Employer cost calculator: Germany 2026
Enter a salary to estimate employer contributions in Germany, with each rate sourced.
Topic: Employment costsHiring across borders
Independent, source-cited guides to hiring internationally.
DariaG is an English-language publication for founders, operations and HR teams who need to hire people in another country. They need to understand the options, the costs and the obligations.
01Our purpose
Clear answers to the questions behind an international hire.
Which route fits a company's first hire in another country? What does an employee really cost? How do providers compare on the facts that matter? Each guide will cite official sources, such as the government agencies and statutory bodies of the country it covers, and will show the date its facts were checked.
i.
Independent
We are not a law firm, an accounting firm, an employer of record or a payroll provider. A possible commission does not decide which providers we include or how we describe them.
ii.
Source-based
Figures and rules come from primary sources wherever possible. Our guides show the source of each factual figure and the date it was checked.
iii.
Transparent
Some guides contain affiliate links. Each one is marked, and the guide says so at the top, before the first link. A possible commission does not change which providers we include or how we describe them.
02Guides
Our first guides.
The first guides cover the decisions a company faces when it hires in another country. Each one cites its sources and shows the date its facts were checked.
Employer of record, local entity or contractor
How the three routes compare for a company making its first hire in another country, with Germany as a worked example.
Topic: Hiring structuresWhat it costs to employ someone in Germany in 2026
Employer social-insurance contributions, ceilings and worked examples, set out with their sources.
Topic: Employment costsHow to compare employer-of-record providers
The questions to ask, and published starting prices checked in October 2026.
Topic: International business operationsHiring in the UK from abroad
Employer of record, UK company, contractor (IR35) or direct employment, with the employer duties that apply in 2026/27.
Topic: Hiring structuresWhat it costs to employ someone in the UK in 2026/27
Employer National Insurance, pension contributions and worked examples for 2026/27, set out with their sources.
Topic: Employment costsContractor or employee? Germany, the UK and the Netherlands
The status tests, official checks and consequences in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, side by side.
Topic: Hiring structuresHiring in the Netherlands from abroad
Employer of record, Dutch BV, contractor or direct employment, with sick pay, dismissal rules and the 2027 Wtta change.
Topic: Hiring structuresEmployer of record pricing and costs
Deposits, set-up and exit fees and currency charges, with what ten providers publish on their pricing pages.
Topic: International business operationsMoving employees from an EOR to your own company
TUPE, §613a BGB, Germany's 18-month leasing limit and the steps for moving staff from an EOR to your own company.
Topic: Hiring structures03How our guides are built
Every guide shows its working.
Illustration of the guide format. Not a published guide.
The decision first, then the evidence.
Each guide opens with the decision it helps you make, sets out the options in plain language, and links every figure to the source it comes from1.
Where a figure depends on a service provider's own information, such as its prices or coverage, the guide says so and links to it2.
- Facts checked
- The date is shown on every guide
- Sources
- Listed and linked, primary sources first
- Review
- Our editorial process includes human review before publication
- Not advice
- General information, not legal, tax, payroll or employment advice
1, 2: example citation markers. In a published guide, each links to its source and check date.
How we earn money: affiliate links, if any are added, are disclosed next to the link. Affiliate disclosure
04Editorial standards
What you can expect from us.
Affiliate disclosure
How we earn money from some links, and how we mark and disclose them.
Read the disclosure