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An employer of record (EOR) legally employs your worker in another country and runs payroll, tax and compliance. A recruitment agency, or a marketplace like CBREX, finds the candidate. In the employer of record vs recruitment agency question, the two do different jobs, and most Indian companies hiring abroad need both in sequence.
| Question | EOR | CBREX (recruitment marketplace) |
|---|---|---|
| Finds candidates? | No | Yes, via specialist agencies matched by AI |
| Legal employer? | Yes, in the worker's country | No |
| Runs payroll and tax? | Yes | No |
| Coverage | Countries the provider is registered in | 55 countries, 4000+ firms |
| When you pay | Ongoing, while the person is employed | Only when you hire |
| Local entity needed? | No | No |
| Contract | Employment and service agreement | One contract for all agencies |
An employer of record is a third party that becomes the legal employer of your worker in a foreign country. It issues the contract, runs payroll, withholds taxes, administers benefits and keeps the employment compliant with local law. You direct the daily work.
As one global hiring guide puts it, you find the candidate and direct their work; the EOR handles contracts, payroll, tax withholding and benefits. The worker sits on the EOR's payroll, so you need no subsidiary.
The statutory detail is local. In India, for example, an EOR handles PF at a 12% employer contribution, ESI, professional tax, gratuity provisioning and TDS. Germany, the US or Singapore each bring their own version of that list.
Notice what is missing: sourcing. An EOR holds the employment contract while you source and direct the engineer. If you have no candidate, an EOR has nothing to employ.
A recruitment marketplace finds the candidate. CBREX connects you to 4000+ specialist recruiting firms across 55 countries. AI matches each role to the most relevant agencies, and you work through one platform and one contract instead of dozens.
Candidates pass three levels of screening: the agency pre-screen, CBREX's C Screen AI validation, then stack ranking. CBREX reports a 98% resume shortlist ratio. That saves your hiring manager from reading unfiltered CVs.
Payment is where the model differs most from a traditional agency. You pay CBREX only when you hire. For fee comparisons, see what recruitment agencies in India really cost.
CBREX does not employ anyone and does not run payroll. That is not a gap; it is the boundary of the product, and it is exactly where an EOR starts.
| Factor | Employer of record | Recruitment agency / marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Core problem solved | Legal employment without an entity | Finding the right person |
| Who selects the candidate | You | Agencies propose, you choose |
| Legal employer | The EOR | Your company or the EOR |
| Payroll and compliance | EOR | Not included |
| Relationship length | As long as the employment | Ends at placement |
| Best for | Compliant hiring in a new country | Niche or senior roles, multi-country searches |
Staffing arrangements blur this further. A staffing agency typically supplies personnel under a services arrangement, often without full statutory employer duties. If you are weighing those models too, read our comparison of a recruitment marketplace and a staffing agency.
They work as two steps in one chain. The marketplace sources and shortlists the candidate. After you pick someone and make an offer, the EOR becomes the legal employer, signs the local contract and starts payroll. Neither replaces the other.
Both models let you hire in a country without building local infrastructure first, both cut vendor sprawl, and both work across 55+ countries. They solve opposite halves of the same expansion headache.
Suppose an India-headquartered manufacturer needs a niche embedded-software engineer in Germany. It has no German entity and no German recruiter relationships.
The same flow works for a US sales lead. Our earlier note on what Indian companies actually need covers the buying angle.
Start with sourcing. Without a named candidate, an EOR has no one to employ, and sourcing is where niche roles stall for months. Bring in the EOR once an offer is close.
Exceptions exist. If you already have the candidate, say a contractor you know, go straight to an EOR. If you plan a team of dozens in one country, the cost of an EOR can eventually tip toward setting up your own entity, often past 30 to 50 people. Where exactly that line falls for your company is not settled by any rule of thumb; model it with your advisers.
The result for a TA leader: the headache of international expansion on the talent side moves off your plate. CBREX handles who to hire; an EOR handles how to employ them. If you want to see the sourcing half in action, book a CBREX demo, or use the Hidden Hiring Tax calculator to see what vendor sprawl costs you today.
An EOR legally employs your worker in a foreign country. It signs the local contract, runs payroll, withholds tax, administers benefits and keeps the arrangement compliant, while you manage the person's daily work.
No. An EOR employs people you have already chosen. You need a separate sourcing route, such as a recruitment marketplace like CBREX, to find candidates.
No. CBREX finds the talent through its network of 4000+ recruiting firms. Payroll, tax and statutory compliance sit with an employer of record or your own local entity.
Usually yes, if you hire abroad without a local entity. CBREX sources the candidate, then an EOR employs them. If you have your own entity, you may need only sourcing.
You pay only when you hire, with no retainers, seat licences or upfront fees. Flat pricing is available if agency spend exceeds 500K USD per annum. Read more on the pay-on-hire model.
Not necessarily. An EOR can employ the worker in-country on your behalf, so no subsidiary is required to start. Confirm the details for each country with your EOR provider.
Ready to take the talent side of global expansion off your plate? Book a demo to see how CBREX sources your next overseas hire, or talk to the team about your first target country.
