Employer of Record in Hong Kong: what one employee really costs
Hong Kong, Asia. One software engineer at $75,000 gross per year, priced through 12 providers with a published fee, on the ECB reference rates of 18 Sept 2026. Change the salary and headcount below.
- Employer on-cost
- +3.1%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $6,640 – $7,140
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
Hiring one software engineer in Hong Kong at $75,000 gross a year costs about $191 a month in statutory employer charges (+3.1%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $6,640 to $7,140 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 Hong Kong
Price your own hire, line by line.
≈ HKD 588,370 gross / year · HKD at ECB reference rate, 18 Sept 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $6,250 | |
| MPF mandatory contribution (employer share) capped | 5% | $191 |
| Employer on-cost | +3.1% | $191 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $6,441 |
$6,640/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $79,682
- Fee share
- 3.0%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quote$6,940/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $83,282
- Fee share
- 7.2%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quote$7,040/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $84,482
- Fee share
- 8.5%
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 | $6,640 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $6,640/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $6,760 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $6,760/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $6,840 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $6,840/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $6,840 | 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· $6,840/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $6,940 | 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· $6,940/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $6,940 | 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· $6,940/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $7,020 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $7,020/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $7,040 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $7,040/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $7,040 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $7,040/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $7,040 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $7,040/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $7,140 | 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· $7,140/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $7,140 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $7,140/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 Hong Kong 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: The hire is aged 18 to 64 and stays longer than 60 days = 1.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPF mandatory contribution (employer share)Every employee aged 18 to 64 engaged for 60 days or more, on relevant income up to HKD 30,000 a month | 5% | Gross salary , capped at HKD 360,000 / yr The whole employer side of a Hong Kong payslip is this one line, and the ceiling is what makes it small. The MPFA states that employers and employees each contribute 5% of relevant income, and that the current maximum relevant income level is HKD 30,000 a month, which caps the employer at HKD 1,500 a month whatever the salary. Those levels have applied to contribution periods commencing from 1 June 2014, per the MPFA's own table of legislative amendment history; the minimum level of HKD 7,100 a month governs the employee's contribution, not the employer's, who pays 5% of relevant income below it too. Relevant income is all monetary payments including a 13th month where the contract provides one, and it expressly excludes severance payments and long service payments. The practical consequence is worth stating plainly: Deel's Hong Kong page estimates the employer cost at about 5.777% of salary with 'Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) - 5%' listed uncapped, but the ceiling means that at the example salary on this page the MPF is nearer 1.5% of gross, and it keeps falling as pay rises. | MPFA2026-09-20 |
| Long service payment and severance payment not in total | — | Real, statutory, and impossible to express honestly as a share of one salary, so it is carried at zero and left out of the total. The Employment Ordinance makes a long service payment or a severance payment due on certain terminations after a qualifying period of service, and the MPFA states that both are excluded from relevant income, so no MPF is charged on them. What they cost depends on why and when the employment ends, not on what the job pays this year. Ask any provider how it funds them before signing. | MPFA2026-09-20 |
| Employees' compensation insurance not in total | — | Compulsory for every employer in Hong Kong, but it is an insurance premium set by an insurer rather than a rate set by statute, so there is no official percentage to publish and it is carried at zero. Deel's Hong Kong page prices it at about 0.4% of salary as part of its own 5.777% estimate, and adds a 0.60% administrative fee of its own on top; neither figure is a statutory charge, which is why neither is in the ledger above. | Deel2026-09-20 |
| Employer on-cost at $75,000 | +3.1% | $2,294 a year, $191 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Hong Kong is one of the cheaper places to incorporate in the region, so the entity question here is less about statutory cost than about who carries the employment obligations: the mandatory employees' compensation insurance, the MPF enrolment, and the long service and severance payments that fall due on termination. Under an employer of record the provider is the legal employer and carries all three. The ledger above is short enough that a provider's monthly fee, not the statutory charges, is the larger number on a Hong Kong hire.
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 | $2,294 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $6,883 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $11,472 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $22,945 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $45,889 |
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
- 7 days
- Public holidays
- 15
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- no statutory maximum
- Notice
- 1 month after probation; 7 days minimum during probation after the first month
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-20
Get a quote for Hong Kong.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $75,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for Hong Kong: 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 actually pay on top of salary in Hong Kong?
- One statutory line: the employer's 5% MPF contribution, charged on relevant income up to HKD 30,000 a month. That caps the employer at HKD 1,500 a month, about US$191 at the reference rate used on this page, whatever the salary above the ceiling. At the US$75,000 example that is roughly 3.1% of gross, and the share keeps falling as pay rises.
- Why is this figure lower than the 5.777% providers quote for Hong Kong?
- Because the published estimates apply 5% to the whole salary. The MPF ceiling means the employer's 5% stops at HKD 30,000 of monthly relevant income. The rest of a typical quote is an employees' compensation insurance premium and the provider's own administrative fee, neither of which is a rate set by statute, so neither is in the ledger on this page.
- What does one engineer cost per month through an EOR in Hong Kong?
- At the US$75,000 example: US$6,250 of salary, about US$191 of MPF, and the provider's fee. With a published fee of US$599 a month that is about US$7,040 a month in total. Change the salary or the provider in the calculator above and every line recomputes.
- Does the employer pay MPF on a 13th month or a bonus?
- Yes, where the contract provides one. The MPFA counts 13th month pay, bonuses, commissions and cash allowances as relevant income. It excludes severance payments and long service payments. In practice the ceiling absorbs most of the difference for a salary above HKD 30,000 a month.
- What paid time off is statutory in Hong Kong?
- Seven days of paid annual leave after twelve months of continuous service, rising with length of service, one rest day in every period of seven days, and the statutory holidays, of which the Labour Department lists 15 for 2026.