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PEO Cost Philippines: 2025 Pricing Benchmark & TCO Guide

Author: Martin English, Founder – Smart Outsourcing Solution (SOS)
Date Published: 6 October 2025
Date Updated: 8 October 2025

TL;DR — Quick Answer

If your company already has a registered Philippine entity, a PEO can centralize HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance under your entity for a predictable monthly fee. Use this page to understand how pricing is built (base vs add-ons), how to compare quotes, and how to compute total cost of ownership (TCO) without surprises.
Single price anchor (orientation): SOS publishes a PEO flat rate of $99 per employee/month with typical onboarding in about 48 hours. If you don’t have a Philippine entity, that’s an EOR scenario (covered on its own page).

What Drives PEO Cost in the Philippines?

Direct drivers

  • Headcount & pay cycle: monthly vs semi-monthly runs (processing volume & calendars)

  • Optional complexity that may cost extra: allowances, differentials, multi-wallet disbursement, retro pay, prorations beyond base policies

  • Benefits administration: HMO coordination, eligibility checks, enrollments/exits

  • Change cadence: salary updates, promotions, one-off allowances, adjustments

  • Evidence requirements: approvals, audit binders, statutory remittance artifacts

Contextual drivers

  • Data hygiene at intake (clean master data reduces rework)

  • Bank file formats (standard bank files included; custom mapping billed separately)

  • Integrations (HRIS/ATS/finance handshakes; standard exports vs bespoke builds)

Optional Complexity (May Trigger Extra Cost)
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the flat rate $99/employee/month does not include:

  • Custom integrations or HRIS/ERP connectors – bespoke data-sync or API mapping work outside standard export formats

  • Multi-wallet or split-disbursement pay cycles – when salary, allowance, or bonus payments are routed via non-standard or multiple bank accounts or payment methods

  • Uncommon payroll cycles (e.g. weekly, bi-weekly) or off-cycle runs beyond the standard monthly calendar

  • Custom bank file formats & mapping beyond standard local bank files

  • Frequent change-control requests such as multiple salary adjustments, allowances, retroactive pay, prorations, or promotions outside scheduled review periods

  • Per-run or per-filing surcharges in the case of extra payroll runs, unusual statutory filings, or non-standard documental work

 

 

Cost Elements — What’s Usually Included (and What’s Extra)

Cost Element Typically Included in a Solid Base Often Extra / Variable What to Ask Vendors
Payroll operations Pay calculations, calendars, disbursement files Per-run surcharges “Are pay runs unlimited in the base?”
Statutory remittances SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, BIR workflows & timing Per-filing fees “Any charge per remittance/event?”
Benefits administration Enrollment, eligibility checks, exits Brokerage extras “Is HMO handling included or ticketed?”
HR admin & records Offers, contracts, onboarding/offboarding Complex policy customizations “Which HR artifacts are standard?”
Evidence packs Receipts, approvals, variance logs per period Custom audit formats “Show a sample period binder.”
Integrations Standard exports (CSV) Custom HRIS/ERP connectors “What’s the one-time vs monthly?”

💡 Hidden Cost Guardrails
To avoid unexpected charges, always request from your provider:

  1. A sample of the bank file formats and any custom-file mapping (if required).

  2. A policy on change-control: what salary or allowance changes are included vs ticketed.

  3. Number of payroll runs included per month / year, and surcharges for off-schedule runs.

  4. Whether statutory filings are included per event or charged separately.

  5. A sample period evidence pack, showing approvals, receipts, variance logs, etc.

 

Market Benchmarks (Orientation, Not Vendor Ranking)

  • Global platforms (EOR-first) often price higher per employee due to multi-country scope and bundled tooling.

  • Local payroll/HR firms may quote a lower base but add per-run, per-ticket, and per-filing fees that lift the effective monthly total.

  • Transparent PEOs publish a flat base with short, up-front lists of optional add-ons to keep the effective monthly cost predictable.

SOS approach: one published base and a concise list of true extras (e.g., bespoke integrations). That’s how the effective monthly stays steady.

TCO Checklist — Turn Any Quote Into a Comparable Monthly Number

  • Base fee (per employee)
  • Pay-run fees (per cycle × cycles per month)
  • Change-control fees (comp changes, allowances, prorations)
  • Statutory handling (per filing/event or included)
  • Benefits administration (enrollments, eligibility, exits)
  • Implementation & bank files (one-time vs amortized)
  • Evidence (approvals, receipts, variance logs delivered each period)
  • Integrations (standard exports vs bespoke connector fees)

Formula:
TCO per employee = Base + Pay-run + Change-control + Statutory + Benefits + Evidence + Integration amortization

Example Scenarios (How TCO Shifts)

Scenario A — Simple, steady state
• Monthly pay, few changes, standard HMO, no bespoke integrations
• Expected outcome: Effective monthly ≈ base; minimal drift

Scenario B — High-change scale-up
• Semi-monthly pay, frequent comp changes, regular hiring, variance reviews
• Expected outcome: Slight uplift vs base driven by approvals volume & change-control—prefer providers that absorb common changes in the base

Scenario C — Enterprise integration
• Custom HRIS/ERP connector, multi-wallet disbursement, analytics exports
• Expected outcome: One-time integration + modest monthly maintenance; per-employee base remains stable

How to Read “Too-Good” Quotes

  • “Payroll-only” language (HR or benefits admin quietly ticketed)

  • Low base + run fees that rebuild the real monthly total

  • Hidden implementation for bank-file mapping or calendar setup

  • Per-filing charges for statutory remittances

  • Evidence not included (Finance asks for audit proof; the meter starts running)

Tip: Ask every vendor to send a sample evidence pack (one period binder). If they can’t, expect operational leakage later.

FAQs — Cost & Value (Philippines PEO, 2025)

Q1: What’s a realistic monthly cost baseline in the Philippines?

A solid baseline includes payroll operations, statutory workflows (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, BIR), HR artifacts, benefits enrollment handling, and period evidence. Effective monthly should stay close to the base when runs and changes aren’t separately billed.

Q2: Why do some quotes look cheaper up front?

They exclude something material (e.g., benefits admin, approvals, evidence) or add per-run/per-filing charges. Normalize everything to an effective monthly to compare apples to apples.

Q3: What impacts cost most during scale-up?

Change cadence (new hires, adjustments), pay-run frequency, and bespoke reporting. Choose a provider that absorbs common changes in the base and only itemizes truly bespoke work.

Q4: How quickly can a capable PEO go live?

With clean payroll data and entity documents ready, ~48 hours is achievable for calendar setup, a dry run, and draft remittance artifacts.

Q5: What if we don’t have a Philippine entity yet?

That isn’t a PEO use case. You’ll need Employer of Record support (covered on a separate page) to hire compliantly before you incorporate.

Cross-Navigation

 

Why SOS (Pricing-Relevant)

  • Transparent base with clear, pre-agreed extras

  • Evidence-first operations (period binders for Finance/Audit)

  • Fast onboarding (~48 hours) once documents and data are ready


Get started — book a 30-minute pricing consult with SOS to confirm inclusions, verify TCO against your scenario, and align any optional add-ons.

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