# Employer of record vs staffing agency > Machine-readable page from EOR Overview (https://eoroverview.com/), an independent research platform for Employer of Record services. > Canonical page: https://eoroverview.com/glossary/employer-of-record-vs-staffing-agency/ > Methodology: how providers are researched, scored and compared is documented at https://eoroverview.com/methodology/. > Disclosure: EOR Overview is free to use. We may earn a referral fee from some providers; this never affects a rating or ranking position (https://eoroverview.com/disclosure/). A staffing agency finds and supplies workers, often keeping them as its own employees for the assignment. An Employer of Record does not source talent; it becomes the legal employer of a worker the client has already found, handling payroll, tax and compliance in that worker's country. ## Explanation The difference in one paragraph The core distinction is sourcing versus employment. A staffing agency's job is to find a worker for a role, usually from its own pool of candidates, and it frequently remains the legal employer while the worker is placed with a client. An Employer of Record plays no part in finding the worker at all. The client has already identified who they want to hire; the EOR's role is to legally employ that specific person on the client's behalf, usually in a country where the client has no registered entity. What a staffing agency does A staffing agency recruits, screens and supplies candidates to fill a client's open role, then bills the client for the worker's time. Depending on the arrangement, the agency may remain the legal employer throughout the assignment (temp staffing) or hand employment to the client once a placement is confirmed (permanent placement or temp-to-hire). Staffing agencies compete on speed of sourcing, candidate quality and coverage of a role type or sector. Their fee is typically tied to hours worked or a placement commission, not to ongoing statutory employer duties. Most staffing agencies operate within a single country or a small number of markets where they hold existing entities and candidate networks. Typical staffing agency use cases - Filling a warehouse, retail or hospitality shift with pre-vetted local candidates - Temporary cover for seasonal demand or short-term absence - Permanent placement search where the agency's fee is a one-time commission - Bulk hiring for a single-country operation where the agency already has local reach What an Employer of Record does An Employer of Record takes on the legal employment of a worker the client has already selected, in a country where the client has no local entity. The EOR issues the local employment contract, runs payroll in local currency, withholds tax, files statutory contributions and carries the compliance risk of getting local labor law wrong. The client directs the worker's day-to-day work; the EOR handles the paperwork of employment. This is a distinct model from a staffing agency because the EOR does not recruit. It also differs from a PEO, which co-employs workers where the client already has an entity, and from a umbrella company, which typically serves contractors who found their own work. For engagements where the worker should be classed as an independent contractor rather than an employee, a contractor of record is the closer comparison. Typical Employer of Record use cases - Hiring a remote employee in a country where the company has no legal entity - Testing a new market with one or two hires before deciding to incorporate - Converting an existing contractor to a compliant employment contract abroad - Employing a distributed team across many countries without opening an entity in each Side by side Factor Staffing agency Employer of Record Sourcing Finds and supplies the candidate Does not source; client has already found the worker Legal employer Often the agency, sometimes the client after conversion Always the EOR, for the duration of the engagement Typical duration Short-term, seasonal, or until a permanent placement is confirmed Ongoing, indefinite, as long as the client needs the worker employed Geography Usually one country or a handful where the agency holds entities Built for cross-border hiring across many countries Pricing basis Markup on hourly wage or a placement commission Flat monthly fee per employee, plus payroll costs and statutory contributions Control over the worker Agency directs assignment terms; client directs daily work once placed Client directs all day-to-day work; EOR handles only the employment record When each is the right choice, including using both together A staffing agency fits when the problem is finding a worker: an open role needs candidates, and the company either lacks time to recruit or needs temporary cover fast. It fits companies operating in countries where they already have an entity and want help sourcing, not help employing. An Employer of Record fits when the problem is employing a worker the company has already found, in a country where it has no legal entity. It fits companies hiring remote employees one country at a time, testing a market before committing to incorporation, or consolidating payroll for a distributed team across many jurisdictions. The two are not mutually exclusive. A common pattern is a staffing agency sourcing and screening a candidate in a country where the client has no entity, then handing that candidate to an Employer of Record for the actual employment contract, payroll and compliance. The agency solves discovery; the EOR solves legal employment. Companies that need both sourcing and cross-border employment sometimes run them as two separate vendor relationships rather than expecting one provider to do both well. Cost and contract differences Staffing agency pricing is usually a markup on the worker's hourly rate, or a one-time placement commission calculated as a percentage of first-year salary for permanent hires. The fee reflects the cost of sourcing and vetting, not ongoing statutory employer duties, and contracts tend to be short and tied to a single assignment or placement. Employer of Record pricing is a recurring flat fee per employee per month, charged for as long as the employment continues, on top of the worker's actual salary, benefits and statutory contributions. On EOR Overview, 35 of the 147 listed providers publish this entry price, ranging from $49.99 to $699 per employee per month with a median of $349; the remaining 112 quote on request. A separate group, 46 providers, publish contractor-management pricing from $9 to $300 per contractor per month, relevant if the engagement is closer to a contractor-of-record arrangement than full employment. Because EOR fees recur monthly and staffing fees are typically front-loaded or hourly, the two are not directly comparable on a single number; the right comparison is total cost over the expected length of the engagement. Full pricing detail sits on the provider directory and the best-of comparisons. Frequently asked questions Can a staffing agency act as an Employer of Record? Some staffing agencies offer EOR-style services in countries where they hold an entity, but this is a different capability from cross-border EOR coverage across many countries. Check whether the agency actually operates as legal employer in the specific country needed, rather than assuming staffing reach equals EOR reach. Is an EOR more expensive than a staffing agency? It depends on the engagement length and structure. Staffing fees are often front-loaded (a placement commission) or usage-based (hourly markup), while EOR fees recur monthly for as long as employment continues. Compare total cost over the expected duration, not the fee structure alone. Do I need both a staffing agency and an EOR? Only if the engagement needs both sourcing and cross-border legal employment. If the company already has a candidate identified, a staffing agency is unnecessary. If the company already has local entities and hiring reach, an EOR is unnecessary. Does the worker know the difference between the two models? Yes, in practice. The worker's contract, payslip and statutory benefits come from whichever entity is the legal employer, staffing agency or EOR, and that is disclosed in the employment agreement regardless of which model is used.