10 Employer of Record (EOR) Services in LATAM for 2026: Providers & Reviews

What Is an Employer of Record and Why Does It Matter in LATAM?

An EOR is a third-party organization that legally employs your team members on your behalf in a given country. While you manage day-to-day work, the EOR handles local employment compliance – including contracts, payroll, benefits administration, taxes, and statutory filings.

In LATAM, EORs play a critical role because employment laws are often employee-protective, documentation-heavy, and highly localized. Staying compliant means navigating labor ministries, tax authorities, social security institutions, and, in some countries, unions or collective agreements.

Common compliance challenges HR teams face across LATAM include:

• Mandatory 13th-month salary (aguinaldo) in most countries
• Statutory profit sharing (e.g., Mexico)
• Complex severance formulas tied to tenure and salary history
• Strict termination rules requiring cause, notice, and documentation
• Employer-paid social security and pension contributions
• Country-specific payroll cycles and reporting deadlines
• Local currency requirements and FX considerations
• Labor inspections and audits by government authorities

Beyond the legal framework, cultural expectations also matter. LATAM teams place high value on job stability, benefits coverage, clear communication, and respectful employer relationships. Missteps in onboarding, payroll accuracy, or terminations can quickly impact retention and employer reputation.

Thinking about expanding into LATAM?

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What Should You Consider When Choosing an Employer of Record in LATAM?

LATAM is not a single market – it’s a collection of very different regulatory environments. When evaluating EOR providers, these are the capabilities that matter most:

• Local Compliance Expertise: Your EOR must understand country-specific labor codes, tax rules, social security systems, and termination requirements – not just at a regional level, but country by country.
• Wholly-Owned Entities vs Partner Networks: Providers that operate through their own legal entities in key LATAM markets typically offer better accountability, faster issue resolution, and clearer compliance ownership than pure partner-based models.
• Regional Coverage & Depth: If you’re hiring in multiple countries (e.g., Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile), consistency matters. Look for providers with deep LATAM coverage, not just one or two markets.
• Payroll Accuracy & Reliability: LATAM payroll often includes bonuses, variable pay, mandatory benefits, and local reporting. Check whether the provider is aware of all the nuances in the markets you’re interested in. Errors can trigger fines, audits, or employee disputes.
• Technology & Integrations: A strong EOR platform should support digital onboarding, automated payroll, leave tracking, expense management, and integrations with HRIS and finance tools to make your day-to-day workflows as smooth as possible.
• Pricing Transparency: Ensure clarity on EOR fees, statutory contributions, FX markup, tax handling, benefits costs, and any onboarding/offboarding charges.

• Responsive Local Support: When labor authorities are involved, response time matters. Local expertise and fast support are essential in a good EOR.

Explore our LATAM compliance hub for country-by-country hiring insights.

Estimated Cost for Hiring an Employee in LATAM Through an EOR

EOR pricing in LATAM typically ranges from $450–$800 USD per employee per month, depending on the country, seniority, benefits, and provider model. Larger markets like Brazil and Mexico often sit at the higher end due to their labor complexity and statutory costs.

These fees cover the EOR service layer only – employment contracts, payroll processing, compliance, tax filings, and HR support.

The true “all-in” monthly cost per employee includes:

• Gross salary
• Employer statutory costs – taxes, social contributions, insurance funds
• Mandatory/local benefits – e.g. 13th-month salary
• EOR service fee
• Optional add-ons – equipment, enhanced benefits, background checks, equity support

Statutory costs and mandatory benefits vary significantly by country and are the primary drivers of cost differences beyond the EOR fee itself.

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Leading Employer of Record Providers in LATAM for 2026

Below is a curated list of reliable, widely used EOR providers for hiring across Latin America – including both global platforms and LATAM-focused specialists.

• Payroll: Stands out in Latin America for its emphasis on owned local entities and in-house expertise across key LATAM markets (including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and more) rather than relying heavily on third-party intermediaries. This “boots on the ground” approach gives Playroll direct oversight of labor laws. The platform combines fast onboarding, transparent pricing, automated payroll workflows, and AI-backed compliance monitoring with highly responsive human support from teams that understand local labor nuances.
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• Deel: Offers broad LATAM coverage through owned entities, depending on the country. Its platform is highly automated, self-serve, and integrates well with HR and finance tools, making it attractive for fast-moving teams. The trade-off is that local nuance can feel standardized, especially in countries with complex termination rules or mandatory benefits. Fees in LATAM are also typically on the higher end compared to providers offering similar coverage, which may be a consideration for growing teams.
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• Remote: Supports hiring across several major LATAM markets with a strong focus on compliance, IP protection, and clear documentation. The platform is consistent and easy to use across regions, which appeals to companies hiring globally. That consistency, however, can come at the expense of flexibility for country-specific benefit customization or edge-case employment scenarios, which are common in Latin America’s more employee-protective jurisdictions.
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• G-P (Globalization Partners): Is an enterprise-grade EOR with extensive LATAM reach and a strong reputation for compliance and risk mitigation. It’s often chosen by large, regulated organizations expanding into multiple Latin American countries at once. For startups or scale-ups, the pricing, contract rigidity, and process depth can feel heavy, especially when speed and agility are priorities.
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• Papaya Global: Combines EOR and global payroll across LATAM, with particularly strong analytics, reporting, and finance-oriented workflows. It works well for companies managing payroll visibility across many countries. However, Papaya’s EOR model in LATAM relies largely on third-party local providers, which can introduce communication delays and reduce direct access to in-country employment expertise when issues arise.
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• Skuad: Offers EOR services in several LATAM countries with predictable pricing and relatively fast onboarding. It’s often selected by startups and SMBs that value simplicity and speed. The limitation is less depth in handling complex LATAM labor scenarios, such as nuanced termination processes, mandatory profit sharing, or highly localized benefits.

• Oyster HR: Supports compliant hiring across many Latin American countries, with transparent pricing and a clean, remote-first platform experience. It’s known for clear documentation and ease of use. That said, Oyster can be less suitable for companies facing complex statutory benefits, union considerations, or country-specific employment practices. It’s also among the pricier EOR options in the region.
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• Pebl (Formally Velocity Global): Long-standing EOR provider with solid LATAM coverage and experience supporting regulated and enterprise clients. Its strength lies in stability, compliance governance, and benefits administration. Those strengths can make the experience feel more rigid and slower-moving compared to newer platforms optimized for rapid hiring. It’s also received some negative feedback around slow customer support.
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• Atlas (formerly Atlas HXM): Atlas employs workers directly in many LATAM countries and emphasizes compliance, control, and speed of onboarding. It appeals to companies prioritizing legal certainty and direct employment structures. The service experience can feel more transactional, with less emphasis on ongoing HR advisory, employee experience, or localized guidance beyond core compliance.
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• Rippling: Has expanded its EOR footprint into LATAM, combining global hiring with its broader HR, IT, and finance platform. It’s a strong option for companies already using Rippling and looking for an all-in-one system. LATAM EOR coverage, however, is not as mature or locally specialized as providers focused primarily on international employment, and country availability can be more limited.

Curious How We Stack Up Against the Rest?

Compare Playroll with other leading LATAM EOR providers and find the fit that’s right for you.

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Insights from Real Users

Playroll

What I like most about Playroll is how simple and reliable it makes everything. It takes away the stress of complex processes and lets me focus on what really matters. The platform feels intuitive, the support is responsive, and overall it gives me confidence that things are being handled the right way. It’s refreshing to use a solution that’s both efficient and genuinely user-friendly.

– Verified G2 User

Pebl (Formally Velocity Global)

What I like best about Velocity Global is the personalized and efficient support provided by the HR team in Brazil. Their quick response time, averaging just over an hour, demonstrates their commitment to customer satisfaction. What I find challenging is that some processes involving external partners can occasionally take longer than expected, even though the internal HR team's response time is excellent. Additionally, certain regional-specific complexities sometimes require more proactive updates to keep clients informed throughout the process.

– Verified G2 User

Why Hire in Latin America?

We’ve hired several team members from Latin America over the past year, and honestly, it's been one of the best decisions we’ve made. The time zone alignment alone made a noticeable difference in communication and productivity.

In terms of quality: we’ve hired developers and every one of them has been sharp, proactive, and highly collaborative. I have hired from India and the Philippines as well, but with Latin America hires I notice more of a strong sense of pride in their work in a team sense. They want to add value to the company as a teammate instead of as a remote worker who isn't really part of the company.

– Verified Reddit User

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Using an EOR vs Setting Up a Local Entity in Latin America

If you’re hiring your first employees in Latin America, you have two primary ways of going about it. You can either partner with an EOR or set up your own local legal entity. The right choice depends on how fast you need to hire, how many people you plan to employ, and whether you’re looking to establish a long-term presence in a specific country.

LATAM offers access to exceptional talent, but it’s also one of the most legally fragmented and employee-protective regions in the world. The approach that works in Mexico may not work at all in Brazil, Colombia, or Argentina.

Here are some simple guidelines to help you decide based on where your business is today.

Use an EOR if:

• You need to hire quickly and avoid long and country-specific setup timelines
• You don’t want to manage local payroll, tax filings, social security, or labor-law compliance
• You’re testing one or more LATAM markets before committing long term
• You’re building a small initial team (often under 10–20 employees per country)
• You want to reduce risk around mandatory benefits, termination costs, and misclassification

Set up a local entity if:

• You’re scaling beyond 20–30 employees in a single LATAM country
• You need a permanent operational presence or local infrastructure
• You want direct control over long-term tax structuring and employment strategy
• You’re prepared to manage ongoing legal, payroll, and HR compliance internally
• You’re operating in a highly regulated or locally licensed industry

Typical entity setup costs to consider (LATAM averages):

• Entity Incorporation: often USD $3,000–$10,000+, depending on the country
• Ongoing Accounting, Payroll, & Compliance: USD $6,000–$20,000+ per year
• Employer social security contributions (often 20–35%+ of gross salary)
• Ongoing legal support for labor law, audits, and terminations

For most companies making their first hires in Latin America, an EOR is simply the faster and lower-risk option. Entity setup involves multiple registrations, ongoing reporting, and strict compliance obligations that vary by country. An EOR lets you hire quickly while avoiding long-term administrative commitments.

The key is choosing an EOR with real local presence. Providers like Playroll operate through owned entities and in-country teams across LATAM, which means issues around payroll or terminations are handled locally, well before they turn into costly problems.

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Onboarding Through an EOR in Latin America

Onboarding through an EOR in Latin America is typically straightforward. You define the key details of the hire – such as role, compensation, start date, working hours, and any variable pay or benefits – and approve the final terms.

From there, the EOR manages the administrative and compliance work on your behalf. This usually includes:

• Collecting required employee documentation (ID, tax number, address, bank details)in collaboration with your company.
• Issuing a locally compliant employment contract in the correct language and within the correct timeline.
• Setting up payroll and statutory benefits.
• Enrolling the employee in mandatory social security and insurance programs.

In many LATAM countries, employees can be fully onboarded within 2–7 business days, depending on documentation and local registration timelines.

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Compliance Considerations for Hiring in Latin America

While employment laws vary significantly by country, several principles are common across Latin America. You can expect strong worker protections, mandatory benefits, and regulated termination processes.

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Key Takeaways

Hiring in Latin America gives you access to great talent, but the rules around employment can be more complicated than many teams expect. Mandatory benefits, social security contributions, and country-specific termination rules mean there’s a lot to get right – and small mistakes can become expensive without solid local guidance.

That’s where the right EOR partner makes a real difference. With Playroll, you can hire quickly while staying on the right side of local labor laws, because employment is managed through owned entities and teams who actually work in the region.

If you want to see what that looks like day to day, book a demo with our team and let’s talk through your LATAM hiring plans.