EOR vs. setting up a Polish company: how the two routes compare

For foreign companies deciding how to enter the Polish market — comparing hiring without a Polish entity against setting up a Polish limited company (sp. z o.o.). This page lays out the trade-offs side by side; it isn’t a substitute for an assessment of your specific case.

This page compares two routes: direct employment without a Polish entity (the model Certa Poland runs) against incorporating a Polish sp. z o.o. If you’re comparing EOR platforms like Deel or Remote, those are a different product — the platform becomes the employer. See packages and how the routes compare for that fuller breakdown, including B2B.

The short answer

Hiring without an entity and incorporating a Polish company answer different questions. Hiring without an entity answers “how do I employ one person, or a small team, quickly and legally.” Incorporating answers “how do I build an ongoing local presence.” Cost, timing and tax treatment differ accordingly — and neither route removes permanent-establishment risk, because that risk follows the role someone performs, not the paperwork used to hire them.

Side by side

Dimension	Hiring without an entity (direct employment)	Incorporating a Polish company
Cost to start	No entity-formation cost; ongoing service fee of €300 per employee per month (net of VAT), flat, regardless of salary (Certa Poland’s published rate). An EOR platform adds its own service fee on top of salary and taxes — Deel, for example, lists its standard EOR plan at USD 599 per person per month (Deel’s published pricing, checked July 2026 — confirm the current figure and plan on the provider’s own site). A platform headline like this is typically a starting point: the running total reflects add-ons, volume tiers and country-specific fees the provider sets out in its own detailed pricing. It is also a different legal product, since the platform becomes the employer.	Certa’s fee to coordinate the incorporation is €1,000–5,000 + VAT, depending on the complexity of the structure — plus the statutory costs of incorporation (share capital, notarial and registry fees) and then ongoing accounting from €1,000/month + VAT. A standing company carries these running costs whether it employs two people or twenty; we calculate the real total case by case at the assessment.
Cost to maintain	Flat monthly fee, salary-independent, no currency margins or deposits under Certa’s model.	Ongoing statutory accounting, filings and corporate administration of a standing legal entity — a cost that exists whether the entity employs two people or twenty.
Time to start	Typically a few working days once documents are in place, subject to the mandatory pre-employment medical check and health-and-safety training.	Typically measured in weeks rather than days, and subject to registry, notarial and banking steps outside our control — we provide a non-binding timeline estimate for your case at the assessment.
Who is the legal employer	You remain the legal employer; the employee signs a genuine Polish employment contract directly with your company and is registered as the technical (formal) contribution payer, with the employer funding the full cost.	Your Polish company is the legal employer, directly, as a standing entity in its own name.
ZUS (social security)	Handled under Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) 987/2009 (for employers based in the EU/EEA/Switzerland; other regions assessed individually): under a written agreement notified to ZUS, the employee is registered as the technical payer, the employer’s statutory obligations remain, and the employer funds the full cost.	Handled as for any Polish employer, directly by the company as payer.
PIT (income tax)	A separate layer from ZUS; the employee is legally responsible for the income-tax advances, calculated and prepared under the arrangement — a foreign employer without a Polish establishment is not itself the PIT payer. This changes if the activity in Poland creates an establishment — another reason the role is screened first.	Handled as for any Polish employer, through standard payroll withholding.
CIT (corporate income tax) / who is the taxpayer	The foreign employer itself doesn’t become a Polish CIT taxpayer through this route alone — unless the role performed in Poland separately creates a permanent establishment (see below).	The Polish company is, in itself, a separate Polish taxpayer for CIT on its own activity. This is often the structure chosen where a dependent-agent-type role would otherwise raise the “hidden establishment” question — though incorporating does not by itself prevent the foreign parent from having a PE if people in Poland act on the parent’s behalf; that is screened on the facts. A branch, by contrast, typically constitutes a permanent establishment in its own right.
Permanent-establishment (PE) risk	Depends on the role, not the form of employment — a role that habitually negotiates or concludes contracts, or makes management decisions from Poland, can create a PE regardless of how the person is hired. We do not promise immunity; risk is screened on the facts with a licensed tax adviser.	A properly incorporated sp. z o.o. is a separate Polish taxpayer for its own activity — which changes the tax position, but does not by itself make the foreign parent’s PE questions disappear where people in Poland act on the parent’s behalf; that is screened on the facts. A branch, by contrast, typically constitutes a permanent establishment in its own right.
Exit / changing route later	Can transition into incorporating a Polish company later, once the team and the need for a local structure have grown — see the bridge between the two routes.	Once incorporated, unwinding a Polish company is a formal, separate process (deregistration/liquidation) — not covered on this page.
Best fit	One hire or a small team, testing the market, no local office or sales function yet.	A genuine, growing local presence: an office, local sales, or a team clearly past a handful of people.

Why permanent-establishment risk isn’t on this table as a “solved” column

Neither route is a way to avoid permanent-establishment risk outright, and we don’t present either one that way. What decides PE is what the person actually does in Poland — negotiating and concluding contracts, or making management decisions here — not whether they’re on a Polish employment contract, a B2B invoice, an EOR platform, or your own company’s payroll. Incorporating changes who the taxpayer is; it doesn’t, by itself, make the underlying activity tax-neutral. That’s covered in full in the permanent-establishment risk guide.

FAQ

Do I need a Polish company to hire an employee in Poland? In many straightforward cases — one person or a small team, in a role that isn’t commercial or decision-making — no. You can employ them directly without a Polish entity. See do you need a Polish subsidiary to hire? for the full reasoning.

Does hiring without an entity avoid permanent-establishment risk? No. PE follows the role — whether someone negotiates and concludes contracts, or makes management decisions, on the company’s behalf in Poland — not the form used to hire them. Both routes need the role screened on the facts.

Which route is cheaper? Compare scope, not just the headline number. Hiring without an entity has no entity-formation cost and a flat monthly service fee; a Polish company carries entity set-up and ongoing statutory accounting regardless of headcount. For one or a few hires, the entity route is usually the more expensive structure to run; the crossover point depends on team size, local presence and how long you expect to stay.

Can I move from hiring without an entity to a Polish company later? Yes — a common route is to hire your first person or small team without an entity, and incorporate later once you know you’re staying, with people and an accounting partner already in place. See how to enter Poland for that transition in more detail.

Who is responsible for ZUS and PIT under each route? Under direct employment without an entity (available to employers based in the EU/EEA/Switzerland), the employee is registered as the technical ZUS payer while the employer funds the full cost, and the employee is legally responsible for the PIT advances under the arrangement — two separate legal layers. Under a Polish company, the company itself is the employer and payer for both, as with any Polish employer.

Which route is faster to get started? Hiring without an entity is typically the faster route to get one person working legally, since there is no entity to register first. Incorporating takes longer because it depends on registry, notarial and banking steps outside our control.

Not sure which applies to you?

Book an assessment → — we’ll go through your situation and tell you honestly which route fits, including if the answer changes once your team grows.

Related:

• How to enter Poland: hire first or incorporate?
• Hire an employee in Poland without your own entity
• Polish company setup for foreign businesses
• Accounting for foreign-owned companies in Poland
• Do you need a Polish subsidiary to hire?
• Permanent-establishment risk when hiring in Poland

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This page is general information about a service, not legal or tax advice. Figures shown are as published elsewhere on this site and are indicative; confirmed in writing at the assessment. The specifics of your case are confirmed case by case, with licensed legal and tax advisers where the law requires it.