Country fileCOCOPVerified 2026-09-21
CO
Employer of Record in Colombia: what one employee really costs
Colombia, Latin America. One software engineer at $36,000 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
- +34.2%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $4,225 – $4,725
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
- Onboarding through an EOR
- 4 days
- per Deel - Hire employees in Colombia ('your next hire could start in as little as 4 days with Deel')
Hiring one software engineer in Colombia at $36,000 gross a year costs about $1,026 a month in statutory employer charges (+34.2%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $4,225 to $4,725 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 Colombia
Price your own hire, line by line.
employee inatgross / year
≈ COP 113,535,720 gross / year · COP at the European Commission monthly rate for September 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $3,000 | |
| Pension (employer share) | 12% | $360 |
| Family compensation fund (caja de compensacion familiar) | 4% | $120 |
| Occupational risk insurance (ARL), class I | 0.52% | $16 |
| Health (employer share) - exonerated under ten minimum wages n/a | — | — |
| SENA training levy - exonerated under ten minimum wages n/a | — | — |
| ICBF family welfare levy - exonerated under ten minimum wages n/a | — | — |
| Severance fund deposit (cesantias) | flat | $250 |
| Interest on the severance fund (intereses a las cesantias) | 1% | $30 |
| Service bonus (prima de servicios) | flat | $250 |
| Employer on-cost | +34.2% | $1,026 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $4,026 |
RemoFirstLowest total
$4,225/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $50,696
- Fee share
- 4.7%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quotePapaya Global
$4,525/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $54,296
- Fee share
- 11.0%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quoteDeel
$4,625/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $55,496
- Fee share
- 13.0%
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 | $4,225 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $4,225/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $4,345 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $4,345/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $4,425 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $4,425/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $4,425 | 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· $4,425/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $4,525 | 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· $4,525/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $4,525 | 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· $4,525/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $4,605 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $4,605/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $4,625 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $4,625/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $4,625 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $4,625/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $4,625 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $4,625/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $4,725 | 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· $4,725/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $4,725 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $4,725/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 Colombia 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. Engine assumptions: Occupational risk class I (office work), charged at the initial rate of 0.522% = 0.522; The employer is a company that files Colombian corporate income tax, which is what triggers the article 114-1 exoneration = 1.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pension (employer share) | 12% | Gross salary , capped at COP 525,271,500 / yr The contribution rate is 16% of the ingreso base de cotizacion and article 20 of Ley 100 de 1993, as replaced by article 7 of Ley 797 de 2003, splits it: 'Los empleadores pagaran el 75% de la cotizacion total y los trabajadores el 25% restante.' That is 12 points for the employer. The base is capped at 25 monthly minimum wages (article 5 of Ley 797 de 2003: 'El limite de la base de cotizacion sera de veinticinco (25) salarios minimos legales mensuales vigentes'), which at the 2026 minimum wage of COP 1,750,905 is COP 43,772,625 a month, COP 525,271,500 a year. | Ley 100 de 1993, articulo 20, as replaced by articulo 7 de la Ley 797 de 2003 (Secretaria del Senado, compilation updated 31 August 2026)2026-09-21 |
| Family compensation fund (caja de compensacion familiar) | 4% | Gross salary Article 12 of Ley 21 de 1982 sets the private-sector split of the payroll levy: 'El cuatro por ciento (4%) para proveer el pago de subsidio familiar. 2. El dos por ciento (2%) para el Servicio nacional de aprendizaje (SENA).' The 4% caja share is the one line of the parafiscales that the article 114-1 exoneration does not touch, so it is charged at every salary level. It is calculated on the monthly payroll with no ceiling. | Ley 21 de 1982, articulo 12 (Funcion Publica, Gestor Normativo)2026-09-21 |
| Occupational risk insurance (ARL), class IOffice and administrative work (risk class I) | 0.52% | Gross salary Article 2.2.4.3.5 of Decreto 1072 de 2015, which consolidates the table set under article 27 of Decreto 1295 de 1994, prints 'TABLA DE COTIZACIONES MINIMAS Y MAXIMAS: CLASE DE RIESGO I 0.348% ... 0.522%' for the minimum and the initial value. A company entering the system pays the initial value of its class. Riskier classes go up to 6.960%, so a warehouse or field role in Colombia does not carry this rate. | Decreto 1072 de 2015, articulo 2.2.4.3.5 (Funcion Publica, Gestor Normativo)2026-09-21 |
| Health (employer share) - exonerated under ten minimum wagesOnly on salaries of ten monthly minimum wages or more (COP 17,509,050 a month in 2026) | 8.50% | Gross salary , capped at COP 525,271,500 / yr ; only when gross ≥ COP 210,108,600 / yr Article 10 of Ley 1122 de 2007 replaced the first paragraph of article 204 of Ley 100 de 1993: 'La cotizacion al Regimen Contributivo de Salud sera ... del 12,5% del ingreso o salario base de cotizacion ... La cotizacion a cargo del empleador sera del 8.5% y a cargo del empleado del 4%.' Article 114-1 of the Estatuto Tributario then removes the employer's 8.5% for every employee paid less than ten minimum wages. At the 2026 minimum wage that threshold is COP 17,509,050 a month, COP 210,108,600 a year, and the example salary sits below it, so the line is switched off here and comes back in full above the threshold. | Ley 1122 de 2007, articulo 10, and Estatuto Tributario articulo 114-1 as added by articulo 65 de la Ley 1819 de 2016 (Secretaria del Senado)2026-09-21 |
| SENA training levy - exonerated under ten minimum wagesOnly on salaries of ten monthly minimum wages or more (COP 17,509,050 a month in 2026) | 2% | Gross salary ; only when gross ≥ COP 210,108,600 / yr Two points of payroll to the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje under article 12 of Ley 21 de 1982, exonerated by article 114-1 of the Estatuto Tributario for employees paid under ten minimum wages. | Ley 21 de 1982, articulo 12, with the exoneration in Estatuto Tributario articulo 114-1 (articulo 65 de la Ley 1819 de 2016)2026-09-21 |
| ICBF family welfare levy - exonerated under ten minimum wagesOnly on salaries of ten monthly minimum wages or more (COP 17,509,050 a month in 2026) | 3% | Gross salary ; only when gross ≥ COP 210,108,600 / yr Article 1 of Ley 89 de 1988: 'A partir del 1 de enero de 1989 los aportes para el Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar -ICBF- ... se aumentan al tres por ciento (3%) del valor de la nomina mensual de salarios.' Exonerated by article 114-1 of the Estatuto Tributario for employees paid under ten minimum wages. | Ley 89 de 1988, articulo 1 (Funcion Publica, Gestor Normativo)2026-09-21 |
| Severance fund deposit (cesantias) | 1 month | Added to the annual costArticle 249 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo: 'Todo empleador esta obligado a pagar a sus trabajadores ... como auxilio de cesantia, un mes de salario por cada ano de servicios y proporcionalmente por fraccion de ano.' Since Ley 50 de 1990 it is deposited each February into a fondo de cesantias rather than held by the employer, so it is cash out of the door every year whether or not the employee leaves. It is a prestacion social and not salary, so it does not itself carry pension or health contributions. | Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, articulo 249 (Secretaria del Senado)2026-09-21 |
| Interest on the severance fund (intereses a las cesantias) | 1.00% | Added to the annual costArticle 1 of Decreto 116 de 1976, which regulates Ley 52 de 1975: 'todo patrono obligado a pagar cesantia a sus trabajadores, les reconocera y pagara intereses del 12% anual sobre los saldos que en 31 de diciembre de cada ano ... tengan a su favor por concepto de cesantia.' Twelve per cent of one month of salary is one per cent of a full year of salary, paid to the employee in January. It is the line most often dropped from Colombian cost estimates because it is a percentage of a percentage. | Decreto 116 de 1976, articulo 1 (reglamentario de la Ley 52 de 1975), Funcion Publica Gestor Normativo2026-09-21 |
| Service bonus (prima de servicios) | 1 month | Added to the annual costArticle 306 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, as replaced by article 1 of Ley 1788 de 2016: 'la prestacion social denominada prima de servicios que correspondera a 30 dias de salario por ano, el cual se reconocera en dos pagos, asi: la mitad maximo el 30 de junio y la otra mitad a mas tardar los primeros veinte dias de diciembre.' Article 307 adds that it is not salary, so it carries no contributions of its own. Together with the cesantias it is why a Colombian year costs fourteen months of pay, not twelve. | Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, articulo 306, as replaced by articulo 1 de la Ley 1788 de 2016 (Secretaria del Senado)2026-09-21 |
| Employer on-cost at $36,000 | +34.2% | $12,308 a year, $1,026 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Hiring directly in Colombia means a registered entity, a local bank account and registration with a pension fund, an EPS, an ARL and a caja de compensacion before the first payslip. Deel's own Colombia page puts the alternative plainly: an entity means 'a local office, an address registered as a subsidiary, and an account with a local bank', and that this 'can take months', against a start 'in as little as 4 days' through its employer of record. The statutory charges are the same either way, so the entity question here is about fixed overhead and about the four separate institutions that have to be fed every month. One Colombian specific is worth modelling before the payroll savings: the article 114-1 exoneration is written for employees paid under ten minimum wages, so a team of senior engineers can cross the threshold one hire at a time and add 13.5 points of payroll cost per person without any change in the law.
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 | $12,308 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $36,924 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $61,540 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $123,079 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $246,158 |
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
- 15 days
- Public holidays
- 18
- 13th month
- Mandatory
- Probation
- up to 2 months
- Notice
- There is no statutory notice period for dismissing an employee on an indefinite contract; the employer instead owes an indemnity under article 64 of the Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, as replaced by article 28 de la Ley 789 de 2002. For an employee paid under ten minimum wages that is thirty days of salary for service of a year or less, plus twenty extra days for each subsequent year; above ten minimum wages it is twenty days, plus fifteen for each subsequent year.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-21
Get a quote for Colombia.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $36,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for Colombia: those are the lines that move.
Get a RemoFirst quote· $4,225/mo Get a Papaya quote· $4,525/mo Get a Deel quote· $4,625/mo
Disclosure Some provider links are affiliate links; they never change the numbers on this page. Details
Questions people ask before booking a demo
- How much does an employer of record cost in Colombia?
- At the example salary the statutory employer charges run at about 34% of gross: 12% pension, 4% to the family compensation fund and 0.522% occupational risk insurance every month, then the cesantias, the 12% interest on them and the prima de servicios once a year. On a US$36,000 salary that is roughly US$1,030 a month on top of salary. Published EOR fees then run from about $199 to $699 per employee per month, so the all-in cost lands near $4,225 to $4,725 a month depending on the provider.
- Why does this page not charge the 8.5% health contribution?
- Because of article 114-1 of the Estatuto Tributario, added by article 65 of Ley 1819 de 2016. A company that files Colombian corporate income tax is exonerated from health, SENA and ICBF for 'los trabajadores que devenguen, individualmente considerados, menos de diez (10) salarios minimos mensuales legales vigentes'. Ten minimum wages is COP 17,509,050 a month in 2026 and the example salary is about COP 9.5 million a month, so those three lines are switched off. Cross the threshold and 13.5 points come back at once.
- Is there a ceiling on Colombian employer contributions?
- On pension and health, yes: article 5 of Ley 797 de 2003 caps the ingreso base de cotizacion at twenty-five monthly minimum wages, COP 43,772,625 a month in 2026. The caja de compensacion familiar, SENA and ICBF levies are charged on the monthly payroll with no ceiling, and so are the cesantias and the prima, which are a share of salary by definition.
- Did the 2024 pension reform change what employers pay?
- Not so far. Ley 2381 de 2024 was to take effect on 1 July 2025, and the official compilation of the law carries the header 'Entrada en vigencia suspendida, salvo los articulos 12, paragrafo transitorio, y 76'. The rate would not move in any case: article 20 of that law repeats the 16% contribution and the same 75/25 split between employer and employee, which is what article 20 of Ley 100 de 1993 already says.
- What makes Colombia expensive compared with its charge rates?
- The annual payments rather than the monthly percentages. The monthly lines come to about 16.5% of gross at the example salary, but the cesantias, their interest and the prima de servicios add two more months of pay a year, which is another 17.7 points. A quote that prices only the monthly social security lines will understate a Colombian hire by roughly half.