Cost comparison · Overseas employers

EOR vs running your own UK payroll: the true cost

Employer of Record platforms publish UK pricing of roughly $599–$699 per employee per month (the publicly listed rates of the major platforms, June 2026). Running your own payroll — even with no UK entity — costs a fraction. Here are the honest numbers, and the honest caveats.

Interactive comparison

What would each route cost you?

Service fees only — salary, employer NI and pension are the same whichever route you choose, so they cancel out of the comparison.

Number of UK employees

EOR fee per employee per month (£)

Major platforms publish $599–$699/employee/month — roughly £470–£550. Adjust to the quote you've been given.

Our side assumes the Overseas Employer package at the current early tax-year rate (from £150/mo + £7 per payslip, monthly pay) plus the one-off DPNI scheme setup (£400 at the current offer rate) averaged into year one. Indicative only — full pricing here.

The honest comparison

You're not paying the EOR for payroll. You're paying it to be the employer.

That's the real difference. An EOR legally employs your person — contracts, liability, statutory duties all sit with the platform. Running your own payroll (a standard PAYE scheme, or a DPNI scheme if you have no UK entity) keeps you as the direct employer, with a specialist running the mechanics.

For one to ten UK staff you intend to keep, the maths rarely favours the EOR for long — the premium pays for a flexibility most teams never use.

When an EOR genuinely wins

✓ You need someone employed this week and can't wait for any scheme setup.
✓ You want zero UK employer obligations — someone else holds the contracts and liability.
✓ You're hiring across many countries at once and want one vendor for all of them.
✓ The hire is short-term or exploratory and you may exit the UK quickly.

None of those apply? You're probably overpaying. Many companies also start on an EOR and migrate to their own scheme once settled — we handle that switch too.

Worked example

Two UK employees, twelve months

	EOR platform	Own payroll (DPNI), run by us
Service fees, year one	~£500 × 2 × 12 = ~£12,000	£150×12 + £7×2×12 + ~£400 setup = ~£2,370
Who employs your people	The platform	You — direct relationship, your contracts
Time to start	Days	HMRC scheme setup first (DPNI typically 4–8 weeks; employees can usually start sooner — timeline)
Salary, employer NI, pension	Identical either way — these costs don't change with the route

Difference in year one: roughly £9,600 — and more every year after, as the setup fee doesn't repeat.

Get the exact number for your team.

Tell us your headcount and situation — we'll quote a fixed fee and confirm the right route, including whether an EOR genuinely suits you better. Honest answers, one UK business day.

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