 5 days with Deel')
Hiring one software engineer in Albania at $28,000 gross a year costs about $390 a month in statutory employer charges (+16.7%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $2,922 to $3,422 all-in, before deposits, FX margins and add-ons. Prices checked 2–24 Sept 2026.
Disclosure Some provider links on this page are affiliate links: if you become a customer after clicking, the provider may pay us a referral fee. It never changes the price you pay, and it never changes the numbers on this page, which come from official sources and are dated. How we are paid
Cost engine · preset to Albania
Price your own hire, line by line.
≈ ALL 2,218,981 gross / year · ALL at the European Commission monthly rate for September 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $2,333 | |
| Social insurance for sickness, maternity and pension, employer share | 13.80% | $322 |
| Work accident and occupational disease insurance (employer only) | 0.30% | $7 |
| Unemployment insurance (employer only) | 0.90% | $21 |
| Compulsory health care insurance, employer share | 1.70% | $40 |
| Employer on-cost | +16.7% | $390 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $2,723 |
$2,922/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $35,064
- Fee share
- 6.8%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quote$3,222/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $38,664
- Fee share
- 15.5%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quote$3,322/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $39,864
- Fee share
- 18.0%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Deel quoteEmployer charges from official sources; provider fees are list prices on the dates shown; deposits, FX margins and add-ons are not included. Not legal or tax advice. Methodology
14 providers, one scenario, all-in totals.
| Provider | EOR fee / employee / mo | All-in / mo, 1 hire | Deposit | Countries | Checked | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RemoFirst EOR in 185+ countries from $199 per employee per month, no annual contract. | from $199 | $2,922 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $2,922/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $3,042 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $3,042/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $3,122 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $3,122/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $3,122 | Fully refundable security deposit equivalent to one month's salary when onboarding an employee (pricing page). | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Playroll· $3,122/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $3,222 | Refundable security deposit required per employee by the EOR terms (effective 1 June 2026), sized by Multiplier; not on the pricing page. | 150+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Multiplier· $3,222/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $3,222 | Not stated for EOR on the pricing page (the contractor block states 'No deposit required'). | 160+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Papaya Global· $3,222/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $3,302 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $3,302/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $3,322 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $3,322/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $3,322 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $3,322/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $3,322 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $3,322/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $3,422 | Refundable deposit required for EOR team members 'to initiate the engagement and to ensure on-time payments' (pricing FAQ). | 120+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Oyster· $3,422/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $3,422 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $3,422/mo |
| Rippling EOR bundled with the Rippling platform; custom quote only. | Quote only | — | Not stated on the pricing page | — | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rippling |
| Safeguard Global EOR sold alongside entity setup and payroll; no price published. | Quote only | — | Not stated | 187+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Safeguard Global |
Same salary and statutory charges in every row; only the fee segment changes.
What Albania adds on top of the salary, and where each rate comes from.
Rates apply to the base named in each line; capped lines stop growing above the ceiling.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social insurance for sickness, maternity and pension, employer shareEvery employee, on a monthly base between the national minimum wage and the maximum wage for contribution purposes | 13.80% | Gross salary , capped at ALL 2,236,992 / yr, floor ALL 600,000 / yr Article 10 of Law No. 7703 on Social Insurance sets the contribution to the sickness, maternity and pension funds at 13.8% of the gross payroll for the employer and 9.5% of gross pay for the employee. The same article bounds the base: contributions are calculated on gross pay between the national minimum wage and the maximum wage for contribution purposes, and the maximum rises by the same amount and at the same time as the minimum wage. The General Tax Directorate's notice for 2026 applies that rule: the minimum monthly wage went from ALL 40,000 to ALL 50,000 on 1 January 2026, and the maximum monthly base for social insurance moved by the same ALL 10,000, from ALL 176,416 (in force until 31/12/2025) to ALL 186,416. Carried here as an annual floor of ALL 600,000 and an annual ceiling of ALL 2,236,992, about US$28,227 at the September 2026 accounting rate. The same ceiling bounds the two lines below. | Law No. 7703 of 11/05/1993 on Social Insurance, article 10, consolidated text published by the Social Insurance Institute (ISSH), as amended up to Law No. 64/20232026-09-24 |
| Work accident and occupational disease insurance (employer only)Every employee, paid by the employer alone, on the same bounded base as the pension contribution | 0.30% | Gross salary , capped at ALL 2,236,992 / yr, floor ALL 600,000 / yr Article 14(2)(a) of Law No. 7703 states that the employer pays, in addition, 0.3% of the payroll to the work accident and occupational disease branch. It is part of the employer's 15% of social insurance, not an extra line on top of it. Article 14(3) allows the Social Insurance Institute to differentiate the accident contribution by the risk of the sector, but the Institute's own page on compulsory insurance lists the branch at a single 0.3% alongside 0.3% sickness, 1.40% maternity, 21.6% pension and 0.90% unemployment, for 24.50% of social insurance in total per employee. The accident rate follows the employer of record's own classification, which for an office payroll is the 0.3% shown here. | Law No. 7703 of 11/05/1993 on Social Insurance, article 14, consolidated text published by the Social Insurance Institute (ISSH)2026-09-24 |
| Unemployment insurance (employer only)Every employee, paid by the employer alone, on the same bounded base as the pension contribution | 0.90% | Gross salary , capped at ALL 2,236,992 / yr, floor ALL 600,000 / yr Article 14(2)(b) of Law No. 7703 puts the 0.9% unemployment contribution on the employer alone. With the 13.8% above and the 0.3% accident branch, it brings the employer's social insurance to 15% of gross, against the employee's 9.5%: the 24.5% combined figure is the one the Social Insurance Institute publishes, and the employer carries 15 of those points. | Law No. 7703 of 11/05/1993 on Social Insurance, article 14, consolidated text published by the Social Insurance Institute (ISSH)2026-09-24 |
| Compulsory health care insurance, employer shareEvery employee, on the full gross with no ceiling, and never on less than the national minimum wage | 1.70% | Gross salary , floor ALL 600,000 / yr Article 8 of Law No. 10383 on Compulsory Health Care Insurance sets the contribution at 3.4% of the base and splits it 50% employer, 50% employee, so each side pays 1.7%. The base has a floor but no ceiling: the General Tax Directorate's 2026 notice says health contributions for employees are calculated on no less than the ALL 50,000 minimum wage and up to the full gross declared on the payroll. That is the difference with the three social insurance lines above, which stop at ALL 186,416 a month. Above that ceiling the employer's marginal rate falls from 16.7% to 1.7%. | Law No. 10383 of 24/02/2011 on Compulsory Health Care Insurance, article 8, consolidated text published by the Compulsory Health Care Insurance Fund (FSDKSH)2026-09-24 |
| Seniority award on dismissal - at least 15 days' pay per full year, after three years not in total | — | Carried at zero because it is paid only when the employer ends a contract that has lasted at least three years, and named because it is the Albanian termination cost a flat monthly quote does not show. Article 145 of the Labour Code sets it at no less than 15 days' pay for each full year of work, calculated on the pay in force when the employment ends, and adds it to any award for termination without reasonable grounds. It is lost only where the employee is dismissed with immediate effect for reasonable grounds. | Labour Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 7961 of 12/07/1995), article 145, consolidated text as amended up to Law No. 91/2024, published by the State Labour Inspectorate2026-09-24 |
| Thirteenth month - not required by Albanian law not in total | — | Carried at zero because the Labour Code creates no thirteenth-month salary; the consolidated text contains no such entitlement. What it does create are supplements paid only when the hours are actually worked: work on an official public holiday that falls on a working day earns a pay supplement plus paid time off of the same length under article 86 and the articles that follow. A salaried engineering role normally triggers none of them, but they belong in the contract rather than in a surprise invoice. | Labour Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 7961 of 12/07/1995), consolidated text as amended up to Law No. 91/2024, published by the State Labour Inspectorate2026-09-24 |
| Employer on-cost at $28,000 | +16.7% | $4,676 a year, $390 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Albania is a country where the employer rate is moderate and the ceiling is the story. The employer pays 16.7% of gross: 15% of social insurance, of which 13.8 points go to sickness, maternity and pension, 0.3 to work accidents and 0.9 to unemployment, plus 1.7% of health insurance. On a US$28,000 salary that is about US$390 a month, which sits below a typical provider fee, so the fee rather than the levy is the larger half of what you pay to use an employer of record. Three Albanian specifics belong in the decision. The social insurance base stops at ALL 186,416 a month from 1 January 2026, about US$2,352 at the September 2026 accounting rate, and the ceiling moves each time the minimum wage moves: the ALL 10,000 rise in the minimum wage on 1 January 2026 lifted the ceiling by exactly ALL 10,000. The example salary sits just under it; on a US$40,000 salary the employer's share falls to about 12.3% of gross, because only the 1.7% health line keeps running on the full pay. Law No. 91/2024 rewrote annual leave as at least 22 working days, so a guide that still quotes four weeks, 20 days or 28 calendar days is describing the previous text. And the termination rules carry cost: a dismissal after probation needs a meeting called in writing at least 72 hours ahead under article 144, or the employer owes two months' pay in addition to other awards, and after three years the seniority award in article 145 adds at least 15 days' pay per full year. Article 10 of Law No. 7703 also lets IT employees of companies registered in a technology park under Law No. 58/2022 pay social insurance on the minimum wage with their written consent; this page does not apply that regime to a provider's payroll.
Fees grow with every hire; the charges line is owed under an entity too.
| Headcount | RemoFirst fees / yr | Borderless AI fees / yr | Statutory charges / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,388 | $6,948 | $4,676 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $14,028 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $23,380 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $46,760 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $93,520 |
Statutory charges are owed either way; the provider fee is the only line an entity removes, against the cost of incorporating and running local payroll.
Employment terms that move the cost
- Paid leave
- 22 days
- Public holidays
- 15
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- up to 3 months
- Notice
- After probation, two weeks where the employment has lasted up to six months, one month from six months to two years, two months from two to five years and three months beyond five years, under article 143 of the Labour Code; during an employer's notice the employee is entitled to at least 20 hours of paid leave a week to look for work. During probation either side may terminate on at least five days' notice under article 142.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-24
Get a quote for Albania.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $28,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for Albania: those are the lines that move.
Disclosure Some provider links are affiliate links; they never change the numbers on this page. Details
Questions people ask before booking a demo
- What does an employer pay on top of salary in Albania?
- 16.7% of gross: 15% of social insurance (13.8% for sickness, maternity and pension, 0.3% for work accidents and 0.9% for unemployment) and 1.7% of health insurance. At the US$28,000 example that is about US$4,676 a year, or roughly US$390 a month. The employee pays a further 9.5% and 1.7%, withheld from gross pay.
- Is there a ceiling on Albanian social contributions?
- Yes, on social insurance only. From 1 January 2026 the maximum monthly base is ALL 186,416, up from ALL 176,416, because article 10 of Law No. 7703 raises the ceiling by the same amount and at the same time as the minimum wage, which went from ALL 40,000 to ALL 50,000. Health insurance has a floor at the minimum wage but no ceiling, so above about US$28,227 a year the employer pays 1.7% on each extra dollar of salary.
- What does one engineer cost per month through an EOR in Albania?
- At the US$28,000 example: US$2,333 of salary, about US$390 of statutory employer charges, and the provider's fee. With a published fee of US$599 a month that is about US$3,322 a month in total; with a US$199 fee it is about US$2,922. Change the salary or the provider in the calculator above and every line recomputes.
- How much paid leave and how many public holidays are there in Albania?
- Article 92 of the Labour Code, as amended by Law No. 91/2024, gives at least 22 working days of paid annual leave, and public holidays are not counted inside them. The Bank of Albania's 2026 calendar lists 15 official public holidays; when one falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the day off moves to the following working day.
- What probation and notice apply in Albania?
- The first three months of work count as probation under article 142 unless a written agreement shortens or removes it, and either side may end the contract during it on at least five days' notice. Afterwards article 143 sets notice at two weeks up to six months of service, one month up to two years, two months up to five years and three months beyond. An employer must also hold a meeting called in writing at least 72 hours ahead before dismissing, or owe two months' pay under article 144.