What Does It Really Cost to Hire an Engineer in India?
Compare a local hire plus recruiter fee against an India hire plus EOR cost, side by side, with the sources shown.
What you'd pay in the US, UK or EU
Nominal USD equivalent, not PPP-adjusted
Year-1 cost per hire
Hiring in India saves roughly $98,426–$120,730 per engineer in year 1.
Local hire + recruiter
$189,750–$206,250
$165,000 salary + $24,750–$41,250 agency fee (15–25%)
India hire via an EOR
$85,520–$91,324
$80,000 salary + $5,520–$11,324/yr EOR fee (incl. FX + statutory load)
India hire, sourced on Switchly
$80,000
Salary only — free to post and hire. You still need your own way to pay and employ in India (see below).
Agency fee 15–25% of first-year salary (20% typical benchmark). EOR fee from published India pricing ($400–699/mo base) plus 15–35% for FX markup and statutory employer costs. Estimate only — get an exact quote from your EOR or recruiter.
Sourcing costs nothing. Post the role and see who applies.
Switchly doesn't replace your EOR or payroll setup, but it replaces the recruiter fee for finding the candidate. Post up to 10 roles free, with AI ranking against your JD.
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Every "hire remotely in India" pitch shows the salary gap and stops there. The real year-1 number includes what you pay to find the candidate (a recruiter, in most local markets) and what you pay to legally employ them (an EOR, if you're hiring in India without your own entity). This calculator puts both sides together so the comparison is honest, not just a headline salary gap.
A comparison you can trust the numbers on
Real, sourced benchmarks
Recruiter fees and EOR pricing from public industry data, not invented numbers — see the sources below the calculator.
Your numbers, not an average
Enter your own local and India salary figures. The math updates live, by role level or headcount.
No recruiter fee to source the candidate
Post a role free on Switchly and let AI rank applicants against your JD — the sourcing cost in this comparison really is $0.
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Post a Role FreeFrequently asked questions
How much cheaper is it to hire a software engineer in India vs the US?
It depends heavily on level and role, but as a rough range: a mid-level backend engineer who'd cost $165,000 in the US (salary + a typical 20% recruiter fee, so about $198,000 year-1) might cost $80,000–$115,000 all-in through an India-based EOR, once FX markup and statutory employer costs are added to the EOR's base fee. The gap narrows at senior/staff level and for niche skills, and widens for common stacks at junior/mid level.
What's the real total cost of an EOR in India, not just the advertised price?
Major EOR providers list India pricing around $400–699 per employee per month, but that's the base fee. On top of it, expect an FX markup (commonly 3–5%) and the statutory employer costs required under Indian law — provident fund (~12% of basic), and gratuity accrual (~4.81% of basic) once an employee crosses the eligibility threshold. Total cost typically runs 15–35% above the advertised monthly rate.
Do I need an Employer of Record to hire in India?
Not necessarily. An EOR is one path if you want to directly employ someone in India without setting up your own legal entity there. Alternatives include hiring the person as an independent contractor (simpler, but with its own compliance and misclassification considerations depending on your home country's rules), or setting up your own Indian entity if you're hiring at scale. None of these are something Switchly provides — Switchly helps you find and screen the candidate; how you legally employ them is a separate decision worth running past your own counsel.
Why do US/UK companies use a recruiter for local hires but not always for India hires?
Local recruiter fees (15–25% of first-year salary) largely pay for sourcing in an unfamiliar or competitive local market. Companies hiring in India for the first time often still want a sourcing layer, which is the gap a platform like Switchly fills for free, rather than a traditional agency fee, while an EOR replaces the employment/payroll piece a recruiter never covered anyway.
Are these cost figures accurate for my exact situation?
They're directional, not a quote. Recruiter fees vary by role seniority and region (15% for junior roles up to 25%+ for senior/executive searches), and EOR pricing varies by provider, contract length and negotiated volume discounts. Use this calculator to understand the shape of the savings, then get an exact quote from your recruiter or EOR provider before budgeting.