Hire in Singapore.Which route, by passport.
There are three ways to put someone on payroll here, and which one you can use depends on the passport of the person you are hiring. This page says which is which, what each costs a month in 2026, and when to switch from one to the next.
The assessment asks who you are hiring and gives you the route on screen.
- Employer of record, per employee
- US$400 to 700 a month
- Who an EOR can employ
- Citizens and PRs
- Employer CPF
- 17% of wages
- Employment Pass salary floor
- S$5,600 a month
- Time to first payslip via EOR
- 5 to 10 days
- Switch to your own company
- Around 5 people
Employer-of-record fees are public list prices from the platforms we compare, checked September 2026. CPF rates from the CPF Board.
The passport decides which one you can use.
Local hire with no company: employer of record. Anyone who needs a pass, or a team of five: your own company. Someone who genuinely runs their own business: a contractor.
Employer of record, for citizens and permanent residents
A partner platform employs the person on paper, runs the contract, payroll, CPF and leave, and you manage the work. Fees are US$400 to 700 a month per employee on top of salary and the 17% employer CPF, and the first payslip is five to ten days away. The catch is the passport: most platforms will not sponsor an Employment Pass, and MOM expects a pass holder to work for the company that applied. An employer of record is a route for local hires only.
- No company, no corporate secretary, no accountant
- Employment Act terms, CPF and leave handled by the platform
- Cancel with a month or two of notice; the employee moves to your company when you set one up
- Expensive past the second or third hire
Your own company, for anyone who needs a pass
If the person needs an Employment Pass or S Pass, or if you will have five or more people here, you need a Singapore company. It is the only employer that can apply for a pass, it signs the contracts, and it costs S$2,300 to 7,500 in year one for a foreign founder. From five local hires it is usually cheaper than an employer of record anyway.
- Only route for foreign nationals
- Set-up is two days; being operational is four to eight weeks
- Payroll, CPF and the annual filings become yours to run or outsource
Payroll and CPF, once you have a company
CPF is paid by the 14th of the following month, with the Skills Development Levy on the same submission. Each employee gets an IR8A income statement by 1 March. A foreign employee who leaves needs tax clearance (IR21) at least a month before their last day. Payroll software costs S$15 to 50 per employee a month; an accountant running it for you costs more and catches the edge cases.
- Employer CPF is 17% for employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026)
- Employees contribute 20%; both rates step down above 55
- Foreign employees on a pass pay no CPF, which is why their salary floor is higher
Contractors, if they really are contractors
A genuine contractor invoices you, works for other clients, and decides how the work is done. MOM and CPF look at control, integration and economic dependence, and a contractor who looks like an employee is treated as one, with back-dated CPF and penalties. For a one-person engagement that is really a job, use an employer of record.
- No CPF for a real contractor; CPF plus penalties for a misclassified one
- Contractor-of-record services exist for compliant engagements at scale
A hire, on top of salary.
Monthly costs first, then the one-off cost of the company you need if the hire needs a pass.
| Item | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up | ||
| Employment Pass application | S$400 to 2,500 + S$330 | Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee. |
| Foreign founder, year one | S$2,300 to 7,500 | Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top. |
| Hiring | ||
| One employee via employer of record | US$400 to 700 per month | Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs. |
| Employer CPF contribution | 17% of wages | For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55. |
| Skills Development Levy | 0.25% of wages | Minimum S$2 and maximum S$11.25 per employee per month. Paid with CPF. |
| Outsourced payroll, per employee per month | S$15 to 50 | Software at the low end, a provider running it for you at the top. Usually a minimum monthly fee. |
Setting up
- Employment Pass applicationS$400 to 2,500 + S$330
Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee.
- Foreign founder, year oneS$2,300 to 7,500
Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top.
Hiring
- One employee via employer of recordUS$400 to 700 per month
Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs.
- Employer CPF contribution17% of wages
For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55.
- Skills Development Levy0.25% of wages
Minimum S$2 and maximum S$11.25 per employee per month. Paid with CPF.
- Outsourced payroll, per employee per monthS$15 to 50
Software at the low end, a provider running it for you at the top. Usually a minimum monthly fee.
Employer-of-record fees from the platforms we compare. CPF and SDL from the CPF Board. Pass fees from MOM. Checked September 2026.
Get your exact numberWho should employ them for you.
An employer of record for local hires without a company. Your own company, with payroll run by your accountant or by software, for everyone else.
A vetted employer-of-record platform
For one to four citizen or permanent-resident hires, when you have no company here and are not setting one up this year. We choose the platform on price and on how well it handles CPF and the Employment Act, and we name it in the assessment reply.
Your accountant, or payroll software
Once you have a company, the firm that does your accounting can run payroll so one provider sees the whole picture. If you would rather run it yourself, payroll software costs S$15 to 50 per employee a month and files CPF for you.
Any employer-of-record arrangement
When the hire needs an Employment Pass. No platform fixes that. Set up the company, apply for the pass from it, and put the person on your own payroll.
How we are paid. The provider you go ahead with pays us a referral fee out of their normal price, so you pay what you would pay going direct. We name the provider and the fee in your assessment reply, once we know your situation.
What we tell people who ask about hiring.
The passport question comes first. If the person needs a pass, stop reading about employers of record and set up the company. We have watched founders spend six weeks on a platform that could never sponsor the pass.
An employer of record is a bridge and is priced like one. At US$600 a month, one hire costs about S$9,500 a year in fees, which is roughly what a small company with a secretary and an accountant costs to run. At two hires the company is cheaper. The break-even is earlier than the platforms say.
When you switch, the employee resigns from the platform and joins your company with a continuous start date. Their CPF account carries over. Leave balances and notice are contract terms, so write them into the new contract.
We do not sell payroll. We tell you whether your accountant should run it or whether S$30 a month of software is enough. For most companies under ten people it is the software.
What people ask us
Can an employer of record sponsor an Employment Pass in Singapore?
Treat the answer as no. A few platforms say they can in narrow cases, but MOM expects the pass holder to work for the company that applied, and a mismatch puts the pass at risk. If the hire needs a pass, set up the company.
What does an employer of record cost in Singapore?
US$400 to 700 a month per employee in platform fees (2026), plus the salary, employer CPF at 17%, and any benefits you add. Some platforms charge a deposit equal to a month or two of salary.
When should I switch from an employer of record to my own company?
At about five people, or earlier if anyone needs a pass or you want to sign contracts in your own name. At US$600 a month per employee, three hires cost about S$29,000 a year in fees, which is more than a small company costs to run.
How does the switch work for the employee?
They resign from the platform and sign a new contract with your company on the same terms, with a continuous start date. Their CPF account is theirs and carries over. Put leave balances and notice in the new contract so nothing is lost in the transfer.
Can I just hire everyone as contractors?
Not if they work like employees. Singapore applies control and integration tests, and misclassification means paying the CPF you should have paid, with penalties. Contractors are fine for people who genuinely run their own business.
My company is in Singapore and I want to hire abroad. Does this page apply?
No. Hiring outside Singapore from a Singapore company is an employer-of-record question in the other country. Our sister site Employ Borderless compares the providers for that, and we will point you there on the assessment reply.
Tell us who you're hiring. We'll tell you the route and the monthly number.
Two minutes on the form. One reply from a person within a business day: employer of record or your own company, the cost per month, and the platform or firm we would use.