Employee Cost Calculator India (2026)
An employee in India costs the salary plus employer Provident Fund of 12% on basic + DA up to ₹25,000 a month, EDLI and admin charges, ESI where gross pay is ₹21,000 or less, statutory bonus for lower-paid staff, gratuity building up at 15/26 of a month a year, and hiring and equipment costs. A ₹40,000-a-month executive with ₹20,000 basic costs about ₹6 lakh a year.
· Calculated with AiStaffo
Employer costs in India
| Provident Fund + pension | 12% of basic + DA up to ₹25,000 a month (ceiling raised from ₹15,000 on 17 September 2026) |
|---|---|
| EDLI + EPF admin | 0.5% + 0.5% of the same wage |
| ESI | 3.25% of gross pay, only where gross is ₹21,000 a month or less |
| Statutory bonus | At least 8.33% of ₹7,000 a month for staff with basic + DA up to ₹21,000 |
| Gratuity build-up | 15 ÷ 26 of a month's basic + DA for each year (Code on Social Security, 2020) |
| Paid leave | About 15 days of earned leave plus about 12 public and festival holidays (varies by state) |
Worked example
An executive on ₹40,000 a month gross with ₹20,000 basic + DA: salary ₹4,80,000, PF ₹28,800, EDLI and admin ₹2,400, bonus ₹6,997, gratuity build-up ₹11,538, laptop and software about ₹40,000, hiring spread over 3 years ₹32,000. Total about ₹6 lakh a year, 1.25 times the salary.
What counts in the true cost of an employee
Salary is only the start. The calculator adds what the law makes the employer pay (social security, pension, unemployment insurance, end-of-service build-up), what the job needs (health insurance, visas, a laptop and software), and what staff turnover costs (advertising, interviews, training and lost output each time someone leaves, spread over the years an employee usually stays). Dividing by the days actually worked gives the cost of one productive hour.
The automation saving, explained
Most office roles are partly routine: typing data in, chasing replies, matching payments, compiling reports. The calculator takes the share of the role you set as routine and compares what that part costs with an AI worker doing it: a one-time build and a monthly fee (AiStaffo's starting price, editable under "Assumptions"). The person keeps the judgement work; the routine part stops costing a salary. Book a free automation audit and we will measure the routine share of your own roles.
Please note: rates are as checked on 21 October 2026 from official and reputable sources; amounts marked as defaults are typical estimates you can change. The automation figures are illustrations based on the assumptions shown, not a promise of savings; AiStaffo prices are set in a written quote. This is a planning guide, not tax or legal advice.
Sources
Questions people ask
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