Employer of Record in Ghana: what one employee really costs
Ghana, Africa. One software engineer at $18,000 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
- +13.0%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $1,894 – $2,394
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
- Onboarding through an EOR
- 3 days
- per Deel - Hire employees in Ghana ('your next hire could start in as little as 3 days with Deel')
Hiring one software engineer in Ghana at $18,000 gross a year costs about $195 a month in statutory employer charges (+13.0%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $1,894 to $2,394 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 Ghana
Price your own hire, line by line.
≈ GHS 202,215 gross / year · GHS at the European Commission monthly rate for September 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $1,500 | |
| SSNIT first-tier pension, employer share | 13% | $195 |
| Employer on-cost | +13.0% | $195 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $1,695 |
$1,894/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $22,728
- Fee share
- 10.5%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quote$2,194/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $26,328
- Fee share
- 22.7%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quote$2,294/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $27,528
- Fee share
- 26.1%
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 | $1,894 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $1,894/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $2,014 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $2,014/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $2,094 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $2,094/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $2,094 | 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· $2,094/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $2,194 | 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· $2,194/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $2,194 | 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· $2,194/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $2,274 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $2,274/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $2,294 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $2,294/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $2,294 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $2,294/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $2,294 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $2,294/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $2,394 | 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· $2,394/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $2,394 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $2,394/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 Ghana 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: Basic salary as a share of gross = 1.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSNIT first-tier pension, employer shareEvery employer of one or more workers, on basic salary between the minimum and maximum insurable earnings | 13% | Basic wage , capped at GHS 828,000 / yr, floor GHS 7,054 / yr SSNIT states the split plainly for employers: 'Worker - 5.5% of workers' basic salary. Employer - 13% workers' basic salary. Total - 18.5% of workers' basic salary.' The employer's own charge is therefore 13%, and the 13.5% that often appears in provider price lists is something else: it is the slice of the combined 18.5% that is remitted to SSNIT for the first tier, with the remaining 5% going to a licensed second-tier scheme. Half a point of that 13.5% comes out of the worker's 5.5%, not out of the employer. Both tiers are funded inside the same 18.5%, so an employer that pays 13% has paid for both. | SSNIT2026-09-21 |
| Maximum and minimum insurable earnings for 2026: GHS 69,000 and GHS 587.80 a month not in total | — | Carried at zero because it is the band the 13% applies to, not a charge of its own. SSNIT's public notice of 13 January 2026 raised the maximum insurable earning for 2026 from GHS 61,000 to GHS 69,000 under section 63(3) of the National Pensions Act 2008 (Act 766), and the minimum from GHS 539.19 to GHS 587.80 following the rise in the national daily minimum wage: 'from 1 January 2026, the maximum and minimum contributions payable to SSNIT will be GHS 9,315.00 and GHS 79.40 respectively.' The ceiling is high enough that a software salary sits well under it, so the 13% behaves as a flat rate here - but SSNIT's own FAQ page still says the maximum contribution is on a salary of GHS 25,000, a figure the notice supersedes. Read the notice, not the FAQ. | SSNIT2026-09-21 |
| Worker contribution of 5.5% - deducted from pay, not an employer charge not in total | — | Carried at zero because it comes out of the worker's salary. It matters here more than in most countries because of how Ghanaian contributions are described: the familiar 18.5% is the combined figure, and it is routinely quoted where an employer cost is meant. Of that 18.5%, the employer bears 13 points and the worker 5.5. Anyone comparing Ghana against another country on an 18.5% basis is comparing an employer charge with a total. | SSNIT2026-09-21 |
| Second-tier occupational scheme - funded inside the 18.5%, not added to it not in total | — | Carried at zero because it is not an extra employer charge. SSNIT instructs employers to 'Remit 13.5% of the total contribution to SSNIT within 14 days of the following month. 5% to Tier 2.' The 5% is carved out of the same 18.5% and paid to a licensed corporate trustee rather than to SSNIT, so an employer that has paid 13% has funded its share of both tiers. A third tier exists and is voluntary. This is the most common way Ghana gets over-priced: 13% and 5% are added together to produce an 18% employer cost that does not exist. | SSNIT2026-09-21 |
| Thirteenth month pay - not required by Ghanaian law not in total | — | Carried at zero because the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) contains no thirteenth month or annual bonus obligation. What it does fix is fifteen working days of paid annual leave per calendar year of continuous service under section 20, and a notice ladder under section 17 that tops out at one month. | Ghana Investment Promotion Centre2026-09-21 |
| Employer on-cost at $18,000 | +13.0% | $2,340 a year, $195 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Ghana has one employer charge and three ways to get it wrong. The charge is 13% of basic salary to SSNIT. The three wrong numbers are 18.5%, which is the combined employer-and-worker contribution; 13.5%, which is the share of that combined figure remitted to the first tier and includes half a point taken from the worker's 5.5%; and 18%, which is 13% and 5% added together as if the second tier were an extra bill rather than a carve-out of the same 18.5%. Deel's Ghana page prices social security at 13.50%, half a point above what the Act puts on the employer. The second thing worth knowing is the ceiling, because it moved this year: SSNIT raised maximum insurable earnings to GHS 69,000 a month on 1 January 2026, which is high enough that a software salary is charged in full and the 13% behaves like a flat rate - the opposite of Egypt, where a low ceiling collapses an 18.75% headline into a few per cent. The base is basic salary rather than total pay, so a package split into basic plus allowances is charged on the narrower part; that is a drafting choice, and it is the main lever on Ghanaian employer cost. Your own entity would pay exactly the same 13%: the comparison against an employer of record turns on the provider fee and on who carries registration and the fourteen-day remittance deadline.
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 | $2,340 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $7,020 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $11,700 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $23,400 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $46,800 |
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
- 14
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- no statutory maximum
- Notice
- By contract length, under section 17(1) of the Labour Act, 2003: one month's notice or one month's pay in lieu for a contract of three years or more, two weeks for a contract of less than three years, and seven days for a week-to-week engagement. Notice must be in writing, and the day it is given counts towards the period. The Act recognises a probationary period 'of reasonable duration determined in advance' without fixing a maximum, so the length is a matter for the contract.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-21
Get a quote for Ghana.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $18,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for Ghana: 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
- How much does an employer of record cost in Ghana?
- On a USD 18,000 salary the gross is about $1,500 a month and the SSNIT employer contribution adds about $195 when the whole package is basic salary, so payroll lands near $1,695 before the provider fee. Add the fee: about $1,894 a month with Remofirst at $199, about $2,294 with Deel at $599. A package split into basic plus allowances carries the 13% on the basic part only, so the employer charge falls.
- Is the employer contribution in Ghana 13% or 18.5%?
- 13%. SSNIT's instruction to employers is to deduct 5.5% from the worker's salary and add 13% of basic salary, making 18.5% in total - so 18.5% is the combined figure, not the employer's. The 13.5% that appears in some provider price lists is the portion of that combined 18.5% remitted to SSNIT for the first tier, which includes half a point taken from the worker's share.
- Do I pay the second-tier pension on top of the 13%?
- No. SSNIT tells employers to remit 13.5% of the total contribution to SSNIT and 5% to Tier 2 - both out of the same 18.5%. The second tier is a mandatory occupational scheme run by a licensed corporate trustee, funded by a carve-out rather than by an extra charge. A third tier exists and is voluntary.
- Is there a ceiling on Ghanaian social security contributions?
- Yes, and it rose this year. SSNIT's public notice of 13 January 2026 set maximum insurable earnings for 2026 at GHS 69,000 a month, up from GHS 61,000, which puts the maximum monthly contribution to SSNIT at GHS 9,315. The minimum insurable earning is GHS 587.80. The ceiling sits high enough that a software salary is charged in full, so the 13% works as a flat rate at this level of pay.
- What leave and notice apply in Ghana?
- Section 20 of the Labour Act, 2003 gives every worker not less than fifteen working days of leave with full pay in any calendar year of continuous service, and 'full pay' includes the cash equivalent of remuneration in kind. Notice under section 17 is one month for a contract of three years or more and two weeks below that, in writing. There is no statutory thirteenth month and no statutory maximum on probation.