The best Employer of Record providers in Asia, ranked
Ten providers that can employ on your behalf across Asia, scored on what actually determines whether the arrangement works here: how many Asian countries they cover through their own entities rather than partners, how they navigate the dispatch and outsourcing rules that several Asian jurisdictions impose, how accurately they run local payroll and statutory contributions, how plainly they explain their terms, and how they support you once the contract is signed.
Read this before the ranking
“Asia” is not one hiring market. Hong Kong and Singapore place almost no restriction on a third party employing staff who work for you. Mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam regulate the practice as labour dispatch or labour outsourcing, with licences, caps on duration or headcount, and limits on the kinds of roles allowed. India and Indonesia sit in between. A provider that is excellent in Singapore can be operating in a grey area in Seoul, and the ranking below weighs that heavily: the first question to ask any provider is which entity employs your hire in each country, and under which local regime.
How we scored, and what we could not verify
Every provider below was assessed against the same five criteria: own-entity coverage across Asia, handling of dispatch and outsourcing rules, payroll and statutory accuracy, transparency, and support. Where a lower-ranked provider beats a higher-ranked one on a criterion, we say so on the page.
An honest limitation: entity ownership in most Asian jurisdictions cannot be checked programmatically from outside the country. Where a provider states that it employs through its own entity we record that as a claim, and we recommend asking for the local registration number and checking it with the relevant registry before signing.
| # | Provider | Score | Asian footprint | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RemotePeople | 9.1 | Own entities across Greater China and the main Asian markets; regional HQ in Shanghai | Companies for whom Asia, and China in particular, is the point |
| 2 | MSA Asia | 8.7 | Own offices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, India | Clients who also want incorporation, accounting and tax from one adviser |
| 3 | Deel | 8.4 | Global platform; own entities in most large Asian markets | Software-first teams hiring across many regions |
| 4 | Rippling | 7.9 | US HR platform with EOR in the major Asian economies | Companies already running HR and IT on Rippling |
| 5 | Skuad (Payoneer) | 7.7 | Singapore-founded platform, now part of Payoneer; strong in South and South-east Asia | Hiring in India and South-east Asia at volume |
| 6 | Acclime | 7.5 | Asia-Pacific corporate-services group with offices across the region | Mid-size groups wanting one adviser for entities and EOR |
| 7 | GoGlobal | 7.3 | Tokyo-headquartered global EOR; 140+ countries | Japan and North-east Asia within a global plan |
| 8 | Oyster | 6.9 | Remote-first global platform; Asia largely through partners | Distributed teams with a few Asian hires |
| 9 | Links International | 6.7 | Hong Kong-headquartered payroll and HR outsourcer across Asia | Companies that also want recruitment and visa support |
| 10 | AYP Group | 6.4 | Singapore-headquartered Asia-focused EOR, PEO and payroll | South-east Asian hiring on a budget |
Rankings reflect our assessment of each provider for hiring in Asia specifically. A provider ranked lower here may be the better choice if most of your hiring is elsewhere in the world.
RemotePeople
The only global EOR we know of that runs Asia from Shanghai rather than from Singapore or a Western head office, and it shows. RemotePeople employs through its own entities in mainland China, Hong Kong and the region’s main hiring markets; its co-founders and senior staff speak Mandarin; and in China — the hardest EOR market in Asia — it operates within the labour-dispatch framework with formal recognition from the authorities, where many global providers quietly subcontract to a local firm. Service is hands-on and relationship-led. Where Deel beats it is software: RemotePeople’s platform is functional rather than a product in its own right.
- Own entities across Greater China and the main Asian markets, with the region run from Shanghai
- Formally recognised in mainland China, where most global EORs rely on subcontractors
- Mandarin-speaking co-founders and senior staff; contracts and support in local languages
- Recruitment and entity set-up alongside EOR, so you can graduate to your own company
- 150-plus countries if Asia is one region in a wider rollout
- Lacks the integrations of some of the largest providers
- Ask for the local registration number in each country and verify it, as with every provider here
- Asian entities
- Own entities in Greater China and the main markets; partners named elsewhere
- Regional base
- Shanghai
- Also offers
- PEO, payroll, recruitment, entity incorporation
- Operating since
- 2018
MSA Asia
An Asia-only corporate-services firm whose EOR grew out of fifteen years of incorporating companies and running their accounting, tax and payroll. That heritage is its strength: statutory filings are second nature, cross-border structuring questions get answered from the same desk, and clients who later want their own entity find the transition seamless because the same firm does both. The EOR offer is less productised than the platforms — expect an adviser rather than a sign-up form — and coverage stops at the edge of its eleven-office footprint.
- Own offices in eight Asian jurisdictions, including the difficult ones: China, Vietnam, Taiwan
- Incorporation, accounting, tax and EOR from one adviser, so the EOR-to-entity path is smooth
- Deep statutory and tax knowledge; 1,500-plus international clients since 2011
- Recently extended EOR to Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand
- Coverage is limited to its own office footprint; no use for Japan, Korea or the Philippines
- No self-service platform
- Less suited to a company hiring in thirty countries at once
- Asian entities
- Own offices in China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India
- Regional base
- Shanghai and Hong Kong
- Also offers
- Incorporation, accounting, tax, payroll, corporate advisory
- Operating since
- 2011
The best-known global platform and, for Asia, a good one. Deel holds its own entities in most of the region’s large markets, its contracts are compliant, and its software — onboarding, payslips, expenses, equipment, integrations — is the best in this comparison. What it does not offer is an Asia specialist who knows your account: support is competent and largely asynchronous, and in the dispatch-regulated markets a global template can miss local nuance. If you are hiring in fifteen countries on three continents this quarter, it is hard to argue with.
- Best-in-class software, integrations and employee experience
- Own entities in most large Asian markets; 150-plus countries on one platform
- Contractor management, EOR, payroll and HRIS in one product
- Fast, self-service onboarding
- Support is ticket-based rather than relationship-based
- Local nuance in China, Japan and Korea can be lost in a global template
- Some smaller Asian markets are served through partners
- Asian entities
- Own entities in most large markets; partners in smaller ones
- Regional base
- Global; regional teams in Singapore and elsewhere
- Also offers
- Contractors, global payroll, HRIS, immigration
- Operating since
- 2019
Rippling’s EOR exists to keep customers inside its all-in-one HR, payroll, IT and finance platform, and it has extended to the major Asian economies. For a company already running its people operations on Rippling, adding a hire in Singapore or Japan is the path of least resistance and the software experience is excellent. Asian depth — local specialists, dispatch-rule expertise, coverage of smaller markets — is thinner than at the providers above.
- Seamless if you already use Rippling for HR, payroll, IT and finance
- Excellent software; device management and app provisioning included
- Own entities in the major Asian economies
- Only makes sense as part of the wider Rippling suite
- Asian coverage is narrower than the platforms and specialists above
- Limited local expertise in the dispatch-regulated markets
- Asian entities
- Own entities in major markets; coverage narrower than Deel
- Regional base
- US; Asia-Pacific team in Sydney and Singapore
- Also offers
- HRIS, payroll, IT, finance, benefits
- Operating since
- 2016; EOR since 2022
Skuad (Payoneer)
Skuad was built in Singapore for exactly this region, and its depth in India and South-east Asia remains its edge. Since the Payoneer acquisition it sits alongside one of the largest cross-border payment networks, which helps with paying people in markets where banking is awkward. Coverage of North-east Asia is thinner, and the integration into a much larger group has changed the product and the team.
- Built in Asia, with real depth in India and South-east Asia
- Payoneer’s payment rails for local-currency payroll
- Competitive for volume hiring in the region’s cost-effective markets
- North-east Asia (Japan, Korea, China) is not its strength
- Product and organisation still settling after the acquisition
- Partner-dependent in several markets
- Asian entities
- Own entities in India and parts of South-east Asia; partners elsewhere
- Regional base
- Singapore
- Also offers
- Contractor payments, global payroll via Payoneer
- Operating since
- 2019; part of Payoneer since 2024
Acclime
A regional group with offices across Asia-Pacific and a well-staffed compliance bench. Acclime’s EOR sits alongside company formation, accounting, tax and corporate-secretarial services, which makes it a natural fit for mid-size companies that want one adviser for both their entities and their EOR hires. Service is professional and process-driven; it is not the fastest or the most flexible, and it is oriented to established companies rather than first-time hirers.
- Breadth across Asia-Pacific under one contract
- Strong tax, regulatory and corporate-secretarial bench
- Good fit for regulated, listed or multi-entity clients
- Enterprise-style onboarding and documentation
- EOR is one service among many rather than the core business
- Less nimble than the platforms for a single quick hire
- Asian entities
- Own offices in most Asia-Pacific markets
- Regional base
- Hong Kong and Singapore
- Also offers
- Incorporation, tax, accounting, secretarial, payroll
- Operating since
- 2019 as Acclime, from older constituent firms
One of very few global EORs headquartered in Asia, and the natural choice when Japan is the anchor of your plan: GoGlobal understands the worker-dispatch licensing regime there from the inside. Its footprint has grown to 140-plus countries with a people-first, non-platform service model. Depth outside North-east Asia is more variable, and the organisation is smaller than the global platforms.
- Asian headquarters and genuine depth in Japan
- Hands-on, people-first service rather than a self-service platform
- Broad global footprint for a company of its size
- Less depth in South and South-east Asia than the specialists above
- Smaller organisation; fewer integrations
- Some markets served through partners
- Asian entities
- Own entities in Japan and major markets; partners elsewhere
- Regional base
- Tokyo
- Also offers
- PEO, recruitment, payroll
- Operating since
- 2018
Oyster built a well-liked platform for distributed teams and covers most of Asia, but predominantly through local partners rather than its own entities. For a remote-first company with a handful of Asian hires that is fine; for a company building a substantial Asian team it means an extra party between you and your employee in most countries.
- Clean platform and a strong remote-work culture
- Broad nominal coverage across Asia
- Good for a few hires in a globally distributed team
- Asia served mostly through partners
- Limited local expertise in the dispatch-regulated markets
- Not a fit for building a large in-country team
- Asian entities
- Largely partner-based
- Regional base
- Distributed; no Asian headquarters
- Also offers
- Contractors, global payroll
- Operating since
- 2020
Links International
A Hong Kong company with more than two decades of payroll outsourcing and recruitment across Asia. Its EOR is credible and locally run, and its natural clients are companies that also want help finding the person and handling their visa. It is less known outside Asia and the digital experience is traditional.
- Hong Kong headquarters and long regional track record
- Recruitment, visa and payroll under one roof
- Presence across Asia-Pacific
- Traditional service model with less software polish
- EOR is secondary to payroll outsourcing and recruitment
- Better known regionally than globally
- Asian entities
- Own offices across Asia-Pacific
- Regional base
- Hong Kong
- Also offers
- Payroll outsourcing, recruitment, visa services
- Operating since
- 1999
AYP Group
An Asia-only provider with a Singapore base and coverage across South-east Asia and beyond. Competitive on cost and responsive, with a smaller footprint and team than the providers above. Well suited to South-east Asian hiring on a budget; less so to China, Japan or Korea.
- Asia focus and regional pricing
- Responsive, founder-led service
- EOR, PEO and payroll from one team
- Smaller footprint and team
- Limited depth in North-east Asia
- Own-entity versus partner coverage should be confirmed per country
- Asian entities
- Own entities in Singapore and parts of South-east Asia; partners elsewhere
- Regional base
- Singapore
- Also offers
- PEO, payroll, visa support
- Operating since
- 2009
How we scored
- Own-entity coverage across AsiaHow many Asian jurisdictions the provider employs in through its own registered company, versus a partner. Own entities mean one point of accountability; partners are acceptable when named and vetted.
- Dispatch and outsourcing rulesWhether the provider operates within the licensed labour-dispatch or outsourcing regimes of China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, and can explain which regime applies to your hire.
- Payroll and statutory accuracySocial insurance, provident funds, withholding and year-end filings calculated to the current local rates and remitted on the local deadlines.
- TransparencyAre terms, notice periods and what is included explained plainly before signature, or only after a sales cycle?
- SupportIs there a named person who knows your account and works Asian hours, or a queue?
Frequently asked questions
Is Employer of Record legal in Asia?
In most of Asia, yes — but the legal form varies. Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and India permit a third party to employ staff who work under your direction, subject to general labour and agency law. Mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam regulate the practice as labour dispatch or labour outsourcing, requiring the provider to hold a licence and imposing limits on role types, duration or headcount. Our country-by-country guide sets out the position in each market.
Which Asian country is hardest for EOR?
Mainland China. Labour dispatch is capped at ten per cent of an employer’s workforce and limited to temporary, auxiliary or substitute roles, dispatch agencies must be licensed, and enforcement varies by city. A provider that employs directly through a licensed local entity with formal recognition is in a very different position from one that subcontracts to a local firm.
What does an EOR cost in Asia?
Providers charge a monthly fee per employee on top of salary and employer social contributions, which are passed through at cost. The contributions vary enormously — roughly 5% in Hong Kong, 17% in Singapore, 25–30% in some Chinese cities — and matter more to the total than the fee. See our guide to employer costs across Asia.
Can an EOR sponsor a work visa in Asia?
It depends on the country. Singapore and Hong Kong allow an EOR to sponsor as the employer. Japan and China generally require the sponsoring employer to be the company the person actually works for, or impose conditions that make EOR sponsorship difficult. Ask per country.
How long can an employee stay on EOR?
Indefinitely in the open markets. In dispatch-regulated countries there may be statutory limits — Vietnam caps labour outsourcing at twelve months for a given position, South Korea at two years, and China restricts dispatch to non-core roles. Providers structure around these; make sure yours has explained how.
Not sure which provider fits?
Tell us which countries, how many people and how soon, and we will point you to the two or three providers worth talking to — without passing your details to any of them.
Ask usSources
- People’s Republic of China, Labour Contract Law (as amended 2012) and Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch (2014).
- Japan, Act for Securing the Proper Operation of Worker Dispatching Undertakings (Worker Dispatching Act).
- Republic of Korea, Act on the Protection of Temporary Agency Workers.
- Vietnam, Labour Code 2019 and Decree 145/2020 on labour outsourcing.
- Singapore Ministry of Manpower, Employment Act and Employment Agencies Act; CPF Board contribution rates.
- Provider websites and published documentation, reviewed September 2026.