🇻🇳 Hire in Vietnam: cost, rules and best EOR options
Rapidly growing software outsourcing and engineering talent in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, with competitive costs. Strong in mobile, backend and QA, with growing English proficiency.
- Employer on-costs: 21.5–23.5% of gross salary (on a $60,000 salary, about $72,900–$74,100 total)
- EOR onboarding: Days to ~2 weeks (provider claims; specific figure unverified); own entity: About 2-4+ months (estimate, not verified)
- Probation: Up to 180 days for enterprise managers; 60 days for roles requiring college level or above; 30 days for intermediate-level roles; 6 working days for other jobs. Probation salary must be at least 85% of the job's salary.
- Currency: Vietnamese dong (VND)
- Data confidence: medium, verified 2026-10-05
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What it costs to employ someone in Vietnam
Employer on-costs run roughly 21.5–23.5% on top of gross salary. Employer social insurance 17.5% (14% retirement/death + 3% sickness/maternity + 0.5% occupational accident) + health insurance 3% + unemployment insurance 1% = 21.5%, plus a 2% trade union fee (calculated on the social insurance salary fund) = 23.5%. Contributions are calculated on the insured salary, capped at 20x the base salary level (VND 46.8 million/month in 2026); unemployment insurance is capped at 20x the regional minimum wage. Excludes the customary 13th-month salary and any private benefits. Rechecked 5 Oct 2026: arithmetic 17.5 + 3 + 1 = 21.5%, + 2% union fee = 23.5%. The insured-salary base (VND 2,340,000 since 1 Jul 2024, cap 20x = VND 46.8 million) and regional minimum wages confirmed by Vietnam Briefing; the 17.5/3/1/2 rates were not re-fetched from the legal text.
| Contribution | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Social insurance (SI) | 17.5% | 14% retirement and death, 3% sickness and maternity, 0.5% occupational accident/disease. |
| Health insurance (HI) | 3% | Capped at 20x base salary. |
| Unemployment insurance (UI) | 1% | Capped at 20x regional minimum wage. |
| Trade union fee | 2% of social insurance salary fund | Payable by employers even where no union is established. |
Employee pays 8% SI + 1.5% HI + 1% UI (10.5% total) and progressive personal income tax; employer withholds and remits.
Mandatory benefits
- 12 days annual leave
- 11 public holidays
- 13th-month salary is customary and often contractual but not statutory
- Maternity leave 6 months
- Social insurance, health and unemployment insurance
- Overtime pay
Employment rules at a glance
| Payroll | monthly |
|---|---|
| Probation | Up to 180 days for enterprise managers; 60 days for roles requiring college level or above; 30 days for intermediate-level roles; 6 working days for other jobs. Probation salary must be at least 85% of the job's salary. |
| Notice & severance | Indefinite-term contracts: employee must give 45 days' notice (employer must also give 45 days where lawful ground exists); fixed-term 12-36 months: 30 days; fixed-term under 12 months: 3 working days. Employment allowance (trop cap thoi viec): 0.5 month's average salary per year worked. Job-loss allowance for redundancy: 1 month per year, minimum 2 months. |
| Working time | 8 hours/day, 48 hours/week (many firms use 40-44). Overtime max 50% of normal hours/day, 40 hours/month and 200 hours/year (300 in certain sectors). Overtime pay 150% weekday, 200% weekly rest day, 300% on holidays (excluding holiday pay). |
| Paid leave | 12 working days of annual leave for normal conditions (more for heavy/hazardous work and for each 5 years of service), plus 11 public holidays. |
| Minimum wage | From 1 January 2026 (Decree 293/2025/ND-CP): Region I VND 5,310,000/month; Region II VND 4,730,000; Region III VND 4,140,000; Region IV VND 3,700,000 (a 7.2% increase). |
Termination
Employer unilateral termination is only allowed on listed grounds (repeated failure to complete work, illness, force majeure, etc.) and requires notice; wrongful termination means reinstatement, back pay and compensation. Disciplinary dismissal requires union consultation and a formal disciplinary process.
Employee or contractor in Vietnam?
Independent contractors are common, but a worker who works under employer direction and receives wages is deemed an employee under the 2019 Labour Code. Misclassification can lead to administrative fines and back-payment of social insurance. Risk is moderate.
Compare contractor vs employee cost →
Hiring through an EOR in Vietnam
A foreign firm needs a Vietnamese entity (FIE licence with an Investment Registration Certificate) to employ staff directly. EOR lets you hire without it. Providers often claim hiring takes days to a few weeks.
Typical onboarding: EOR Days to ~2 weeks (provider claims; specific figure unverified); own entity About 2-4+ months (estimate, not verified). ICT (UTC+7), no DST; 11-12 hours ahead of US Eastern.
Providers worth shortlisting
| Provider | Best for | EOR pricing | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | Companies that want one platform for contractors, EOR and a US PEO, with transparent per-seat list prices. | $599 per EOR employee per month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 150+ countries (vendor claim, per Deel's own and third-party descriptions) | Visit Deel |
| Remote | Teams that want a published price for each product (EOR, global payroll, contractors, contractor of record, US PEO) and an affiliate program with 12-month revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 90+ countries for EOR (vendor pricing page claim) | Visit Remote |
| Rippling | Companies already running (or willing to adopt) a unified HR, IT and finance platform who want global hiring as an add-on module. | — | Visit Rippling | |
| Oyster | Distributed teams that want published EOR and contractor prices and a long-running affiliate program with tiered revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); annual discounts available; refundable deposit required | 120+ countries EOR; contractors in 180+ countries (vendor claim) | Visit Oyster |
| Papaya Global | Mid-size and larger companies that need multi-country payroll orchestration and workforce payments, and will go through a sales process. | 160+ countries (vendor claim as repeated on FlexOffers listing and third-party pages) | Visit Papaya Global | |
| Multiplier | Cost-conscious teams that want EOR priced below $500 per employee with an annual discount. | Third-party summary of Multiplier's pricing: EOR from $459/employee/month on annual contracts and $499 on monthly contracts (not confirmed; multiplier pricing page returned 403 to our fetch) | — | Visit Multiplier |
| Remofirst | Small teams that want the lowest published EOR starting price and a free contractor tier. | Starting at $199 per person/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); 'no hidden fees, setup fees, or minimum contract terms' per vendor page | 185+ countries for EOR (vendor claim) | Visit Remofirst |
| Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) | Companies that want an EOR with a tiered reseller/partner program and are comfortable with a recently rebranded vendor. | Third-party reports a flat $399 per employee/month (not confirmed on vendor page; hellopebl.com/pricing returned 404) | 185+ countries (third-party report) | Visit Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) |
Paying and covering your team in Vietnam
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- Contractor vs employee calculator
FAQ
What does an employer pay in social insurance in Vietnam?
17.5% social insurance, 3% health insurance and 1% unemployment insurance, plus a 2% trade union fee: 23.5% in total, within caps.
How much annual leave is statutory?
12 working days per year plus 11 public holidays.
How long is probation?
Up to 60 days for college-level roles, 30 days for intermediate-level roles and 6 days for other roles.
What notice must be given?
45 days for indefinite contracts, 30 days for 12-36 month fixed-term contracts and 3 working days for shorter fixed-term contracts.