There are three ways to hire GTM talent in India: as an independent contractor, through an Employer of Record (EOR), or by setting up your own India entity. For one to a handful of remote GTM hires, you almost never need an entity. Start with a contractor agreement (fastest, lowest cost, paid in USD, no India presence required) and move to an EOR (roughly USD 200-600 per person per month) when you want statutory benefits, tighter compliance and stronger IP protection. An entity only makes sense once you are building a sizeable India team. GTMly helps you pick and set up the right structure.
The three options at a glance
Every cross-border GTM hire in India comes down to who legally engages the person and who carries the compliance burden. The contractor model puts that on the individual; the EOR model puts it on a third party; the entity model puts it on you. Here is how they compare.
| Factor | Independent Contractor | Employer of Record (EOR) | Your Own Entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup speed | Days | 1-2 weeks | 2-6 months |
| Upfront cost | Near zero | Low (per-seat fee) | High (legal, accounting, registration) |
| Ongoing cost | Contractor rate only | Rate + ~$200-600/mo fee | Salary + payroll, tax, statutory, admin |
| Compliance carried by | The contractor | The EOR | You |
| Statutory benefits (PF, gratuity, leave) | No | Yes | Yes |
| IP / confidentiality control | Via contract clauses | Strong (employment terms) | Strongest |
| Best for | 1-5 hires, fast start, pilots | 5-50 hires, long-term, benefits | 50+ hires, permanent India presence |
What an EOR actually is
An Employer of Record is a company that already has a legal entity in India and employs your chosen person on your behalf. The EOR runs payroll, withholds and remits taxes, provides statutory benefits like Provident Fund and gratuity, and issues a compliant local employment contract. You direct the person's day-to-day work; the EOR handles the paperwork and legal exposure. You pay the person's salary plus a per-employee fee, typically USD 200-600 per month or a small percentage of salary.
The appeal is that you get the substance of full-time employment, including benefits and a clean compliance posture, without registering a company in India. It is the standard middle path for teams that have moved past the pilot stage but are not yet large enough to justify their own entity.
Do you need an India entity? Usually not
Setting up a private limited company or branch office in India means months of registration, ongoing statutory filings, local accounting, and real administrative overhead. For a handful of remote GTM contributors, that overhead dwarfs the cost of either a contractor agreement or an EOR. As a rule of thumb, an entity starts to pay off only when you have roughly 30-50+ India employees, or a strategic reason to have a registered local presence. Below that, contractor-first then EOR is almost always the better answer.
Payments and currency
Contractors invoice you monthly and are paid in USD (or your home currency) to their Indian bank account via a service like Wise, Deel, or a standard SWIFT transfer; they handle the INR conversion and their own Indian taxes. Under an EOR, you fund the EOR in your currency and they pay the employee in INR after deductions. Either way, you budget in USD and the exchange rate (roughly INR 83-85 to the dollar in 2026) determines the local take-home. Build a small buffer for FX movement into multi-year budgets.
IP and confidentiality
For GTM roles, your sensitive assets are the CRM data, pipeline, pricing, and customer lists, not source code, but they still need protecting. With a contractor, IP assignment and confidentiality live in the services agreement: include a clear work-product assignment clause, an NDA, and data-handling terms. With an EOR, those protections sit inside a local employment contract, which is generally enforceable more cleanly than a cross-border contractor agreement. An entity gives you the strongest position of all because the person is your direct employee under Indian law. For most GTM hires, well-drafted contractor clauses are sufficient; step up to EOR when the data sensitivity or headcount warrants it.
Misclassification risk
The main risk with the contractor model is misclassification: treating someone as a contractor when, in substance, they function as an employee (fixed hours, your equipment, your sole client, your direct supervision, long tenure). If that relationship is later reclassified, you can owe back benefits, taxes and penalties. You reduce the risk by keeping the relationship genuinely contractor-like, or, more reliably, by moving long-term, full-time-equivalent hires onto an EOR where they are properly employed. This is one of the most common reasons companies graduate from contractor to EOR.
This article is general information for planning, not legal or tax advice. Indian labour, tax and FX rules change and depend on your specific situation. Confirm structure, contract terms and classification with a qualified Indian advisor or your EOR before you sign.
When each option fits
- Contractor - you are hiring one to five GTM people, want to start in days, are running a pilot, or want maximum flexibility with minimal commitment. Most companies begin here.
- EOR - the hire is long-term and full-time-equivalent, you want to offer statutory benefits, you have several people in India, or you want to retire misclassification risk without setting up a company.
- Entity - you are building a substantial India team (think 30-50+), need a registered local presence, or have strategic or regulatory reasons to incorporate.
How GTMly helps
GTMly is a GTM recruiting agency that places proven Indian sales, marketing, and revenue operations professionals with US companies. We charge a one-time placement fee of 20-25% of the hire's first-year base salary. You only pay when you hire.
GTMly's in-house EOR service
Because GTMly is operated by Montazzo Solutions, an India-registered company, we can also act as the Employer of Record for your hire. Instead of routing through a third-party EOR at USD 400-600 per month, GTMly employs the person on your behalf through our India entity for USD 300 per month per employee.
That covers payroll processing, TDS withholding, Provident Fund contributions, statutory compliance, and a local employment contract with IP assignment clauses. You receive a single monthly invoice from GTMly covering salary plus the EOR fee. No separate vendor, no additional registration, no compliance burden on your end.
The EOR service is optional. Many clients start with a contractor agreement (we provide templates) and move to our EOR when the hire becomes long-term. Either way, the GTM talent is placed and working within about 14 days.
Summary of the GTMly engagement model
| Service | What you pay | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting and placement | 20-25% of first-year base salary | One-time, on hire |
| EOR (optional) | USD 300/mo per employee | Monthly, ongoing |
| Contractor setup (alternative to EOR) | Included in placement fee | No additional cost |
Not sure whether to use a contractor or an EOR?
Tell us the role, the timeline and how long you expect to keep the person, and we will recommend the structure and the person to fill it. Vetted GTM talent from India, placed in about 14 days.
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