Employer of Record in Germany: the AÜG limits, costs and providers
EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 20268 min read20 providers compared28 sources
€7,099 employer cost a month before the EOR fee, €70,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
≈22% employer contributions, before the EOR fee
€299 EOR fee a month, the one provider pricing in euros
€70,000 gross yearly salary in the cost example
When an EOR's employee works in Germany for you, the AÜG treats it as temporary agency work: a permit, equal pay and, as a rule, an 18-month cap per client. Employer contributions add ≈22% to salary before the EOR fee.
Short answer
For work in Germany, the provider needs a permit from the Federal Employment Agency to lease the employee to your company.
As a rule, one employee can work for the same client through an EOR for 18 consecutive months at most.
A €70,000 hire costs an employer about €7,100 a month before the EOR fee, counting salary and contributions. The provider's fee comes on top and is listed apart.
When the employee works in Germany inside your company's organisation and under its instructions, the Temporary Employment Act (AÜG) treats it as leasing an employee. The provider needs a permit for that, and as a rule it may lease the same employee to your company for 18 consecutive months at most.
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on €70,000 a year: the cost before the EOR fee.
Cost before the EOR fee, a month€7,099
Gross salary€5,83382%
Employer contributions€1,26618%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
Plus the EOR fee, not in this total. Published fees per employee: €299 a month (one provider, EUR); US$99 to US$699 a month (17 providers, USD). We add a fee to the total only when at least 3 providers publish one in EUR, and we do not convert currencies.
Excludes statutory accident insurance, set by industry and risk class; the U2 levy varies by health insurer.
Cost of one employee: Germany vs neighbours
What an employer pays a year for one employee on €70,000: gross salary plus employer contributions, with each country’s contribution caps. No EOR fee is included.
Netherlands: the total includes pay owed on top of salary (Holiday allowance (vakantiegeld), 8%).Germany: Excludes statutory accident insurance, set by industry and risk class; the U2 levy varies by health insurer.Netherlands: Every levy line is charged on the salary plus the 8% holiday allowance (the allowance counts as wages for these levies), up to the yearly maximum contribution wage of EUR 79,409, which is the same for the employee insurances and the Zvw. The allowance itself is owed to the employee and is shown as its own line, not as a levy. The Whk percentage is set for each employer by the Tax Administration; 1.52% is the 2026 figure it gives a starting large employer. Small employers pay a lower Aof rate (6.27%), employees on fixed-term, on-call or unwritten contracts carry the high AWf rate (7.74%), and public employers pay a Ufo premium of 0.68% in place of AWf. Pension contributions are not included; most employees build a supplementary pension through the employer, and in some sectors the employer must place it with the industry pension fund.France: 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.
Employer cost a year of one employee on €70,000: Germany and its neighbours
When the employee works in Germany for your company, German law treats an EOR as temporary agency work (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung). The EOR is the employer on paper: it signs the employment contract, runs payroll and lends the employee to your company, which directs the daily work.
Who does what when an EOR employs for you in Germany
Your company signs a service agreement with the EOR provider and pays it the salary, the employer contributions and a fee.
The EOR provider is the legal employer in Germany: it signs the employment contract and runs payroll, social contributions and benefits.
Your company and the EOR provider split duties by contract; who directs the work in practice is what the law in Germany looks at.
Your companyNo entity in Germany
Service agreementYou pay salary, contributions and a fee
EOR providerLegal employer in Germany
Employment contractPayroll, social contributions, benefits
EmployeeWorks in Germany
Duties split by contract
Your company and the EOR provider split duties by contract; who directs the work in practice is what the law in Germany looks at.
The Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (AÜG) sets the terms. An employee counts as leased when they work inside the client’s organisation and under its instructions, and a company that leases employees as part of its business needs a permit from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit).[1] The contract between the EOR and your company is subject to a disclosure and specification duty (Offenlegungspflicht).[3] The employee is entitled to the same pay as a comparable permanent employee of yours from the first day, unless an exception in the law applies.[2]
Work done entirely outside Germany is treated differently: since 1 October 2025 the agency’s guidance requires no AÜG permit where the employee works only from abroad and never travels to Germany for the work, reversing a stricter reading from October 2024.[4]
EOR or your own GmbH
An EOR lets you employ someone in Germany before a German entity exists, within the 18-month cap. With your own GmbH you employ people directly and lend no one, so the agency-work rules above do not apply.
The entity comes first, and it takes formal steps. The articles of association need notarial form[25], and the share capital is at least EUR 25,000.[26] Registration with the court, the tax office and the social insurance bodies follows before the first payroll. The payroll page lists those steps in order.
The costs differ in kind. Through an EOR you pay its fee for each employee every month the arrangement lasts. With your own entity that fee goes away, and the running costs of the GmbH and its payroll take its place. The EOR versus own entity comparison puts the two side by side for one hire.
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
Does not say whether it employs in Germany through its own entity or a partner.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Limited dataOur EOR score
EOR price from
US$459per employee a month, billed annually
EOR countries160 claimed, 106 documented
Onboarding2–3 days
ServicesEOR · COR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
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
Asks a refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$399per employee a month
Entity in Germany
Own entity
EOR countries180 claimed, 157 documented
Onboarding2–5 days
Deposit1 month
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
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
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
Its Germany page states employment through its own entity.
6.6Our score 6.6 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$599per employee a month
EOR countries180 claimed, 151 documented
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors
Best for
A first hire in one new country or a team spread over many, at a startup, mid-market firm or enterprise (G-P has a page for each)
Not for
Buyers who rank EOR providers mostly by the monthly fee
Top pro
G-P claims EOR in 180+ countries; its Globalpedia country guides document 148 countries + 3 territories one by one
Top con
EOR from $599 per employee a month; 15 of 20 other EOR prices in US dollars that we compare start lower; volume discounts are offered but not quantified
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
Prices EOR in Germany from $599 per employee a month.
5.8Our score 5.8 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price in Germany from
US$599per employee a month
Entity in Germany
Own entity
EOR countries160 claimed, 146 documented
ServicesEOR · AOR
Best for
Enterprise-level companies, the audience Atlas's enterprise page names
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: under Atlas's AOR the contract stays between the client and each contractor
Top pro
EOR in 141 countries + 5 territories documented here, against a claim of 160+ with wholly owned entities
Top con
At $599 per employee monthly, the EOR price is above 15 of the 20 other USD EOR prices we compare and equal to 4; local employer services, FX and benefits premiums are billed on top
Yes, with limits. When the employee works in Germany for your company, the AÜG treats it as temporary agency work: the Bundesagentur für Arbeit has to grant the provider a permit, and the law caps how long one employee can work for one client.
How long can someone work for me through an EOR in Germany?
As a rule, 18 consecutive months for the same client. A collective agreement in the client's industry can set a different limit, and earlier assignments count in full unless more than three months lie between them.
Does an EOR employee get the same pay as my own staff?
As a rule, yes. The AÜG entitles a leased employee to the same pay as a comparable permanent employee of the client from the first day, unless an exception in the law applies.
How much does an EOR cost in Germany?
Employer contributions add ≈22% to salary. One provider prices Germany in euros, from €299 per employee a month; the others publish US dollar prices, shown as published, not converted.
