Employer of Record in Romania: what one employee really costs
Romania, Europe. One software engineer at $40,000 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
- +2.3%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $3,607 – $4,107
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
- Onboarding through an EOR
- 3 days
- per Deel - Hire employees in Romania ('your next hire could start in as little as 3 days with Deel')
Hiring one software engineer in Romania at $40,000 gross a year costs about $75 a month in statutory employer charges (+2.3%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $3,607 to $4,107 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 Romania
Price your own hire, line by line.
≈ RON 183,759 gross / year · RON at ECB reference rate, 18 Sept 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $3,333 | |
| Work insurance contribution (contributia asiguratorie pentru munca) | 2.25% | $75 |
| Employer on-cost | +2.3% | $75 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $3,408 |
$3,607/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $43,288
- Fee share
- 5.5%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quote$3,907/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $46,888
- Fee share
- 12.8%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quote$4,007/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $48,088
- Fee share
- 14.9%
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 | $3,607 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $3,607/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $3,727 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $3,727/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $3,807 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $3,807/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $3,807 | 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· $3,807/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $3,907 | 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· $3,907/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $3,907 | 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· $3,907/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $3,987 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $3,987/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $4,007 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $4,007/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $4,007 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $4,007/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $4,007 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $4,007/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $4,107 | 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· $4,107/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $4,107 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $4,107/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 Romania 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 role is classified as normal working conditions = 1.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work insurance contribution (contributia asiguratorie pentru munca)Every employer, on the total gross salary and salary-assimilated income of each employee, with no ceiling and no floor | 2.25% | Gross salary This single rate is the whole employer side of a Romanian payslip, and it has been since 1 January 2018. Article 220^3(1) of the Fiscal Code states it in one sentence - 'Cota contributiei asiguratorii pentru munca este de 2,25%' - and article 220^4(1) defines the monthly base as the sum of gross salary and salary-assimilated earnings, with no ceiling written anywhere in the chapter. What makes Romania unusual is what that one rate buys. Article 220^6(4) splits the money five ways: 15% to the wage guarantee fund, 20% to the unemployment budget, 5% to the occupational accident and disease insurance system, 40% to the health fund for sick pay, and 20% to the state budget. Countries that charge an employer separately for accident insurance, unemployment and sick-leave funding collect all three here inside 2.25%. The 25% pension and 10% health contributions that also appear on a Romanian payslip are the employee's own, levied on the employee under articles 138(a) and 156; the 2018 reform moved them off the employer and they are not part of this figure. | Fiscal Code (Legea nr. 227/2015), articles 220^1 to 220^6, consolidated text of 8 August 2026 on the Ministry of Justice legislative portal2026-09-20 |
| First five days of sick leave - paid by the employer not in total | — | A real employer cost that no percentage can honestly carry, so it is named here and left out of the total. Article 12 of Government Emergency Ordinance 158/2005 divides sick pay between two payers: 'de catre angajator, din prima zi pana in a 5-a zi de incapacitate temporara de munca', the employer from the first day to the fifth, and the national health fund from the sixth day onward. Every certified illness therefore starts on the employer's account, whatever the 2.25% has already paid into the health fund. What it costs you depends on how often your employee is ill, which is why it cannot be a rate; budget it as a small variable line rather than as nothing. | Government Emergency Ordinance 158/2005 on health insurance leave and allowances, article 12, consolidated text of 1 July 20262026-09-20 |
| Disability employment quota - assessed on the legal employer's headcount not in total | — | Carried at zero because it is charged on a company's own headcount, not on one salary. Article 78(2) of Law 448/2006 requires any employer with at least 50 staff to fill 4% of its posts with disabled workers; article 78(3) requires an employer that does not fill them to pay the state, each month, either the national gross minimum wage multiplied by the number of unfilled quota posts, or at least half of that sum where the balance goes to buying goods and services from authorised sheltered workshops. Under an employer of record the legal employer is the provider, whose Romanian payroll is far past fifty people, so the levy is its cost and may be passed on: Deel's Romania page prints a flat 'Disability cost' of RON 162 a month per employee. Ask whether that line appears on your invoice. | Law 448/2006 on the protection and promotion of the rights of disabled persons, article 78, consolidated text of 31 August 20262026-09-20 |
| Pre-employment medical certificate - required before the contract is valid not in total | — | Carried at zero because it is a fee per hire, not a share of pay, and it is named because it is a condition of the contract existing at all. Article 27 of the Labour Code allows a person to be employed only on the strength of a medical certificate finding them fit for that work, and states in the next paragraph that failing to obtain one makes the individual employment contract void. Providers bill it separately; Deel's Romania page carries it at RON 240. Expect it once per hire, not monthly. | Labour Code (Legea nr. 53/2003, republished), article 27, consolidated text of 27 April 20262026-09-20 |
| Thirteenth month - not required by Romanian law not in total | — | Carried at zero because the Labour Code creates no thirteenth-month entitlement and no statutory holiday bonus. Romanian employers commonly add meal vouchers, private health cover, a performance bonus and a teleworking allowance, and Deel lists the last of these as a monthly line on its Romania page. None of them is compulsory. Treat all of them as market cost in a competitive offer, not as a legal charge. | Labour Code (Legea nr. 53/2003, republished), consolidated text of 27 April 2026 on the Ministry of Justice legislative portal2026-09-20 |
| Employer on-cost at $40,000 | +2.3% | $900 a year, $75 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
Romania charges an employer 2.25% of gross and nothing else, one of the lightest ledgers priced here, and that changes what the provider decision is about. At 2.25% there is almost nothing for an entity of your own to save on the payroll side: a Romanian SRL would file the same single contribution on the same base. What the entity route buys is the disappearance of a fee that, on a Romanian salary, is a larger share of the total than the tax is - at US$40,000 the 2.25% is about US$75 a month against published provider fees of US$199 to US$699. That arithmetic flips the usual crossover: in most countries you stay with a provider because the statutory ledger is frightening, and in Romania you leave one because the ledger is not. Against that sits the SRL itself - registration, a Romanian accountant, the labour inspectorate's Revisal filings, and the disability quota once you pass fifty staff - versus a hire that starts in about three days. One or two engineers still favour the provider; a team you intend to keep for years is a strong entity case, since the fee it removes is 2.7 to 9.3 times the tax at this salary.
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 | $900 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $2,700 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $4,500 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $9,000 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $18,000 |
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
- 20 days
- Public holidays
- 17
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- up to 3 months
- Notice
- At least twenty working days, the statutory minimum under article 75(1) of the Labour Code for dismissal on grounds of unfitness, professional inadequacy or redundancy. Contracts and collective agreements routinely set longer.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-20
Get a quote for Romania.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $40,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for Romania: 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 Romania?
- The statutory employer charge is a single 2.25% work insurance contribution on gross salary, with no ceiling. On a US$40,000 salary that is roughly US$75 a month on top of pay. Published EOR fees then run from about $199 to $699 per employee per month, so the provider's fee is about 2.7 to 9.3 times the tax and the all-in cost lands near $3,600 to $4,100 a month.
- Why is the Romanian employer cost only 2.25%?
- Because Romania moved the burden onto the employee in 2018. The 25% pension and 10% health contributions on a Romanian payslip are the employee's own under articles 138 and 156 of the Fiscal Code, not the employer's. What the employer pays is one work insurance contribution at 2.25%, and article 220^6(4) splits it five ways: unemployment, the wage guarantee fund, occupational accident insurance, sick pay and the state budget. Charges that appear as separate employer lines in Germany or Belgium are all inside that one rate here.
- Is 2.25% really the whole employer cost in Romania?
- For the payslip, yes, for a normal office role. Three real costs sit outside it. An employer pays the first five days of any certified sick leave itself under article 12 of Ordinance 158/2005. Employers with fifty or more staff owe the disability quota levy under article 78 of Law 448/2006, which under an EOR is the provider's obligation and may be passed on - Deel prints RON 162 a month for it. And a pre-employment medical certificate is required before the contract is valid at all. A hazardous-work classification would add a further 4% or 8%, but not for desk work.
- How much paid leave and how many public holidays does Romania give?
- Twenty working days of annual leave as the legal minimum under article 145 of the Labour Code, plus seventeen public holidays, an unusually long list. Article 139 names them: 1 and 2 January, Epiphany on 6 January, St John on 7 January, 24 January, Good Friday, both days of Orthodox Easter, 1 May, 1 June, both days of Pentecost, 15 August, 30 November, 1 December and both days of Christmas. Public holidays are not counted inside the twenty days.
- What notice and probation apply in Romania?
- Probation runs to at most 90 calendar days for a non-managerial role and 120 for a managerial one, and during it either side can end the contract by written notice alone, with no notice period and no reason given. After probation, dismissal for unfitness, professional inadequacy or redundancy carries a statutory minimum of twenty working days' notice. Only one probation period is allowed per contract.