Country fileNONOKVerified 2026-09-20
NO
Employer of Record in Norway: what one employee really costs
Norway, Europe. 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
- +18.9%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $7,629 – $8,129
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
- Onboarding through an EOR
- 10–15 days
- per Playroll - Employer of Record Norway, time to hire first employee
Hiring one software engineer in Norway at $75,000 gross a year costs about $1,180 a month in statutory employer charges (+18.9%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $7,629 to $8,129 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 Norway
Price your own hire, line by line.
employee inatgross / year
≈ NOK 707,428 gross / year · NOK at ECB reference rate, 18 Sept 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $6,250 | |
| Employer's national insurance contribution (arbeidsgiveravgift) | 14.10% | $881 |
| Mandatory occupational pension contribution (OTP) | 2% | $125 |
| Employer's contribution on the pension premium | 0.28% | $18 |
| Holiday pay above the salary it replaces (feriepenger) | 2.19% | $137 |
| Employer's contribution on the holiday pay surplus | 0.31% | $19 |
| Employer on-cost | +18.9% | $1,180 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $7,430 |
RemoFirstLowest total
$7,629/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $91,550
- Fee share
- 2.6%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quotePapaya Global
$7,929/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $95,150
- Fee share
- 6.3%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quoteDeel
$8,029/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $96,350
- Fee share
- 7.5%
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 | $7,629 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $7,629/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $7,749 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $7,749/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $7,829 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $7,829/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $7,829 | 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· $7,829/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $7,929 | 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· $7,929/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $7,929 | 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· $7,929/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $8,009 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $8,009/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $8,029 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $8,029/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $8,029 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $8,029/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $8,029 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $8,029/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $8,129 | 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· $8,129/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $8,129 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $8,129/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 Norway 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: Employer registered in Oslo, which is zone I for the employer's national insurance contribution = 1; Occupational pension funded at the legal minimum of 2% of pay up to 12 G = 2; Holiday pay modelled as a 2.19% surplus over the pay withheld for the 25 statutory holiday days = 2.19.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer's national insurance contribution (arbeidsgiveravgift)Employers registered in zone I, which includes Oslo | 14.10% | Gross salary The Storting sets the rate annually rather than the National Insurance Act, and it is differentiated by geography: the 2026 decision gives 14.1% in zone I, then 10.6%, 6.4%, 5.1% and 7.9% by zone, and 0% in zone V. A company with registered sub-units computes the rate per sub-unit, and work performed mainly in another zone is charged at that zone's rate unless it is remote work in a cheaper zone. There is no pay ceiling and no surcharge above a salary threshold anywhere in the 2026 text: the NOK 850,000 figure that appears in it is the de-minimis state-aid limit for reduced-rate zones, which is a limit per company and not a threshold per employee. | Stortingsvedtak om fastsetting av avgifter mv. til folketrygden for 2026 (FOR-2025-12-18-2748), sections 1 to 42026-09-20 |
| Mandatory occupational pension contribution (OTP)Every company with at least two staff working 75% of full time, or one employee without an ownership interest at that level | 2% | Gross salary , capped at NOK 1,638,588 / yr Section 4(1) of the Mandatory Occupational Pension Act requires an annual contribution of at least 2% of the pay each member receives up to 12 G, and since the 2022 amendment it runs from the first krone rather than from 1 G. The base amount G is NOK 136,549 from 1 May 2026, so the ceiling is NOK 1,638,588 of pay. Two further costs sit in the same section and are not in this line because neither is a percentage of pay: the premium for contribution waiver on disability, and the scheme's administration costs, both of which the Act puts on the employer on top of the contribution. | Lov om obligatorisk tjenestepensjon (LOV-2005-12-21-124), section 4 first paragraph2026-09-20 |
| Employer's contribution on the pension premiumCharged on the pension contribution itself, so it stops where the pension contribution stops, at 12 G of pay | 0.28% | Gross salary , capped at NOK 1,638,588 / yr Section 23-2 of the National Insurance Act says in terms that the employer's contribution is due on employers' payments into annuity and pension schemes. The 14.1% therefore falls on the OTP premium as well as on salary: 14.1% of the 2% minimum is 0.282% of pay. Cost pages that show a pension line and a national insurance line side by side usually leave this compounding out, which understates the Norwegian employer by roughly a quarter of a point before anything else is counted. | Folketrygdloven (LOV-1997-02-28-19), section 23-2 sixth paragraph2026-09-20 |
| Holiday pay above the salary it replaces (feriepenger) | 2.19% | Added to the annual costSection 10(2) of the Holidays Act sets holiday pay at 10.2% of the previous year's pay basis, and section 11(1) shows how it works: it speaks of "the part of the holiday pay that exceeds pay for normal working hours during the holiday", so the first tranche stands in for wages the employee does not receive while on leave. Statutory leave is 25 virkedager counted on a six-day week, and Norwegian monthly payroll withholds 25 of 26 virkedager of a month's salary for it, which is 8.01% of annual pay. 10.2% less 8.01% leaves 2.19%, the figure carried here. Employees who have five weeks and 12% under a collective agreement reach a similar surplus by a different route, and employees over 60 add 2.3 percentage points on the part of the basis up to 6 G. | Ferieloven (LOV-1988-04-29-21), sections 5(1), 10(2) and 11(1)2026-09-20 |
| Employer's contribution on the holiday pay surplus | 0.31% | Added to the annual costHoliday pay is ordinary contributory remuneration, so the 14.1% applies to it. The contribution line above already charges twelve months of pay; what remains to add is the contribution on the 2.19% surplus, which is 0.31% of annual pay. | Folketrygdloven (LOV-1997-02-28-19), section 23-2 first paragraph2026-09-20 |
| Occupational injury insurance (yrkesskadeforsikring) not in total | — | Compulsory, and carried at zero because no statute sets its price. Section 3 of the Occupational Injury Insurance Act obliges every employer to take out cover, and section 4 requires it to be bought from an approved insurer or insurance pool, so the premium is whatever that insurer quotes for the role and the payroll. It is a real line on a Norwegian payroll: ask a provider what it charges rather than assuming it is inside the headline percentage. | Yrkesskadeforsikringsloven (LOV-1989-06-16-65), sections 3 and 42026-09-20 |
| Employer-paid sick pay for the first 16 days not in total | — | Carried at zero because it follows absence rather than pay. Section 8-19 of the National Insurance Act puts the first 16 calendar days of a sickness absence on the employer, and a fresh absence starting within 16 days of the last one falls inside the same employer period rather than starting a new one. NAV pays after that. | Folketrygdloven (LOV-1997-02-28-19), section 8-192026-09-20 |
| Employer on-cost at $75,000 | +18.9% | $14,161 a year, $1,180 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Norway is one of the places where owning the entity can change the bill rather than only the admin, because the employer's contribution follows the employer's registered zone. A company registered in Oslo pays 14.1%; the same salary run through a registered unit in zone V carries no employer contribution at all, and the zones in between charge 10.6%, 6.4%, 5.1% and 7.9%. An EOR hire is charged at the provider's own registration, which is in zone I, so the zone discount is not something a provider can pass on. Against that, Playroll puts an EOR hire at 10 to 15 business days and an Aksjeselskap at 4 to 8 weeks of incorporation plus payroll setup, with NOK 50,000 to NOK 150,000 of legal, notary and filing fees on its own figures. The arithmetic only favours the entity if the work genuinely belongs in a lower zone and you are willing to register there.
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 | $14,161 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $42,484 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $70,807 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $141,615 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $283,230 |
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
- 21 days
- Public holidays
- 12
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- up to 6 months
- Notice
- One month either way by default (Working Environment Act, section 15-3(1)), two months after five continuous years with the same employer and three months after ten. From ten years of service the employer's notice is at least four months once the employee has turned 50, five months after 55 and six months after 60, while the employee may still leave on three. Fourteen days either way during an agreed probation period.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-20
Get a quote for Norway.
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 Norway: those are the lines that move.
Get a RemoFirst quote· $7,629/mo Get a Papaya quote· $7,929/mo Get a Deel quote· $8,029/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 Norway?
- Statutory employer costs come to about 18.9% of gross pay: 14.1% employer's national insurance contribution in zone I, 2% mandatory occupational pension up to 12 G, 0.28% of national insurance charged on that pension premium, and about 2.5% for the part of holiday pay that exceeds the salary it replaces and the contribution on it. On a US$75,000 salary that is roughly US$1,180 a month on top of the US$6,250 of salary. Published EOR fees then run from about $199 to $699 per employee per month, so the all-in cost lands near $7,630 to $8,130 a month.
- Is the Norwegian employer contribution the same everywhere in the country?
- No. The rate is set by zone and follows where the employer, or its registered sub-unit, is registered rather than where the employee lives. Zone I is 14.1%, and the 2026 decision then gives 10.6%, 6.4%, 5.1% and 7.9% in zones II, III, IV and IVa, and 0% in zone V. An EOR hire is charged at the provider's own registration, which in practice is zone I.
- Does a Norwegian employer have to pay into a pension?
- Yes. The Mandatory Occupational Pension Act requires a scheme for any company with at least two people working 75% of full time, or one employee without an ownership interest at that level, and section 4 fixes the minimum contribution at 2% of pay up to 12 G, which is NOK 1,638,588 in 2026. The employer also pays the disability contribution-waiver premium and the scheme's administration costs on top, and the 14.1% national insurance contribution falls on the pension premium itself.
- How does Norwegian holiday pay work for an employer?
- Holiday pay is 10.2% of the previous year's pay basis and it replaces salary for the leave rather than being added to it, which is why the Act itself talks about the part that exceeds pay for normal working hours during the holiday. Deduct the 25 virkedager of statutory leave from a monthly salary and the net extra is about 2.19% of annual pay. Watch two details in a quote: a new hire has no basis from last year and so earns holiday pay before taking paid leave, and employees over 60 get 2.3 percentage points more on pay up to 6 G.
- How many public holidays does Norway have?
- Twelve named days. Ten are helligdager under the Public Holidays and Holy Day Peace Act - New Year's Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, Whit Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day - and 1 May and 17 May are added by the 1947 Act that treats them as Sundays. Easter Sunday and Whit Sunday always fall on a Sunday, so at most ten of the twelve cost a working day.