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India hiring costs · Updated 26 October 2026
A mid-level software engineer (3 to 7 years) in India earns about ₹9 to ₹20 lakh a year. Hired through an India-specialist Employer of Record, the all-in cost to your company is about $12.7k to $24.6k a year, including PF, gratuity, health insurance and the EOR fee. Junior hires start from about $7.4k a year; senior hires cost $26.8k to $51.8k.
All-in cost per hire
$0 /month
Estimate, not a quote. Excludes recruitment, equipment, variable pay, leave encashment and exit costs.
Cost rises steeply with seniority. Use the band that matches the scope of the job, not just years of experience. Figures are yearly, all-in, at the national average.
| Experience | Annual gross salary | All-in via India-specialist EOR ($199/mo) | All-in via global EOR platform ($599/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior (0-2 years) | ₹4 to ₹8 lakh | $7.4k to $11.6k | $12.2k to $16.4k |
| Mid-level (3-7 years) | ₹9 to ₹20 lakh | $12.7k to $24.6k | $17.5k to $29.4k |
| Senior (8+ years) | ₹22 to ₹45 lakh | $26.8k to $51.8k | $31.6k to $56.6k |
Salary bands from Peorient’s average salary in India by job role. All-in totals include employer PF, gratuity, ₹1,000 a month of insurance and the EOR fee, at ₹94.8 per $.
For a mid-level package of ₹14.5 lakh a year, salary is about 82% of the total. Statutory contributions and insurance add about 5%, and an India-specialist EOR fee about 13%.
| Monthly item | INR | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | ₹1,20,833 | $1,275 |
| Employer PF, EDLI and admin | ₹3,250 | $34 |
| Gratuity provision | ₹3,486 | $37 |
| Health insurance and benefits | ₹1,000 | $11 |
| EOR service fee ($199) | ₹18,865 | $199 |
| Total per month | ₹1,47,434 | $1,555 |
| Total per year | ₹17,69,209 | $18,663 |
The same hire through a $599 global EOR platform costs about $23,463 a year. Excludes recruitment, equipment, variable pay, GST and exit costs.
For most companies hiring their first few software engineers in India, an Employer of Record is the fastest compliant route. Your own entity only wins on cost at scale, and contracting suits genuinely independent work only.
Hire without an Indian company. The EOR runs contracts, payroll, PF and gratuity. Published fees run about $99-$249 a month with India specialists and $459-$699 with global platforms.
Cheapest per head once the team is large enough to absorb fixed running costs. On Peorient’s model that is about 11 employees against a $199 fee, or 4 against a $599 fee.
No statutory contributions, but a full-time, exclusive arrangement can be reclassified as employment, with back-dated liabilities.
India is one of the largest software engineering talent markets in the world, with the deepest pools in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Delhi NCR. Most foreign companies hire engineers there as full-time employees through an Employer of Record (EOR), which puts them on a compliant Indian payroll without you opening a local company.
Bengaluru and Mumbai carry the highest premiums; tier-2 cities can cut the salary line by around a sixth. All-in figures below are for the mid-level midpoint through an India-specialist EOR.
| City | Salary premium | Mid-level salary | All-in per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | +22% | ₹17.7 lakh | $22,125 |
| Mumbai | +20% | ₹17.4 lakh | $21,810 |
| Delhi NCR | +17% | ₹17 lakh | $21,338 |
| Hyderabad | +15% | ₹16.7 lakh | $21,023 |
| Pune | +12% | ₹16.2 lakh | $20,551 |
| Chennai | +10% | ₹16 lakh | $20,236 |
| National average | Baseline | ₹14.5 lakh | $18,663 |
| Tier-2 city | -17% | ₹12 lakh | $15,987 |
City premiums are midpoints of the ranges in Peorient’s salary research. See also average salary in India by city.
A mid-level software engineer earns about ₹9 to ₹20 lakh a year. Through an India-specialist EOR the all-in cost is about $12.7k to $24.6k a year, or $17.5k to $29.4k through a global EOR platform. The total includes employer PF, gratuity, insurance and the EOR fee.
Yes, by a wide margin. Peorient’s research puts a typical mid-level US salary for this role at $130,000. A mid-level hire in India on ₹14.5 lakh costs about $18,663 a year all-in through an India-specialist EOR, around 14% of the US salary alone.
No. An Employer of Record employs the person through its own Indian entity, runs payroll, PF and gratuity, and invoices you each month while you direct the work. See how an Employer of Record works.
Usually only at scale. On Peorient’s planning model, a fully run entity starts to beat a $199 India-specialist fee at about 11 employees and a $599 global platform fee at about 4. Read EOR vs subsidiary in India.
You can engage a genuinely independent contractor, but someone who works full time for one company, on its schedule and tools, risks being treated as an employee, with back-dated PF and other liabilities. See employee vs contractor.
The paperwork through an EOR is usually the quick part. The bigger delay is the candidate’s notice period, commonly 30 to 90 days for experienced professionals, so plan the start date from the offer acceptance.
Send us the scenario from the calculator. We compare the India EOR providers that fit and reply with quoted fees and the one we would pick, usually within 2-3 business days. Free for companies, no obligation.
Get my quotesOr price any of 24 roles in the India hiring cost calculator.
Every figure comes from the same model as Peorient’s Employer of Record cost guide, so you can reproduce it line by line.
Peorient is affiliated with Remunance and Rivermate. Remunance is one of the India specialists in the published fee range above. Providers pay us a referral fee when you become their client through us, and we do not sell ranking positions. Updated 26 October 2026.
