EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 20267 min read14 providers compared24 sources
€8,303 employer cost a month on your own payroll, €70,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
≈42% employer contributions for 50+ staff, before the work-accident rate
2 registration steps before the first hire
€8,300 a month for a €70,000 employee, before the work-accident rate
Before the first French payroll, your company registers as an employer, which gives it a Siret number and an Urssaf account, and files a pre-hire declaration. Then one social declaration (DSN) goes in every month, by the 15th while you have fewer than 50 staff.
Short answer
A foreign company without a French establishment registers through the INPI one-stop shop; the Urssaf foreign firms service then opens its employer account.
Each new employee needs a pre-hire declaration (DPAE), filed within 8 days before the hire.
Under 50 staff, the DSN and the contributions are due by the 15th of the following month, whatever the pay date.
The employer withholds income tax from salary at the rate the tax administration calculates and shows it on the payslip.
On this page
What has to happen before the first payroll
Registration comes first, and for a company with no establishment in France it rests on two filings. The company makes a creation declaration on the INPI one-stop shop (Guichet unique) and files a pre-hire declaration. Once the declaration is validated it receives a Siret number, and the file passes to the Urssaf foreign firms service, which opens the employer account.[1] The set-up table gives no duration for these steps.
The pre-hire declaration (déclaration préalable à l’embauche, DPAE) is not a one-off for the company. It is compulsory for each employee and is filed within 8 days before the hire.[2] The first employee’s DPAE is therefore part of registering, and every later hire needs one of its own. Both appear under employer registrations.
Running payroll month to month
Each month turns on one filing, and its date depends on headcount. An employer with fewer than 50 staff files the social declaration (déclaration sociale nominative, DSN) by the 15th of the following month; from 50 staff it is the 5th or the 15th, depending on when salaries are paid.[3] Contributions follow the same rule: under 50 staff, by the 15th whatever the pay date.[4] Each salary payment comes with a payslip (bulletin de paie),[5] which also shows the income tax the employer withholds at the rate the tax administration sets.[6] The employer also offers a collective health plan and pays at least half of it.[7] The dates sit under payroll obligations.
The cost table assumes an employer with 50 or more staff. Below that size the housing fund (FNAL) is 0.10% up to the PASS, and under 11 staff the training contribution is 0.55%.[8] It also holds only for pay of at least 3 times the SMIC (2.9293 times from 1 June 2026): lower pay earns the RGDU, a degressive reduction the table does not apply.[9] The comparison for one hire sets both routes side by side.
Registering as an employer
With your own entity, these steps run one after another before the first payroll.
A foreign company with no French establishment that hires an employee under French social security files a creation declaration with the INPI one-stop shop and a pre-hire declaration, receives a Siret number and an employer account at the Urssaf foreign firms service.
Compulsory for every employee, filed within 8 days before the hire.
Employer registrations
Employer account and Siret
Registration goes through the INPI one-stop shop and a pre-hire declaration; a foreign company without an establishment is handled by the Urssaf foreign firms service.[1]
Pre-hire declaration (DPAE)
Compulsory for each employee, within 8 days before the hire.[2]
Running payroll: deadlines and filings
The employer withholds the employee's income tax from salary at the rate the tax administration calculates, and shows it on the payslip.[6]
A compulsory monthly online declaration. Employers with fewer than 50 staff file it by the 15th of the following month; from 50 staff, by the 5th if salaries are paid in the month worked, or by the 15th if paid the month after.
15th of the following month under 50 staff; 5th or 15th from 50 staff
Paid on the DSN dates. Under 50 staff, by the 15th of the following month whenever salaries are paid; from 50 staff, by the 5th of the following month if salaries are paid in the month worked, or by the 15th of the month of payment if paid the month after.
Every private-sector employer offers its staff a collective complementary health plan, with some exceptions, and pays at least 50% of its contribution.
–
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on €70,000 a year, on your own payroll.
Assumes: an employer with 50 or more staff (for an EOR, the provider's French entity), pay above 3× SMIC (about €65,600 a year) where the 2026 general reduction no longer applies; accident rate varies.
Total to employer, a month€8,303
Gross salary€5,83370%
Employer contributions€2,46930%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
What one hire costs
Item
Rate
EUR / month
Gross salary
—
5,833
Health insurance (maladie, maternité, invalidité, décès)[10]
13%
758
Old-age insurance, capped part (vieillesse plafonnée)[8][11]
AGIRC-ARRCO technical balancing contribution (CET), due only above the PASS[14]
0.21%
12
Total to employer
8,303
Excludes the work-accident rate (notified to each employer by the Carsat), the versement mobilité (a local transport levy for employers with 11 or more staff, rate set by the local authority), the Apec levy for cadres (0.036% employer share, up to 4 times the PASS), any forfait social, disability-employment levy or supplementary apprenticeship levy, the employer's share (at least 50%) of the compulsory complementary health plan, and any death-and-disability cover set by a collective agreement. The PASS (annual social-security ceiling) is €48,060 in 2026; the AGIRC-ARRCO tranches run to 1 and 8 times it. The CET applies to the whole salary up to 8 times the PASS once pay exceeds the PASS. The PEEC is assessed on the previous year's payroll. Below 50 staff the FNAL is 0.10% up to the PASS and there is no PEEC; below 11 staff the training contribution is 0.55%. Pay below about 3 times the SMIC also earns the RGDU reduction, which these lines do not apply.
Global payroll providers
All 14 global payroll providers we score: those working in France first, then the rest, each by our global payroll score. Working in France: 11 (2 by their global payroll coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
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Top pro
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Top con
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Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Companies from startups to enterprises: Playroll has pages for each, and its case studies include startups under 100 staff and mid-market firms of 100 to 1,000
Not for
Contractors who want to be paid other than through Payoneer, the only payout route Playroll uses
Top pro
Its own country pages document EOR hiring in 151 countries + 6 territories, against a claim of 180+
Top con
A refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee; the unused part comes back within two months of the last working day, or once claims are settled if that is later
Startups, growing companies and enterprises, the three segments Pebl writes a page for
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: we list Pebl for contractor management, not COR
Top pro
Own SOC 2 Type 2 report and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, both on Pebl's security page
Top con
No live support channel named: Pebl lists its Alfie AI assistant, in-house experts and a Help Center; its pages say 24/7 support and do not say who answers
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Small businesses, including teams under 10 employees, startups and enterprises: the segments Rippling has pages for
Not for
Buyers who want to compare an EOR price before a sales call
Top pro
Contractor onboarding in 185+ countries and payments in 50+ local currencies, per its contractor page; 160 countries + 2 territories are documented here
Top con
No price for EOR, contractor management or global payroll: the pricing page asks for a custom quote
Crypto and web3 teams paying contractors in stablecoins or crypto, a segment Rise names (startups, web3 startups, DAOs, global agencies)
Not for
Companies that need an EOR in countries beyond the US and the UK today
Top pro
Prices are published per head: $49 a contractor a month (discounts for startups and non-profits), $299 for Agent of Record, $399 an employee for EOR
Top con
EOR is documented in 2 countries (US, UK) against a claim of 90+. The parent, Rise Works, Inc., is on the GLEIF register; no own entity is documented in either country
4.2Our score 4.2 of 10Limited dataOur global payroll score
Global payroll price
Custom quote
ServicesEOR · Payouts · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Startups, SMBs, agencies and enterprises: the segments Remozo names for its contractor product
Not for
Buyers whose security review asks for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 held by Remozo itself
Top pro
Contractor payouts claimed in 190+ countries; 98 are listed one by one in Remozo's help centre
Top con
Contractor plan from 3% per payout: for contractor payouts, 2 of the 6 other percentage prices we compare are lower and 1 the same. The contractor page says from 1.5%, which we do not score
One hire on €70,000 a year, through your own entity and through an EOR, from the figures on this page and the EOR page. The own-entity cost leaves out what running the entity costs, so the two columns are not like for like.
France: own entity and EOR for one hire
Compared
Own entity
Employer of Record
Before the first hire
2 set-up and registration steps
No entity: the EOR’s entity employs
Employer cost a month, before any provider fee
€8,303
€8,303
Provider fee a month
–
€299 a month (one provider, EUR); US$99 to US$699 a month (17 providers, USD)
Fewer than 3 providers publish a fee in EUR, so no total with the fee is given; fees in other currencies are not converted.
Neither figure is all-in: both leave out the costs named under the cost table.
The pre-hire declaration an employer files for every employee it intends to recruit, within 8 days before the hire.
When is the DSN due in France?
By the 15th of the following month for an employer with fewer than 50 staff. From 50 staff, by the 5th if salaries are paid in the month worked, or by the 15th if they are paid the month after.
Does a French employer have to provide health cover?
Yes. Every private-sector employer offers its staff a collective complementary health plan, with some exceptions, and pays at least 50% of its contribution. The cost table leaves that share out.
Is the work-accident contribution in the cost table?
No. The Carsat notifies each employer of its own rate, so the table leaves it out, as it does the local transport levy (versement mobilité).
Works in France
