The best Employer of Record providers in India, ranked
Ten providers that can employ staff in India on your behalf, scored on what decides whether the arrangement holds up here: whether they employ through their own Indian company rather than a subcontractor, how they characterise the arrangement under a legal system with no concept of “employer of record”, whether they run EPF, ESI, gratuity, bonus and state professional tax correctly in a country where the rules change at state borders, how plainly they explain their terms, and whether anyone answers in Indian hours once the contract is signed.
Quick verdict
RemotePeople is our pick — best for companies building an Indian team as part of a wider Asian plan. Also worth a call: MSA Asia for clients who want EOR and a later Indian subsidiary from one adviser, and Deel for software-first teams hiring in India and a dozen other countries.
Read this before the ranking
India has no Employer of Record statute. Nothing prohibits a third party from employing someone who works day to day for you, but nothing recognises it either, so the arrangement is judged by the law it most resembles. Usually that is contract labour: the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, now folded into the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, treats the provider as a “contractor” and you as the “principal employer”, with residual liability for wages and provident fund if the contractor defaults and a bar on using contract labour for your “core activity”. On top sit the state Shops and Establishments Acts, which govern hours, leave and notice for office staff and differ from state to state. And the four Labour Codes, dormant since 2020, came into force on 21 November 2025, with central rules notified on 8 May 2026 and state rules still being issued; the new definition of “wages” caps excluded allowances at half of remuneration, which raises provident fund and gratuity where basic pay was set low. The first question to ask any provider is which Indian company will sign the appointment letter, how it characterises the arrangement under the OSH Code, and how it has restructured salaries for the new wage definition.
How we scored, and what we could not verify
Every provider below was assessed against the same five criteria: own-entity presence in India, handling of the contract labour and Labour Code regime, payroll and statutory accuracy across EPF, ESI, gratuity, bonus and professional tax, transparency, and support. Where a lower-ranked provider beats a higher-ranked one on a criterion, we say so.
An honest limitation: India is, unusually for Asia, a country where entity ownership can be checked from outside: every company is on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) register with its Corporate Identification Number, incorporation date and directors public. What cannot be checked from outside is whether that company holds a live EPFO establishment code, an ESIC registration, a Shops and Establishments registration in the state where your hire sits and, where relevant, a contract labour licence. Where a provider says it employs through its own Indian entity we record that as a claim unless we found the registration ourselves, and we recommend asking for the CIN, the EPFO code and the state registration before signing.
| # | Provider | Score | India footprint | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RemotePeople | 9.2 | Employs directly in India; one of its largest hiring and recruitment markets | Companies building an Indian team as part of a wider Asian plan |
| 2 |  MSA Asia | 8.7 | Own India office (Bengaluru and Mumbai); accounting, tax and incorporation practice | Clients who want EOR and a later Indian subsidiary from one adviser |
| 3 |  Deel | 8.3 | Deel EOR Private Limited, Bengaluru, incorporated 2021 (MCA record) | Software-first teams hiring in India and a dozen other countries |
| 4 |  Multiplier | 8.0 | Multiplier Technologies India Private Limited, Bengaluru, 2021; Singapore headquarters | Volume hiring of engineers with a platform and an Indian bench |
| 5 |  Wisemonk | 7.7 | Bengaluru-based India-only EOR, founded 2020 | Companies whose only foreign hiring is in India and who want a low flat fee |
| 6 |  Dezan Shira & Associates | 7.4 | Offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru since 2007; part of Ascentium since April 2026 | Foreign investors who want regulatory advice, tax and EOR from the same firm |
| 7 |  Acclime | 7.1 | Acclime India Private Limited, Gurugram; Asia-Pacific corporate-services group | Mid-size and listed groups that want one adviser for entities and EOR |
| 8 |  Talent500 | 6.8 | Bengaluru; the talent and EOR arm of ANSR, the global capability centre builder | Enterprises planning a captive engineering centre in India |
| 9 |  Links International | 6.5 | Hong Kong-headquartered payroll and HR outsourcer; India served through the wider Ascentium group | Regional payroll clients adding a few Indian hires |
| 10 |  Global Squirrels | 6.2 | Irvine, California; offices in Noida, Hyderabad and Guntur; founded 2022 | US small businesses that want sourcing and payrolling in one low-cost plan |
Rankings reflect our assessment of each provider for hiring in India specifically. A provider ranked lower here may be the better choice if most of your hiring is elsewhere.
RemotePeople
India is one of RemotePeople’s largest hiring markets and it prices accordingly: EOR Flex from US$199 per employee per month, at the bottom of the US$199 to US$599 range it publishes for the country. Founded in 2018 by Antoine Boquen and Pierre Pradier and headquartered in New York, with its Asia-Pacific business run from Singapore, the company has more than 250 staff across 30 countries and over 3,000 clients, and a large share of its recruitment work is Indian engineering and product talent. EPF, ESI, gratuity accrual, professional tax by state and the Labour Codes are handled as routine; the AI Command Center lets you make salary and leave changes in plain language with experts reviewing anything high-impact. Every client has a dedicated account manager backed by HR and employment specialists. Recruitment, payroll for companies with their own Indian private limited company, contractor management and incorporation sit alongside EOR, so the EOR-to-entity path is in-house. Deel leads on software integrations; Wisemonk is more India-only in its focus.
- EOR Flex from US$199 per employee per month; competitive for volume hiring in India
- Recruitment depth in Indian engineering and product talent
- EPF, ESI, gratuity and state professional tax handled correctly
- Dedicated account manager backed by HR and employment specialists
- Payroll, contractor management and incorporation alongside EOR
- Fewer third-party integrations than Deel or Rippling
- Total cost depends on a quote; ask for the all-in figure including gratuity accrual
- Employment Visa sponsorship for foreign hires is arranged case by case, as with every provider
- India entity
- Employs directly in India; EPF- and ESI-registered employer
- Regional base
- Singapore (Asia-Pacific HQ); global HQ New York
- Also offers
- Recruitment, global payroll, US PEO, contractor management, Contractor of Record, benefits and visa support, entity incorporation
- Operating since
- 2018
MSA Asia
An Asia-only corporate-services firm whose Indian EOR sits inside an accounting, tax and incorporation practice that has operated in the country for more than a decade. That is the right heritage for India, where the hard part is not the contract but the monthly EPF and ESI challans, quarterly TDS returns, state professional tax and Labour Code salary restructuring, and where most clients who start with EOR want a private limited company within two or three years. MSA does both from the same desk, with offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The offer is adviser-led: a proposal and a named consultant rather than a sign-up form. Coverage stops at its own footprint, and for twenty countries a platform is simpler. For India plus China or Vietnam it is a strong second choice, and on tax depth it beats every provider above and below it.
- Own India presence inside an incorporation, accounting and tax practice; EOR-to-subsidiary handled by one firm
- Statutory filings are the core business; strong on TDS, professional tax and Labour Code salary restructuring
- Eleven offices in the region, including China, Taiwan and Vietnam
- 1,500-plus international clients since 2011
- No self-service platform
- Coverage limited to its own nine-jurisdiction footprint
- India office is smaller than its China operation; confirm local team size for your headcount
- India entity
- Own offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai; employing entity’s CIN to be requested
- Regional base
- Shanghai and Hong Kong
- Also offers
- Incorporation, accounting, tax, payroll, company secretarial
- Operating since
- 2011
Deel
The best-known global platform, and in India one of the few whose entity we could verify without asking: Deel EOR Private Limited is registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bengaluru, incorporated in June 2021 and active on the MCA record. Its software is the best in this comparison, from appointment letter to payslips, expenses and integrations, and onboarding takes days. Where it is weaker is depth: support is competent but largely ticket-based, and state-by-state variation, the worker question on termination and Labour Code salary restructuring are the kind of nuance a global template can flatten. Its visa sponsorship covers a limited list of countries, so check whether India is on it; RemotePeople says it will sponsor through its Indian entity. For India plus fifteen other countries this quarter it is hard to argue against; for fifty engineers in Bengaluru and nothing else, Multiplier or Wisemonk will give more attention for less money.
- Own Indian entity verifiable on the MCA register
- Best-in-class software, integrations and employee experience
- Contractors, EOR, payroll and HRIS in one product; 150-plus countries
- Support is ticket-based rather than relationship-based
- Global template can miss state-level and worker/non-worker nuance
- Employment Visa sponsorship in India to be confirmed
- India entity
- Deel EOR Private Limited, RoC Bengaluru, incorporated 2021
- Regional base
- Global; teams in Singapore and India
- Also offers
- Contractors, global payroll, HRIS, immigration
- Operating since
- 2019
Multiplier
Multiplier is a Singapore-headquartered platform with an unusually large Indian operation: its founders have Indian backgrounds, much of a headcount that industry databases put above 1,300 sits in Bengaluru, and its Indian company, Multiplier Technologies India Private Limited, has been on the MCA register since February 2021. The platform is close to Deel’s in polish, and the people behind it know cost-to-company structures, the Rs 15,000 EPF ceiling and state professional tax tables from the inside rather than from a compliance memo. It claims 150 countries, and in the smaller ones that means partners, but India is home turf. It is less established than Deel, its integrations list is shorter, and support is a platform queue rather than a named adviser. It typically pitches below Deel on price, and for twenty or more engineers in India with a few colleagues elsewhere it is the platform we would look at first.
- Own Indian entity on the MCA register since 2021; large Indian team
- Strong platform, close to Deel in polish
- Competitive pricing for volume hiring in India
- 150 countries for hires elsewhere
- Shorter integrations list than Deel
- Support is a platform queue rather than a named contact
- Partner-dependent in smaller countries, though not in India
- India entity
- Multiplier Technologies India Private Limited, Bengaluru, incorporated 2021
- Regional base
- Singapore; operations team in Bengaluru
- Also offers
- Contractors, global payroll, immigration
- Operating since
- 2020
Wisemonk
Wisemonk does one country. That is a limitation for a global rollout and a considerable advantage if India is the whole plan. Founded in 2020 by Aditya Nagpal after his own attempt to hire Indian engineers for a US project ran into months of paperwork, it now says it serves 300-plus foreign companies. Published pricing starts at US$99 per employee per month, the lowest here by some distance, with recruitment, equipment and payroll alongside the employment. Because every employee is in India, its compliance team is never generalist: Labour Code wage restructuring, professional tax and full-and-final settlements are the entire job. The trade-offs are obvious: it is small and self-funded, so a client with 200 staff should ask about bench depth; it cannot help you in Vietnam next year; and its platform is serviceable rather than a product in its own right. For a first ten hires in Bengaluru or Pune, it is hard to beat on value.
- India-only focus; the compliance team does nothing else
- Lowest published pricing here, from US$99 per employee per month
- Recruitment, equipment and payroll alongside EOR
- Founder-led, responsive service
- Small, self-funded; ask about bench depth for large headcounts
- No coverage outside India
- Basic platform compared with Deel or Multiplier
- India entity
- Own Indian entity (claimed); Bengaluru
- Regional base
- Bengaluru
- Also offers
- Recruitment, payroll, contractor payments, equipment
- Operating since
- 2020
Dezan Shira & Associates
Dezan Shira built its name advising foreign investors on China and has run Indian offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru since 2007. Its EOR, marketed as PEO and global staffing, grew out of the payroll practice and sits beside tax advisory, entity set-up, audit and the Asia Briefing publishing arm many readers will know from India Briefing. That suits an investor who wants a view on transfer pricing and permanent establishment risk before hiring anyone. Two things temper the score. The firm was acquired by Ascentium, the Singapore-headquartered corporate-services group, in April 2026, and integration will take time; ask who your account team will be in twelve months. And EOR is one line among many for an advisory firm, so onboarding is thorough rather than fast. It beats MSA Asia on the breadth of its Indian regulatory commentary and every platform here on advice; it does not compete with them on software.
- Nineteen years on the ground in India across three cities
- Regulatory, tax and structuring advice from the same firm as the EOR
- India Briefing research arm keeps clients ahead of rule changes
- China, Vietnam, Indonesia and other Asian markets alongside India
- Ownership changed in April 2026; confirm continuity of your account team
- Advisory pace; not the fastest route to a single hire
- No client platform to speak of
- India entity
- Offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru; employing entity to be confirmed
- Regional base
- Hong Kong and Shanghai; part of Ascentium, Singapore
- Also offers
- Market entry, tax, accounting, audit, payroll, research
- Operating since
- 1992; India since 2007
Acclime
Acclime is a regional corporate-services group assembled from older local firms, and its Indian arm, Acclime India Private Limited, is a registered company in Gurugram whose roots predate the Acclime brand. Its India site describes a PEO and EOR service with a dedicated account manager, no hidden fees and a single local contact for onboarding, payroll and separations; the group’s bench covers company formation, accounting, tax, audit and secretarial work. It suits a mid-size or listed group that wants its Indian EOR hires and its Indian subsidiary handled by the same adviser on the terms it uses in Singapore or Australia. It is not the choice for a start-up that wants to sign up online this afternoon: onboarding is enterprise-style, EOR is one service among many, and the Indian team is smaller than Dezan Shira’s. On governance and secretarial depth it beats the platforms comfortably.
- Registered Indian company in Gurugram; group offices across Asia-Pacific
- Dedicated account manager and single local contact, by its own description
- Strong entity, tax and secretarial bench for regulated or multi-entity clients
- Enterprise-style onboarding and documentation
- EOR is one line among many
- Smaller Indian footprint than Dezan Shira or MSA Asia
- India entity
- Acclime India Private Limited, Gurugram (MCA record)
- Regional base
- Hong Kong and Singapore
- Also offers
- Incorporation, accounting, tax, audit, corporate secretarial, payroll
- Operating since
- 2019 as Acclime, from older constituent firms
Talent500
Talent500 is a different animal from the rest of this list. Founded in 2018 by Vikram Ahuja and Ashwin Kasturirangan, it operates as part of ANSR, the Bengaluru firm that has set up more than 200 global capability centres for multinationals in India. Its EOR exists to let an enterprise start hiring its Indian engineering team before the captive centre is incorporated, then transfer those people into it, with ANSR handling workspace, IT and legal set-up. Sourcing is part of the offer through a tech-talent community it puts at 1.6 million members. For a bank planning a 300-person centre in Hyderabad, that is precisely the right shape. For a company that wants three developers and no building, it is the wrong one: model, minimum scale and pace are oriented to enterprise programmes, the EOR is a stepping stone rather than the product, and pricing is not published. It claims 100-plus countries, which for a firm of this focus will mean partners.
- Built for the GCC use case: hire on EOR, then transfer into your own centre
- ANSR’s track record of 200-plus capability centres in India
- Large Indian tech-talent pool for sourcing
- Oriented to enterprise programmes rather than a handful of hires
- Pricing not published; EOR is a means to a GCC
- Coverage outside India is partner-based
- India entity
- Own Indian entity within the ANSR group (claimed)
- Regional base
- Bengaluru
- Also offers
- Recruitment, talent community, GCC set-up through ANSR
- Operating since
- 2018
Links International
Links is a Hong Kong payroll and HR outsourcer with more than two decades in Asia, a well-regarded payroll platform and a recruitment arm, and since February 2025 part of Ascentium, the Singapore group that bought Dezan Shira a year later. Its EOR is credible and its natural clients are companies already running regional payroll through it who want to add a few Indian heads. India is not its heartland. Links lists India among its markets, but at the time of the Ascentium deal its managing director described India as an “emerging market” the group would help it enter, and Ascentium’s own Indian operation is where local delivery now appears to sit. Ask which company will sign the appointment letter. The service model is traditional and it is better known in Hong Kong and Singapore than in Bengaluru. For staff in six Asian countries and two in India, that is fine; for an India-first plan, most providers above are stronger.
- Long regional track record in payroll outsourcing
- Recruitment, visa and payroll under one roof
- Ascentium group provides Indian corporate-services capability behind it
- India is a newer market for Links; confirm which group entity employs your hire
- Traditional service model; less software polish for employees
- EOR is secondary to payroll outsourcing and recruitment
- India entity
- Via the Ascentium group or partners; employing entity to be confirmed
- Regional base
- Hong Kong
- Also offers
- Payroll outsourcing, recruitment, visa services, outplacement
- Operating since
- 1999
Global Squirrels
Global Squirrels is a young American staffing and payrolling platform aimed at small and mid-size US companies hiring in India, the Philippines and Mexico without a recruiter’s fee. Its model is a flat platform charge on top of payroll, published from US$199 a month for an employee and far less for a contractor, with a sourcing plan that delivers shortlisted candidates in days. It has offices in Noida, Hyderabad and Guntur, and most of its delivery is Indian. That gives it two real merits: price, and finding the person as well as employing them. Against that, it is four years old and small, its material is written for US buyers rather than around Indian statutory detail, and we could not establish from outside which Indian company employs its hires or whether the arrangement runs under a contract labour licence. A defensible low-cost option for a US firm’s first two or three Indian hires; not yet a choice for a compliance-conscious enterprise.
- Low flat fee with sourcing included
- Delivery teams in three Indian cities
- Simple model that suits a US small business
- Young company with a small footprint
- Employing entity and contract labour characterisation to be confirmed
- Oriented to US buyers; less depth on Indian statutory nuance
- India entity
- Indian offices (claimed); employing entity to be confirmed
- Regional base
- Irvine, California
- Also offers
- Contractor payments, sourcing and staffing
- Operating since
- 2022
How we scored
- Own-entity presence in IndiaWhether the provider employs through its own Indian company, on the MCA register with its own EPFO and ESIC codes, or through a subcontracted staffing firm. We checked where we could and say where we could not.
- Contract labour and Labour Code handlingHow the provider characterises the arrangement under the OSH Code’s contract labour chapter, whether it holds a licence where one is needed, how it handles the principal-employer question, whether it distinguishes “worker” from non-worker staff at termination, and how it has restructured salaries for the Code on Wages definition in force since November 2025.
- Payroll and statutory accuracyEmployer EPF at 12 per cent of basic up to the Rs 15,000 ceiling with the 8.33 per cent EPS split, EDLI and administration charges, ESI at 3.25 per cent for staff on Rs 21,000 or below, gratuity provisioning, statutory bonus, monthly TDS and quarterly returns, and professional tax at the rate of whichever state the employee sits in.
- TransparencyAre the monthly fee, deposit, notice period and exit treatment of gratuity and leave explained plainly before signature? Is the cost-to-company structure shown line by line?
- SupportIs there a named person who knows your account and works Indian hours, or a ticket queue in another time zone? Can the employee, not just the client, reach someone about a payslip?
Frequently asked questions
Is Employer of Record legal in India?
Yes, in the sense that no law prohibits it, but no statute recognises the model either, so it is judged by the law it most resembles. Usually that is contract labour under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, which absorbed the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970: the provider is the “contractor”, you are the “principal employer”, larger contractors need a licence, the principal employer carries residual liability for unpaid wages and provident fund, and contract labour cannot be used for an establishment’s core activity. Indian courts also look through paper to who actually controls the work. Our country-by-country guide compares India with the rest of the region.
What does an EOR cost in India?
A monthly fee per employee, published in this comparison from about US$99 to US$599, on top of salary and the employer’s statutory contributions, which are passed through at cost. The contributions are modest by Asian standards: employer EPF of 12 per cent of basic up to a Rs 15,000 monthly ceiling (8.33 per cent of it to the pension scheme), plus about one per cent for EDLI and administration; ESI of 3.25 per cent of gross for staff earning Rs 21,000 a month or less, which excludes most professional hires; a gratuity accrual of roughly 4.8 per cent of basic; and statutory bonus of at least 8.33 per cent for staff on Rs 21,000 or less. Most providers also take a deposit. Because EPF is capped, the on-cost for a mid-level engineer is typically well under ten per cent of salary, though the new wage definition has raised it where basic pay was set below half of remuneration. See our guide to employer costs across Asia.
Can an EOR sponsor an Employment Visa in India?
In principle, yes: the Employment Visa is sponsored by the Indian entity that employs the foreign national, so an EOR with its own Indian company can sponsor. In practice many platforms decline. The applicant must earn more than US$25,000 a year (exemptions exist for ethnic cooks, non-English language teachers and embassy staff) and be a qualified professional in a role the sponsor can justify filling with a foreigner, and the visa is tied to that employer, so a later move to your own entity means a fresh application. RemotePeople says it will sponsor through its Indian entity; MSA Asia, Dezan Shira and Acclime handle visa work within their advisory practices; Deel and the other platforms sponsor only in a limited list of countries, so confirm India is on it before promising anyone a relocation.
What are the probation and termination rules?
Probation is not fixed by central law; three to six months is customary, with shorter notice during it. After confirmation, the distinction that matters is “worker” versus everyone else. Under the Industrial Relations Code 2020 a worker is broadly anyone not employed in a managerial or administrative capacity, or in a supervisory role earning more than Rs 18,000 a month. Workers with a year’s service get a month’s notice or pay in lieu plus fifteen days’ wages per completed year on retrenchment, and disciplinary dismissals need a proper inquiry. Most professional hires through an EOR fall outside that definition, so the contract and the state Shops and Establishments Act govern: one month is the floor in most states and one to three months the norm. Gratuity of fifteen days’ wages per year of service vests at five years, or one year for fixed-term staff. Our employment law guide has the detail; the benefits guide covers leave and the twenty-six weeks of paid maternity leave.
EOR or my own Indian entity?
There is no statutory limit on how long someone can stay on an EOR in India, unlike Vietnam or South Korea, but the longer and larger the arrangement, the more it resembles a permanent workforce supplied as contract labour for your core activity, which the OSH Code restricts. Below about fifteen people, EOR is usually cheaper and always faster: a private limited company needs two directors (one resident in India), a registered office, MCA incorporation, PAN and TAN, EPFO, ESIC and state Shops and Establishments registrations, an annual audit and filings, and typically two to four months before the first payslip. Above that the arithmetic flips, and there are other reasons to incorporate: your own ESOP structure, visa sponsorship as the real employer, and an end to being “principal employer” of someone else’s contract labour. The usual sequence is EOR first, then incorporation once the team has proven itself, preserving continuity of service for gratuity on transfer. RemotePeople, MSA Asia, Dezan Shira and Acclime all do both. Our Asia-wide comparison covers the same providers across the region.
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Ask usSources
- Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India: Code on Wages 2019, Industrial Relations Code 2020, Code on Social Security 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, in force from 21 November 2025; Central Rules notified 8 May 2026.
- Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 (subsumed into the OSH Code 2020); state Shops and Establishments Acts, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Delhi.
- Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC): contribution rates and wage ceilings.
- Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 and Payment of Bonus Act 1965, as carried into the Code on Social Security 2020 and the Code on Wages 2019.
- Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India: FAQs on work-related visas, including the US$25,000 salary requirement for Employment Visas.
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs company register (MCA21) for the Indian entity records cited.
- Ascentium press releases on the acquisitions of Links International (February 2025) and Dezan Shira & Associates (April 2026).
- Provider websites and published documentation, reviewed September 2026.