Guides

Employer cost vs gross vs net salary across the EU

By the EU Pay Concierge editor · 23 Oct 2026 · Figures computed live with the rules in force this month · How we calculate

A salary in Europe has three different sizes. The gross salary is the figure in the employment contract. The net salary is what reaches the employee’s bank account. The employer cost is what the job actually costs the company. The gaps between the three are made of social contributions and income tax, and they differ enormously between the 27 member states. Two people with the same gross salary in two countries can take home very different amounts, and their employers can pay very different totals.

The three numbers, defined

• Gross is the agreed pay before any deduction. In countries with 13th or 14th salaries, compare the annual gross, not the monthly one.
• Net is gross minus the employee’s social contributions and income tax. Employer contributions never appear in it.
• Employer cost is gross plus the employer’s own contributions: pension, health, unemployment, accident insurance and payroll levies. It is the number a company budgets for a position.

The share of the employer cost that the employee does not receive is often called the tax wedge. The OECD publishes it for an average worker. This guide uses the same idea with one fixed salary, so that all 27 countries can be compared on equal terms.

All 27 countries at €3,000 gross a month

The table shows each country at the local equivalent of €3,000 gross a month, for a single employee aged 35 without children, in the capital region, under the rules in force in October 2026. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the European Central Bank reference rates of 13 Oct 2026. Countries are sorted by the share of the employer cost that reaches the employee.

At this salary the employee keeps the largest share of the employer’s outlay in Luxembourg (76.4%) and the smallest in Slovakia (52.6%). Each country name opens the employer-cost page for that country, where every contribution is listed with its legal rate and source.

Why the split differs so much

The table shows that the employer’s share and the employee’s share follow different national choices, not one European pattern.

• Some countries put most contributions on the employer. In France, Italy, Slovakia, Czechia and Estonia, employer contributions add a third or more to the gross salary. The employee’s net looks comparatively high, but the job costs much more than the contract says.
• Some put most of them on the employee. Romania charges 25% for pension and 10% for health to the employee, while the employer pays only the 2.25% work insurance contribution (CAM). Lithuania is similar: in this example the employer adds only 1.77% of gross. Gross salaries in these countries are therefore not comparable with French or Italian ones.
• Some finance social protection mainly through income tax. In Denmark employer contributions add only 2.88% to gross at this salary, and most of the cost of the welfare state is collected as income tax from the employee.

For an employee, comparing gross salaries across countries can therefore mislead in both directions. For an employer, comparing net salaries hides the real cost. The two comparisons that work are net against net, for an employee choosing where to live, and cost against cost, for a company choosing where to hire.

Worked example: France, €3,000 gross a month

France has the longest list of contributions in the EU, and also a large employer relief for low and middle salaries. Here is the full calculation for a single employee in Paris.

The employee pays €625.21 a month in contributions, including CSG and CRDS, which are charged on 98.25% of pay. Income tax is €124.58 a month after the 10% deduction for professional expenses and the low-tax reduction (décote). Net pay is €2,250.21. On the employer side, health insurance at 13%, pension insurance, family allowances at 5.25%, unemployment insurance at 4.00% and supplementary pension add up quickly. The general degressive employer relief (RGDU) then reduces them by €299.70 a month. The total cost is €4,096.68 a month, 36.6% on top of gross.

Compare Romania at RON 16,000 a month, close to the same euro amount. The employer adds only RON 360 in CAM, so the cost is RON 16,360. But the employee pays RON 5,600 in pension and health contributions and RON 1,040 in income tax, and takes home RON 9,360, only 58.5% of gross. Our guide to social contributions in Romania, Poland and Spain explains that system in detail.

What employer cost does not include

The employer cost shown by the calculator covers contributions and levies that are set by law and calculated on pay. It leaves out costs that depend on the company: sector-specific accident insurance rates where they vary widely, collective-agreement funds, meal vouchers, company cars, private health insurance and recruitment costs. Each country page lists what is not included.

How to use this for a real decision

1. Start from the annual gross, so 13th and 14th payments are counted.
2. Enter the employee’s real situation: household, children, age and region change the net in most countries. They rarely change the employer cost.
3. Use the comparison of all 27 countries to see the same gross, net or cost in every member state at once.

Calculators for this guide

• France salary calculator
• Romania salary calculator
• Lithuania salary calculator
• Denmark salary calculator
• Italy salary calculator
• Slovakia salary calculator

More guides

• How net salary is calculated in Germany in 2026
• Social contributions explained: who pays what in Romania, Poland and Spain
• 13th and 14th salaries in the EU: who pays them and how they are taxed
• Tax-free amounts and dependants: how EU countries reduce income tax
• Tax reliefs for young workers in the EU: Poland, Portugal, Greece, Romania and Sweden
• What changes in EU payroll rules in 2027

This guide explains general rules. It is not individual tax, payroll or legal advice. Found an error? Write to us via the contact page.