Choosing an employer of record comes down to five checks: who employs the person in each country, what the full monthly cost is, how rights in their work reach you, how pay reaches them, and what leaving the provider costs. Which check matters most depends on who you hire: game studios weigh IP, Web3 teams weigh pay, mid-size companies weigh cost.
TL;DR
- An employer of record (EOR) legally employs people in countries where you have no entity. Published fees run from $199 to $699 a month per employee, before salary and employer contributions.
- Web3 protocols pay salary through an EOR in legal tender, because international labour standards require it and crypto is not legal tender in most countries. Tokens sit under a separate arrangement.
- Game studios need rights in code, art and audio to reach them through the EOR's agreement. Under EU law, rights in software an employee writes sit with the legal employer first.
- Mid-size companies should compare the fully loaded cost per country and whether the provider employs through its own entities. Kleos lists EOR from $200 a month, depending on country.
Provider prices checked on vendor pages, October 2026.
What is an employer of record, and when do you need one?
An employer of record (EOR) is a company that legally employs a person in a country where you have no entity. It signs the local employment contract, runs payroll, withholds tax, pays social contributions and administers statutory benefits. You direct the person's day-to-day work.
You need one when someone works for you as an employee in a country where you have no entity: full time, ongoing, under your direction. For most companies doing global hiring, an employer of record is the fastest route to international employment without opening an entity. Your own entity starts to pay off once headcount in one country grows large enough to cover setup and running costs.
A contractor-of-record is the counterpart for independent contractors. It signs a services agreement with the contractor and carries the classification risk for that engagement, but employs no one. Kleos runs both models on one platform. Deel alternatives for paying international contractors compares both models across eleven providers.
What should you check before choosing an employer of record?
Six things: who the legal employer is in each country, the full monthly cost, how rights in work reach you, how pay reaches the employee, what termination and changing provider cost, and who answers when something goes wrong. The monthly fee is usually the smallest number on that list.
| Check | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|
| Legal employer | Is it your own entity or a local partner's in each of our countries? | It decides who is accountable for payroll errors and disputes |
| Full monthly cost | Fee, employer contributions, benefits, FX, onboarding and termination | Employer contributions alone can exceed the fee several times over |
| Rights in work | How do rights in code, art and other work reach us? | Under EU law, software rights sit with the legal employer first |
| How pay reaches the employee | Currency, payroll dates, payout methods | Late or reduced pay turns into a retention problem |
| Termination and exit | Notice, severance, and what happens if we change provider | Local law and the EOR contract set these costs |
| Support | Named contact, response times, local expertise | Problems surface in the countries you hire in least |
Employer contributions are where costs diverge most. At the senior software engineer averages in Kleos's 2026 salary data, they add about 26% of salary in Spain, 14% in the UK and nothing in Armenia. Senior software engineer salary by country, 2026 shows both for 15 countries.
How do Web3 protocols choose an employer of record for contributors?
Web3 protocols choose an employer of record by splitting compensation first. Salary goes through the EOR in legal tender, because crypto is not legal tender in most countries. Token grants sit under a separate arrangement. Contributors who work independently stay outside the EOR and are paid as contractors, often in stablecoins.
The order matters. Choosing a provider before deciding who is an employee means paying EOR fees for people who do not need them, or treating people as contractors where employment obligations apply.
Can an employer of record pay salary in crypto or stablecoins?
Usually not as salary. Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 95 requires wages payable in money to be paid only in legal tender. The ILO notes that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in most countries, so paying wages in crypto does not meet that standard in most jurisdictions. (As of October 2026.)
What providers offer instead is a payout option on net pay. Deel lets eligible EOR employees take 10% to 25% of net salary, after taxes and deductions, in stablecoins, once the employer enables it.
Kleos pays employer-of-record salaries in legal tender, with taxes withheld. Where local rules allow, employees can then choose to take their net pay in stablecoins.
Which contributors need an employer of record?
Only those who work as employees in fact. A core team member working full time on the protocol's roadmap, under its direction, with no end date, is an employee in most countries, whatever the agreement calls them.
Independent developers, auditors and researchers working to defined deliverables can stay contractors. Grant recipients and governance participants usually sit outside both models. Global contractor management software covers how classification is tested.
How do token grants fit alongside an employer-of-record salary?
Token grants are usually documented apart from the employment contract, in a grant or incentive agreement issued by the protocol, its foundation or the token-issuing entity. Tax on tokens depends on the country and on when they vest or are received. Ask the EOR how it reports token income that sits outside its payroll.
How does Kleos pay Web3 contributors?
Kleos runs employer of record and contractor-of-record on one platform. Contributors who are employees are paid salary in legal tender through the EOR, with taxes withheld. Independent contributors are paid as contractors.
Companies can fund their Kleos balance in USDT or USDC from a verified corporate wallet, with standard KYT checks. Contractors choose how they are paid: bank card, local transfer or USDT, and can split between them, with no withdrawal fee. They get contracts and payment documents that banks and embassies accept. Kleos for Web3 teams sets out how funding and payouts work.
Some crypto-native teams Kleos spoke to in 2026 asked for fiat payouts, so contributors could show official income for visas and loans. The head of HR at one Web3 foundation told Kleos that when they last looked for a provider, none of the employers of record they spoke to could explain how they would handle crypto compensation.
What should gaming studios look for in an employer of record?
Game studios should look for three things in an employer of record: a documented route for rights in code, art, audio and writing to reach the studio; the ability to add or reduce headcount between production phases at a known cost; and a way to move contractors into employment on the same platform.
Game studios are one of Kleos's most common client groups. Kleos runs contractor-of-record and employer of record on the same platform, so a studio can pay a concept artist as a contractor and employ a lead programmer in the same account.
Rights come first because the EOR is the legal employer. In the EU, article 2(3) of Directive 2009/24/EC gives the employer the economic rights in software an employee writes in the course of their duties. Under an EOR, those rights sit with the EOR first and reach the studio through the EOR's agreement with it.
Art, audio and writing follow national copyright rules, and some protections never transfer. Moral rights are perpetual and inalienable in France under article L121-1 of the Intellectual Property Code, and cannot be transferred in Japan under article 59 of the Copyright Act. (As of October 2026.) How IP travels through a contractor platform covers what the assignment has to do in each country.
Studios scale up for production and down after launch. Ask what notice, severance and offboarding cost in each country before the first hire, because local law and the EOR contract set those costs and the release schedule does not change them.
Most studios start with contractors and convert key people later. A provider that runs contractor payments and employer of record on one platform keeps that move inside one account. What happens when a contractor abroad becomes an employee covers the conversion.
Which employer of record best supports mid-size companies hiring abroad?
No single provider fits every mid-size company of 50 to 500 people. The right one matches your countries, headcount and support needs. Published employer-of-record fees run from $199 a month at RemoFirst and $200 at Kleos to $699 at Oyster, a spread of $180,000 a year at 30 employees, before salary and contributions.
| Provider | Published EOR fee per employee per month | Stated coverage and entity model |
|---|
| Deel | From $599 | Owns entities in 130+ of the 150+ countries it covers |
| Kleos | From $200, depending on country | Own entities in core markets, vetted local partners elsewhere |
| Multiplier | From $459 on annual billing, $499 monthly | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Oyster | From $699 | Covers 120+ countries |
| Papaya Global | From $499 | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Remote | $599 on annual billing, $699 monthly | Owns all of its legal entities |
| RemoFirst | From $199, depending on country | Covers 185+ countries |
| Rippling | Quoted per country | Not stated on the pages checked |
The reasons companies give Kleos when they look at switching providers fall into three groups: cost, service, and coverage.
In Kleos’s experience, the largest providers are built around enterprise accounts, and mid-size companies feel the gap in support and price.
For a mid-size company, three questions separate providers faster than the fee. Is the price set per country or for the whole company? In your three largest hiring countries, does the provider employ through its own entity or a partner? Is there a named contact, or a shared support queue?
Kleos lists employer of record from $200 a month per employee, depending on country, with no setup fee or minimum term. Contractors and employees sit on the same platform. Deel alternatives for paying international contractors compares the contractor side of the same providers. EOR services for US startups converting contractors compares deposits and payroll funding across six providers.
How much does an employer of record cost in the UK?
An employer of record in the UK costs its monthly fee plus the employer's statutory costs. For 2026/27, employer National Insurance is 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year, and employers must also enrol eligible staff into a workplace pension. (As of October 2026.)
At the senior software engineer average in Kleos's 2026 salary data, £61,000 a year, employer National Insurance comes to £8,400. The employer cost before pension contributions and the EOR fee is about £69,400 a year.
Kleos runs employer of record in the UK. Senior software engineer salary by country, 2026 shows the same calculation for 14 other countries.
What should you ask an employer of record before signing?
Eight questions cover the risks that surface after signing, when changing provider is expensive.
- Who is the legal employer in each of our countries, and is it your own entity?
- What is the fully loaded monthly cost per country, including employer contributions, benefits and FX?
- What do onboarding, termination and changing provider cost?
- How do rights in work reach us, and can we see the employment template?
- What are the payroll cut-off dates, and how are mid-month starters and leavers handled?
- Can contractors and employees sit on the same platform?
- Who is our named contact, and what response times do you commit to?
- For Web3 teams: how is token compensation reported, and can contractors be paid in stablecoins?
Frequently asked questions
What is an employer of record?
An employer of record is a company that legally employs a person in a country where the hiring company has no entity. It signs the local employment contract, runs payroll, withholds tax, pays social contributions and administers statutory benefits, while the hiring company directs the work. Published fees run from $199 to $699 a month per employee.
Can an employer of record pay salary in cryptocurrency?
Usually not as salary. Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 95 requires wages to be paid in legal tender, and cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in most countries. Some providers let employees take part of net pay in stablecoins: Deel allows 10% to 25% of net salary, after taxes. Kleos pays salaries in legal tender and offers stablecoin payouts to contractors.
Do DAO contributors need an employer of record?
Only contributors who work as employees in fact do: full time, under the protocol's direction, with no end date. Independent developers, auditors and researchers working to defined deliverables can be paid as contractors. Grant recipients and governance participants usually sit outside both employment and contractor arrangements.
Who owns the IP when a game studio hires through an employer of record?
The employer of record holds it first. Under article 2(3) of Directive 2009/24/EC, rights in software an employee writes go to the legal employer, which under an EOR is the provider. The rights reach the studio through the provider's agreement with it, so studios should check that agreement before the first hire.
How much does an employer of record cost per month?
Published fees run from $199 a month per employee at RemoFirst and $200 at Kleos, both depending on country, to $699 at Oyster. Deel lists from $599 and Remote $599 on annual billing. The fee sits on top of salary, employer contributions and benefits, which usually cost far more.
What is the difference between an employer of record and a contractor-of-record?
An employer of record employs a person under a local employment contract and runs payroll, tax and benefits. A contractor-of-record signs a services agreement with an independent contractor and carries the classification risk for that engagement, without employing anyone. Kleos and several other providers offer both on one platform.
Does Kleos offer an employer of record for Web3 teams and game studios?
Yes. Kleos runs employer of record and contractor-of-record on one platform, from $200 a month per employee depending on country. Employees are paid salary in legal tender. Contractors choose bank card, local transfer or USDT, and companies can fund their balance in USDT or USDC.
List the countries you plan to hire in next year, then ask each provider on your shortlist for a fully loaded monthly cost in those countries.
Last updated: October 2026.
.avif){kind=icon}
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
.avif)
