How much does it cost to use an Employer of Record (EOR) in Turkey?

Table of contents:

• Introduction: You're not just paying for compliance; you're buying peace of mind

• What exactly is included in the EOR fee in Turkey?

• EOR pricing structure: Flat rate vs % of salary

• Salary + taxes + EOR fee = Your total monthly hiring cost in Turkey

• Optional add-ons you should consider

• Is an EOR cheaper than setting up your own entity in Turkey?

• Common myths about EOR pricing (and why they're wrong)

• Risks of skipping compliance: What could go wrong without an EOR?

• TL;DR: Why EOR cost in Turkey is a smart investment

Introduction: You're not just paying for compliance; you're buying peace of mind

Here’s something no founder says, ever:

“I started this company because I really enjoy spending my weekends Googling Turkish labor laws and translating compliance documents with questionable online tools.”

If you’re nodding along, congratulations, you’re exactly who this article was made for.

Because hiring internationally sounds great, right until someone whispers “compliance,” and suddenly it feels like you’re signing up for voluntary tax detention.

And let’s be honest: figuring out the exact cost of using an Employer of Record (EOR) in Turkey isn’t exactly intuitive.

If your previous global hiring strategy involved late-night Reddit threads and loosely translated legal PDFs, you’ve probably noticed the pit in your stomach each time someone says, “Wait, are we sure we’re doing this legally?”

We get it. We’ve been there.

So let’s make this clear upfront: the price tag on an EOR isn’t just paying someone to handle payroll. It’s paying for you not to wake up at 3 a.m., panicked that the Turkish government just found out your “contractor” has been an employee all along.

In other words, an EOR isn’t just a cost.

It’s sanity insurance, bundled with tax compliance, legal protection, and the peace of mind that your global team won’t become your global headache.

In this article, we’ll walk you through exactly what it costs to hire in Turkey through an EOR. Salary, taxes, fees, hidden costs, myths, and yes, even what could go terribly wrong if you skip the compliance part.

Grab a coffee, maybe something stronger, and let’s figure this out once and for all

What exactly is included in the EOR fee in Turkey?

Let’s clear something up before we go any further.

An EOR isn’t just a fancy payroll provider wearing a compliance hat. If that’s what you’re paying for, you’re getting robbed, politely, and with nice emails, but robbed nonetheless.

When done right, an Employer of Record handles every legal, tax, and employment detail for your hire in Turkey. And by “every,” we mean everything you don’t want to deal with while scaling your team across borders.

So, what does that actually include?

Legal employment & contracts

First off, your EOR becomes the official legal employer in Turkey. That means they issue compliant contracts in Turkish (no, Google Translate doesn’t count), file all required documents, and make sure you’re not accidentally violating any labor code clause hidden on page 87 of some PDF buried in a government portal.

You get local legitimacy, minus the paperwork.

Payroll processing and tax filings

Your EOR provider in Turkey doesn’t just send out pay slips. It calculates taxes, withholds the correct amounts, files monthly reports, pays into social security, and navigates Turkey’s income brackets like a seasoned bureaucrat with a caffeine addiction.

You pay one invoice, your team gets paid on time and in lira, net of taxes, fully compliant.

Benefits administration

From private health insurance to local perks like meal cards or transportation allowances, your EOR sources, sets up, and manages benefits tailored to Turkey’s expectations. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all bundle; it’s curated by people who know the local job market and how to keep top talent from walking.

Work permit & visa support (if needed)

Hiring non-Turkish talent? Your EOR will coordinate the entire work permit and residence application process, making sure the timelines, documentation, and legal representation are all sorted. No embassy chaos required.

Currency exchange & cross-border payments

Turkish lira today, euro tomorrow, who cares? Your EOR handles FX logistics behind the scenes, absorbing exchange rate shocks so you don’t need to open a hedge fund just to hire a frontend dev.

Local compliance & labor audits

Ever heard of the Social Security Administration’s spot audits? Your EOR has. They prepare, manage, and defend every aspect of your team’s local employment, so you’re not left writing “Sorry, we didn’t know” letters to Turkish authorities.

Ongoing HR support & consulting

Onboarding gone wrong? Vacation policy in dispute? Your EOR acts as an HR extension of your team, guiding you through local norms, providing legal context, and de-escalating things before they go full TikTok resignation video.

EOR pricing structure: Flat rate vs % of salary

Here’s something no EOR salesperson will ever say to you:

“The percentage-based pricing model is basically us taking credit for your employee’s raise, every single time.”

But since we’re all friends here, let’s be honest:

Charging you a percentage of your hire’s salary doesn’t make sense unless payroll providers suddenly started getting paid like talent agents.

And spoiler alert: they shouldn’t.

So let’s quickly unpack your two pricing options and why one makes your CFO breathe easier and the other makes them reconsider their career choices.

The percentage pricing model (aka the sneaky tax on raises)

You’ll see these everywhere: Providers charging you 10% to 15% (or more) of your employee’s salary each month.

It sounds fine at first, right? You’re hiring someone in Istanbul for €3,000/month, that’s just €300/month at 10%. No biggie.

But the moment you give your engineer a raise to €4,000, your EOR’s fee suddenly jumps to €400/month… for literally the same service. Did the EOR do extra work? Nope. Did their costs increase? Nope. Did they magically file additional forms? Still nope.

It’s the payroll equivalent of charging you more rent because you bought a nicer couch.

Flat-rate pricing (aka sanity for your budget)

This is what we do at Team Up:

€299/month per employee in Turkey, no matter the salary.

Here’s what happens when your engineer gets a raise from €3,000 to €4,000: Your EOR fee remains €299. No surprise invoice hikes. No hidden admin charges. No frantic phone calls explaining budget overruns to your CFO.

Because scaling your team shouldn’t mean scaling your anxiety.

Flat-rate EOR pricing gives you:

• Predictable budgeting every single month

• Transparency without the math gymnastics

• Confidence that growing your team won’t break your cost model

Which model actually scales with you?

Look, if you enjoy unpredictable fees that punish you for rewarding your employees, percentage pricing is perfect. (Also, we’re worried about you.)

But if you prefer knowing exactly what you’re paying for, every single month, flat-rate pricing isn’t just smart, it’s the only way to scale sensibly.

And scaling sensibly is kind of the point, isn’t it?

Salary + taxes + EOR fee = Your total monthly hiring cost in Turkey

Welcome to the part where theory meets your actual bank account.

Let’s break it down, line by line, so you finally understand what you’re really paying when you hire through an Employer of Record in Turkey.

Net Salary: What your employee actually takes home

Start here. This is what you’ve likely agreed to pay your Turkish hire.

Say you want to offer €2,000 net per month. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong. Because this is just the beginning.

Gross Salary: The real figure you need to budget for

In Turkey, employers are responsible for withholding social security contributions and income tax from the gross salary. The gross salary has to be high enough to leave the employee with their agreed net salary after deductions.

So if your employee’s net salary is €2,000, the gross salary might be closer to €2,500 depending on personal exemptions, tax brackets, and social contributions. We handle all of that math for you.

But yes, net ≠ gross. That’s step one in avoiding costly underpayment mistakes.

Employer Contributions: Your share of the Turkish tax party

Here’s what you, as the employer, pay on top of the gross salary:

• Social Security Contribution: ~20.5%

• Unemployment Insurance Fund: 2%

• Stamp Tax: 0.759%

• Mandatory pension contributions (if applicable)

For our €2,500 gross example, this adds another ~€570–600 in employer costs.

So your running total is already around €3,100/month, and we haven’t even hit the EOR fee yet.

EOR Fee: Flat-rate simplicity or bloated percentage

Here’s where your choice of EOR model really matters.

At Team Up, we keep it clean with a flat €299/month. Always. No matter if your employee earns €1,800 or €5,000. No hidden margins are baked into salary inflation.

If you’re stuck with a percentage-based EOR charging 12% of salary, that’s an extra €300–€400/month, depending on how much you’re paying your hire.

You do the math. Or don’t. We already did.

Currency conversion & local payment fees

You’ll be invoiced in euros, but your team is paid in Turkish lira. Team Up manages exchange rate conversions and local bank transfers, all baked into our service.

No need to fumble with cross-border banking setups or worry about rate fluctuations mid-month.

So what’s your real total monthly cost?

Let’s recap a standard hire:

Component	Estimated Cost
Net Salary (employee take-home)	€2,000
Gross-up for taxes	€2,500
Employer taxes & contributions	~€600
EOR fee (flat)	€299
Total Monthly Cost	€3,399

That’s €3,399 per month to hire a fully compliant, full-time Turkish employee, no legal risks, no rogue tax bills, no DIY admin nightmares.

All handled by one partner.

One invoice.

Zero stress.

Want to estimate this for your real team setup?

Optional add-ons you should consider:

So, you’ve nailed down the basics, salary, taxes, and EOR fee. Your new hire in Turkey is legally employed, getting paid on time, and sleeping peacefully at night knowing you’re not cutting corners.

But here’s the thing…

Compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. If you want to build a team that actually sticks around, not one that disappears faster than your budget during Q4, you’ll want to think bigger.

Let’s talk about the add-ons that turn a standard hire into a full-package deal.

Health Insurance

Starting from €49 per employee/month

In Turkey, public healthcare exists, but good luck getting an English-speaking doctor on the phone after 5 pm. If you want your remote talent to feel like they’re part of something real, offering private health insurance is a no-brainer.

We work with vetted local providers. You choose the plan. We handle the setup.

Gym Memberships & Wellness Perks

Starting from €49 per employee/month

You're not just building a workforce. You're building stamina. Turkish employees, like everyone, appreciate perks that keep them healthy and balanced.

We’ll hook your team up with gym access, yoga passes, or the occasional massage chair (we don’t judge).

Equipment Leasing

Starting from €69 per employee/month

Not everyone’s home office is… well… an office. Give your hires what they need to succeed — MacBooks, monitors, ergonomic chairs, without sending hardware across borders or drowning in customs paperwork.

Want to buy instead? We offer tailored purchase options, too.

Workspace Access

• Flex desk: €150/month

• Dedicated desk: €250/month

• Private office: €1,250/month

Not every hire wants to work from their kitchen table. Our workspace add-ons give your Turkish team access to coworking hubs in major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. You pick the setup, we’ll handle the lease, access, and contracts.

IT Support & Training

Free of charge

Because nothing ruins onboarding faster than a forgotten password and no one to call. Our local support covers setup, troubleshooting, and making sure your hires can actually start… well, working.

Is an EOR cheaper than setting up your own entity in Turkey?

Let’s say you’ve fallen in love with the idea of remote hiring in Turkey.

Maybe it’s the massive tech talent in Istanbul. Maybe it’s the timezone overlap with Europe. Or maybe it’s the menemen, no judgment, we’ve made bigger life decisions over breakfast.

But now you’re stuck deciding:

Do we set up a company or use an EOR?

Here’s what that actually looks like, without the sugar-coating.

The real cost of setting up your own entity in Turkey

On paper, opening a local legal entity seems simple. Then the paperwork starts. Then the bank account. Then the translations. Then the ministry approvals. Then the notary. Then the accountant.

And that’s just the setup phase.

Let’s break it down:

• Company formation: €1,000–€2,500 in legal and notary fees

• Local director appointment: You’ll need one. Usually a Turkish resident.

• Physical office lease: Required for registration, even if nobody shows up there

• Bank account opening: Expect 1–3 months and lots of Turkish tea while you wait

• Ongoing accounting & legal fees: €300–€1,000/month

• Monthly tax filings, payroll, HR compliance: All your responsibility

• Penalties for non-compliance: Best-case scenario? A fine. Worst-case? You’re in court explaining labor law in a foreign language.

So, unless you’re hiring 20+ people, this route is overkill, not just on cost, but on time and liability.

What you pay with an EOR (and what you don’t)

With Team Up’s EOR in Turkey, it’s one flat fee: €299 per employee/month.

That covers everything: legal employment, payroll, tax filings, local compliance, and optional add-ons like health insurance or coworking spaces.

No entity.

No red tape.

No legal headaches when Turkish employment law gets weird (and it will).

You also skip:

• Local audits

• Random ministry inspections

• Annual filings in Turkish

• Finding a lawyer who doesn’t bill you €250/hour to read a two-page contract

But what if you don't want a local entity later?

No problem. Use an EOR as your launchpad, hire fast, test the market, and build the team.

Then, if it makes financial sense, transition to your own entity later.

We’ll even help you with that migration.

Common myths about EOR pricing (and why they're wrong)

If you’ve been in a hiring strategy meeting lately, someone has probably said this:

“An EOR sounds great, but isn’t it more expensive than just hiring directly?”

Let’s clear that up, right now, before your CFO Googles “Turkey entity setup” and disappears into a spreadsheet rabbit hole.

Myth 1: “EORs are only for big companies with huge budgets.”

Nope. Actually, it’s the small and mid-sized companies that benefit the most.

Big companies have the legal departments, the local offices, and the payroll armies to handle compliance in every country. You don’t. And you shouldn’t need to.

An EOR gives you that infrastructure, without hiring 12 extra people to build it yourself. And at €299/month per employee, it’s probably less than what you’d pay to not have one (hello, tax penalties).

Myth 2: “EOR pricing is mysterious and packed with hidden fees.”

Not here.

At Team Up, we run on flat pricing. €299 per employee/month. No shady add-ons. No “admin” fees. No surprise charges when you sneeze near a labor law.

You’ll see:

• The gross salary

• The local taxes and employer contributions

• The flat EOR fee

That's it. You’ll get a monthly invoice that won’t require a PhD in Turkish accounting to understand.

Myth 3: “It’s cheaper just to hire a contractor.”

Sure. Until it’s not.

Because here’s the thing about independent contractors in Turkey:

If they look, act, and work like full-time employees… the government treats them that way.

Which means you, not them, could be on the hook for:

• Back taxes

• Social contributions

• Benefits

• Penalties

EORs keep you compliant from day one. Contractors don’t. Cheap now doesn’t mean cheap later.

Myth 4: “If we’re only hiring one person, it’s not worth it.”

Actually, that’s when it’s most worth it.

Hiring a single employee shouldn’t require setting up a legal entity, hiring a Turkish accountant, and memorizing the local labor code.

That’s the beauty of an EOR: you scale up or down without wasting time or money. One hire? We’ve got you. Ten hires? Still got you.

Risks of skipping compliance: What could go wrong without an EOR?

So, you’re thinking about hiring remote talent in Turkey without using an EOR?

Let’s run a quick simulation.

You’ve found the perfect backend developer in Izmir. You draft up a contractor agreement, send it over, and start paying them monthly via Wise. Everything’s going great — until the Turkish tax authority decides you’re not just working with a contractor.

They look at your agreement. They look at the hours logged. They look at the exclusive relationship.

And suddenly, you’re being treated like an employer… without the legal setup to back it up.

This isn’t hypothetical. It happens. And here’s what it looks like when it goes sideways:

Misclassification penalties

Turkish labor law isn’t vague when it comes to contractors vs employees. If your remote talent has:

• Fixed working hours

• Set responsibilities

• Only one employer (you)

• A monthly fixed payment

… then congratulations, you’ve got yourself an employee — and you’re legally required to register and treat them like one. If not? You could owe:

• Backdated social security contributions (up to 5 years)

• Payroll taxes and income tax backpay

• Fines for noncompliance

• Lawsuits for unpaid benefits

This is especially risky in Turkey, where labor inspectors do investigate foreign-funded contractor setups. You're not invisible.

Labor court disputes

Let’s say your contractor gets sick. Or pregnant. Or just decides they want to take you to court over a disagreement. If a Turkish court finds they were misclassified, you’ll be held liable for:

• Severance pay (yes, even if you called them a “freelancer”)

• Annual leave

• Overtime

• Social contributions

• Interest on overdue payments

Spoiler alert: Turkish courts tend to favor the employee.

Reputational damage and banned operations

If you’re planning to grow in the Turkish market, maybe open an office later or hire more locals, you don’t want to start with a compliance stain on your record.

Noncompliance can:

• Block your company from registering a local entity

• Trigger investigations across other departments (tax, immigration)

• Show up on due diligence checks if you’re raising funding

Think your investors won’t care? Think again.

Immigration and work permit issues

Some companies try to bring in expats or remote contractors on business visas and call it a day. But Turkey takes immigration seriously.

Hiring foreign nationals without proper work permits puts you at risk for:

• Heavy employer-side fines

• Deportation of your talent

• A ban on sponsoring future work permits

You’re not just risking one hire. You’re risking your entire expansion roadmap.

Here’s how an EOR keeps you safe

An EOR like Team Up doesn’t just file paperwork; we absorb the risk.

• We classify your workers correctly.

• We pay social security and taxes on your behalf.

• We handle Turkish labor contracts and documentation.

• We stay up to date with changing local laws, so you don’t have to.

So unless your in-house HR team speaks fluent Turkish tax law and has a direct line to the SGK (Social Security Institution), skipping an EOR isn’t “lean”, it’s reckless.

Peace of mind starts with compliance.

TL;DR: Why EOR cost in Turkey is a smart investment

Let’s cut to it.

Hiring in Turkey isn’t just about paying a salary, it’s about not accidentally launching a legal minefield.

You could:

• Set up your own company (enjoy the paperwork, legal fees, and 3+ months of setup).

• Hire a contractor (until the Turkish authorities decide you’re actually an employer).

• Or use an EOR and skip the headaches.

For €299/month per employee, Team Up gives you:

• Fully legal employment without opening an entity

• Payroll, tax filing, and local compliance are all handled

• Clear, flat pricing with no sneaky fees

• A scalable model that works whether you're hiring one person or 100

• Optional benefits, workspaces, and equipment, if you want them

You're not just paying for HR admin. You’re buying:

• Peace of mind

• Protection from legal risks

• Speed to hire

• Room to scale without a full-blown expansion

In a market like Turkey, where the talent pool is top-tier, but the labor code is not exactly startup-friendly, an EOR isn’t a luxury.

It’s the most efficient way to grow.

Let’s talk Turkey.

Book your consult and see how fast you can go from “we’d like to hire” to “our new team starts Monday.”