Europe is home to some of the most popular countries for global expansion. However, companies new to hiring on the continent often need some extra help. That’s because employing workers in Europe means navigating more than 40 different labor law systems, strict GDPR obligations, and employer tax rates that can climb as high as 52.6% in certain countries. 

And the compliance stakes are real: GDPR violations can trigger penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of global annual revenue, and misclassifying workers can lead to audits, back payments, and significant fines.

Layer on the extra compliance obligations for companies that aren’t just hiring abroad, but sending employees across borders, and it’s easy to see why many companies turn to an Employer of Record to handle the legal and administrative lift of legally employing workers in Europe.

An EOR becomes the legal employer in each country on your behalf, managing contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance so you can hire quickly without setting up local entities. 

But with dozens of providers claiming European expertise, how do you choose the right one? This guide breaks down the seven best EOR providers for European hiring.

Quick Look at the Top 7 EORs for Europe

Key Features of the Best European EOR Providers

Not every EOR is built for the complexity of European hiring. Cross-border hiring can feel less like growth and more like a compliance puzzle. 

You want to move fast, but every country has its own payroll rules, social contributions, and deadlines, and the cost impact isn’t small. 

For example, in Belgium, taxes and social contributions account for roughly 52.6% of the total cost of employing an average worker. On top of that, employers need to adhere to a legally mandated work week of 38 hours, and employees are entitled to at least four weeks of paid annual leave.

Here are some of the factors to take into consideration when evaluating EOR providers for European hiring:

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• Country coverage: You should ensure your EOR provides coverage in all of the countries where you might want to hire, either through their own entities or the use of vetted, exclusive partner relationships.

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• Payroll strength and total cost clarity: If payroll isn’t accurate and compliant, everything else starts to break down. In Europe, labor costs vary widely by country, and many teams underestimate the true cost of hiring by focusing only on base salary. Mandatory employer contributions, taxes, and statutory benefits can significantly increase total spend. Choose an EOR that provides a clear, upfront breakdown of total employer costs.

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• Compliance: Choose an EOR that treats compliance as a system, not a promise. Strong approval workflows, audit trails, and payment controls matter. With €4.2 billion in payment fraud reported in 2024 by the European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank, your EOR should verify bank changes, control payroll approvals, and prevent misclassification issues before money moves.

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• Data privacy and security: An EOR handles highly sensitive information — passports, contracts, salary data, and bank details. That requires strong policies, tight access controls, and a clear incident response process. In 2024, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission received 7,781 valid breach notifications, up 11% year over year. Ask for security certifications, documented breach procedures, and clarity on how internal access to employee data is restricted.

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• Platform usability and integrations: When hiring across multiple countries, your EOR platform should accelerate operations, not add friction. Look for clear reporting, streamlined document collection, and integrations that fit your existing stack. Confirm the platform can export payroll data cleanly, support approval workflows, and connect with your HR or finance tools without relying on manual workarounds.

Best Employer of Record Providers to Hire Across Europe

1. RemoFirst

RemoFirst takes the top spot because it strikes the best balance between comprehensive coverage and cost-effectiveness for European hiring, whether it’s your first international employee or your tenth. With coverage in 185+ countries, you won't need to switch providers as your hiring expands from Germany to Poland to Greece. 

You can also feel secure that as the employment experts, RemoFirst will ensure full compliance with each country’s labor laws — covering everything from notice periods to statutory benefits.

Onboarding takes approximately 1-3 days once all necessary documents are received and the contract is approved.

Other key features include:

• Strong user feedback: With more than 300 reviews, it is rated at 4.5/5 on G2, indicating high satisfaction among platform users.
• No contract lock-in: No annual contracts or minimums, giving teams flexibility to scale up or down without being locked into long-term commitments.
• Health insurance: Offers both global health insurance and RemoHealth Local, providing locally tailored health benefits compliant with local regulations.
• Integrated background screening: Six types of checks available directly in the platform, eliminating the need for separate screening vendors.
• Visa and work‑permit support in 85+ countries: Useful when you need to move someone to a new country and need expert assistance in navigating an often confusing process. 

2. Remote

Remote’s published onboarding timelines are some of the clearest in the market: a three-day global average once employees complete self-enrollment. The real differentiator is a standardized process that keeps timelines predictable.

The company treats compliance protections as built-in rather than optional, with structured guidance through onboarding and ongoing employment. 

Remote approaches each termination case as a structured project, with local guidance established before any employee communication.

Other key features include:

• 10+ years average team experience: Employees on their in-house team possess an average of more than a decade of experience, providing deep expertise — helpful when navigating unfamiliar international compliance scenarios.
• Strong platform organization for audits: Remote keeps contracts, policy documents, and employment changes consolidated in one place, so you're not chasing email threads during audits or urgent situations.
• IP Guard for invention rights: Uses a dedicated IP Guard framework so intellectual property and invention rights transfer directly from employee to your company, not to the EOR or third parties.
• Premium pricing tier trade-offs: At $699 per employee per month, the cost is higher than many of its competitors.

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3. Deel

Deel stands out for building compliance directly into the product rather than layering it on through services. Their platform uses localized checklists and country-specific document requirements to reduce manual steps and human error. 

With coverage in 130+ countries, Deel signals strong coverage depth and internal legal capacity. For European teams, this translates to quick answers on statutory benefits, contract clauses, and local tax handling without waiting on external consultants. 

However, the modular structure means costs can escalate as you add modules for immigration, equipment, premium support, or advanced reporting.

Other key features include:

• Mixed workforce management: Strong when you want one platform for EOR plus contractor management, keeping operations simpler for teams with both employment types.
• Token and crypto equity support: Deel Equity specifically handles token grants alongside traditional stock options and RSUs in 50+ countries.
• Huge feature surface area: The extensive feature set requires internal discipline to keep workflows consistent across countries and avoid workflow fragmentation.
• Integrated immigration services: Coordinates visa sponsorship and relocation workflows directly inside the platform, instead of forcing you to manage external immigration counsel separately

4. Oyster

Oyster's strength lies in turning local regulations into structured processes that teams can follow without becoming compliance experts. Rather than assuming you know the rules, the platform acts to create compliant contracts, accurate payroll configurations, and follow legally mandated benefits enrollment from the start. 

This approach particularly shines during terminations since "one email and done" rarely works in Europe. Instead, the EOR manages required documentation and notice periods to prevent common mistakes.

With coverage in 180+ locations, Oyster focuses on centralized management of payroll, taxes, and benefits. Its strength lies in translating complex local employment norms into clear guidance — especially around benefits expectations and contract language that aligns with local standards.

Other key features include:

• Ongoing regulatory monitoring: When employment rules change in a market, Oyster adjusts processes automatically rather than expecting internal teams to track and implement regulatory updates.
• Less universal timeline promises: Doesn't market a single universal onboarding number the way some vendors do, which actually sets more realistic expectations about country-by-country variation.
• Native tool integrations: Connects to common HR and finance systems so new‑hire data, contract updates, and payroll changes sync instead of being re‑entered by hand.

5. Multiplier

Multiplier positions itself around “compliance by design,” with structured workflows that guide users through the correct processes rather than relying on them to interpret local rules on their own.

This is particularly valuable to ensure accurate classification determinations, benefits enrollment, and termination procedures due to Europe's strict requirements.

Multiplier advertises 48-hour onboarding timelines, with third-party reviews describing 24 to 48 hours as typical once all documents are ready. With coverage in 150+ countries, Multiplier provides sufficient reach for European hiring plus global expansion. 

The company emphasizes compliant contracts and multi-country payroll support, but it’s still wise to request country-specific termination procedures upfront — not when a separation is already underway.

Other key features include:

• Dual product approach: Offers both full EOR and a separate Global Payroll product for companies that already have local entities but need multi-country payroll help.
• Employee self-service strength: The platform is intuitive for employees across countries and time zones, making it easy for distributed teams to manage their own information without constant HR involvement.
• Workforce analytics view: Provides a centralized view of headcount, spend, and key workforce trends in one dashboard — giving finance quick visibility without relying on extra spreadsheets.

6. Papaya Global

Papaya Global positions itself as an operations system rather than a lightweight EOR tool, making it strongest for teams that need finance-grade control and visibility. 

The platform provides unified tracking for onboarding, payroll inputs, and payment status across countries, preventing the fragmentation that typically happens when finance works with multiple vendors.

Papaya Global presents its EOR as a transparent, fixed-fee model with direct in-country relationships to support consistent execution. It operates in 160+ countries and highlights certified local experts alongside automated compliance workflows.

The platform is particularly strong for finance teams that need clean payroll exports, standardized documentation, and consolidated invoice tracking. That said, some workflows may feel less self-serving and benefit from a dedicated internal owner who understands the system well.

Pricing is quote-based rather than a publicly available per-employee rate, so it’s important to request a detailed cost breakdown — including platform fees, country pass-through costs, FX and payment charges, and support tiers — before choosing Papaya Global to expand your company across multiple European markets.

Other key features include:

• Multi-currency balance tracking: See balances in multiple currencies and track payments at every stage.
• Less suitable for single hires: Feels heavy for one-off hires, but becomes increasingly valuable as you scale across multiple countries and need operational consistency.
• Annual subscription options: Offers optional annual plans which may provide cost advantages for committed long-term usage.
• Automated statutory filings: Generates and submits required payroll tax filings and statutory reports in each jurisdiction, reducing reliance on local bureaus.

7. WorkMotion

WorkMotion differentiates itself by offering direct employment under your own legal name as an alternative to the standard EOR model. 

This option provides more control for companies uncomfortable with a third party serving as Employer of Record, though it requires more internal capability to manage ongoing compliance.

With coverage in 160+ countries, WorkMotion is well suited for companies hiring across multiple European markets that want one centralized operational hub.

Their compliance-heavy positioning aligns with European labor complexity, particularly in countries with stricter documentation and contract norms.

The platform maintains a simple online flow for onboarding and document handling, keeping contracts, employee data, and standard changes (address, bank details, time-off policies, etc.) organized and accessible. It's designed for straightforward operation without overwhelming new users, though deeper analytics and custom reporting are lighter than enterprise-grade tools.

Other key features include:

• Remote and hybrid work focus: Explicitly addresses "new ways of working" rather than traditional office assumptions, with features tailored to distributed teams. Also operates as a Berlin‑based, remote‑first HR platform with a strong focus on helping companies tap into European and EMEA talent pools.
• Combined legal and HR expertise: Brings labor‑law specialists and HR practitioners under one umbrella so you get practical, not just theoretical, guidance for European cases.
• Fully digital onboarding: Uses tech‑driven contract signing and document upload flows so new hires can complete everything online from wherever they live.

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Hire Great Local Talent in Europe With a Comprehensive EOR Platform

European hiring comes with regulatory complexity that varies dramatically by country. The provider you select determines whether you'll navigate that complexity smoothly or spend months fixing compliance gaps. 

Your choice should align with your specific priorities, whether that's minimizing costs, maintaining direct entity control, accessing finance-grade reporting, or getting international teams onboard quickly.

For teams expanding across Europe who need broad coverage at a sustainable price, RemoFirst offers the strongest value proposition. Coverage across 185+ countries means you won't outgrow the platform as you move from your first hire in Berlin to your tenth in Warsaw. 

Transparent per-employee pricing ensures costs stay predictable while the platform handles the heavy lifting like localized contracts, multi-country payroll, statutory benefits, and ongoing compliance monitoring, minimizing the risks of global employment.