Price index · reviewed quarterly
What it actually costs.
Nobody in this category publishes prices. The reason is not mysterious: quoting a range constrains your own pricing, and every provider has pricing to protect. We do not sell executive time, so we can print the numbers.
Two caveats worth reading before you use these. Only Singapore, Dubai and Australia have genuinely published fractional rate data — everywhere else the fractional column is modelled from verified full-time loaded costs and cross-checked against practitioner rates, and is marked as such on each city page. And the full-time column is all-in: base plus bonus, employer contributions, and, where customary, housing, schooling and flights. That is the honest comparison, and it is usually 40–60% above the base salary people quote.
Southeast Asia
| City | Fractional, per month | In USD | Full-time, all-in | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok Thailand | THB 120k–350k | USD 3,700–10,700 | USD 138k–245k | Social Security Fund 5% employer, but the contribution base is capped at THB 15,000/month — a maximum of THB 875/month, or THB 10,500 a year, per employee. Workmen’s Compensation adds 0.2–1.0% on a capped base. At CFO salaries the employer load is effectively nil. |
| Singapore Singapore | S$5,000–15,000 | USD 3,900–11,700 | USD 165k–305k | CPF 17% employer for citizens and permanent residents under 55 — not payable on Employment Pass holders. Ordinary wage ceiling S$8,000/month and an annual total wage ceiling of S$102,000, capping employer CPF at S$17,340 a year. Skills Development Levy of 0.25% on the first S$4,500, maximum S$11.25 per employee per month, applies to everyone including foreigners. |
| Kuala Lumpur Malaysia | MYR 15k–45k | USD 3,700–11,000 | USD 98k–208k | EPF is uncapped: 13% employer below MYR 5,000 of wages, 12% above; 2% for non-citizens. SOCSO caps at MYR 104.15/month and EIS at MYR 11.90. Effective employer load at CFO pay is around 12.3% — the highest in the region. |
| Jakarta Indonesia | IDR 60m–180m | USD 3,400–10,200 | USD 90k–226k | BPJS Ketenagakerjaan: work accident 0.24–1.74%, death 0.30%, old-age 3.7% and pension 2% employer. BPJS Kesehatan health is 4% employer on a base capped at IDR 12m/month. Total employer load is around 10–12% of base, falling to 4–5% at the margin at CFO pay because of the caps. THR — one month’s wage as a religious holiday allowance — is statutory, not discretionary. |
| Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam | VND 80m–250m | USD 3,100–9,600 | USD 69k–184k | Social insurance 17.5% employer, health 3%, unemployment 1%. Bases are capped at 20× the reference level, giving an effective employer ceiling of about VND 10.6m/month regardless of executive salary. At CFO pay the marginal on-cost is negligible. |
| Hanoi Vietnam | VND 70m–220m | USD 2,700–8,400 | USD 61k–160k | Social insurance 17.5% employer, health 3%, unemployment 1%, all capped at 20× the reference level — an effective ceiling around VND 10.6m/month. |
| Manila Philippines | PHP 150k–450k | USD 2,600–7,900 | USD 96k–315k | All capped and therefore trivial at senior salaries: SSS employer 10% on a monthly salary credit capped at PHP 35,000; PhilHealth 2.5% employer on a ceiling of PHP 100,000; Pag-IBIG PHP 200. Total employer statutory cost is about PHP 6,230 a month. The real addition is 13th month pay — a mandatory 8.33%. |
| Phnom Penh Cambodia | USD 2,000–6,000 | USD 2,000–6,000 | USD 45k–200k | NSSF applies to employers with eight or more staff: occupational risk 0.8% and healthcare 2.6%, both employer-borne, plus pension at 4% total in the first five years. Contributions run on a capped assumed wage band, so at executive salaries the cost is tens of dollars a month. |
Gulf
| City | Fractional, per month | In USD | Full-time, all-in | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | AED 15k–40k | USD 4,100–10,900 | USD 300k–517k | UAE nationals only: GPSSA pension of 20% total, of which 12.5% is employer. Expatriates attract no social insurance at all. The employer’s real costs are salary, mandatory medical insurance, visa and Emirates ID at roughly AED 5,000–12,000 a year, and gratuity accrual. |
| Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates | AED 15k–40k | USD 4,100–10,900 | USD 300k–545k | This is the main divergence from Dubai. Abu Dhabi-registered employers pay a higher pension rate for UAE nationals — 26% total, of which 15% is employer, against 12.5% federally. Expatriates remain at zero. |
| Riyadh Saudi Arabia | SAR 25k–70k | USD 6,700–18,700 | USD 373k–693k | Saudi nationals: GOSI at 21.5% total, of which 11.75% is employer, on a salary ceiling of SAR 45,000/month. Non-Saudis: employer pays 2% occupational hazards only. On top sits the expatriate work-permit levy of SAR 800 a month per foreign worker, plus a dependant levy of SAR 400 a month usually grossed up in senior packages. |
| Jeddah Saudi Arabia | SAR 20k–55k | USD 5,300–14,700 | USD 213k–507k | GOSI at 21.5% total for Saudi nationals on a SAR 45,000 ceiling; 2% occupational hazards only for non-Saudis, plus the SAR 800 monthly expatriate levy. |
| Doha Qatar | QAR 25k–60k | USD 6,900–16,500 | USD 275k–550k | Qatari nationals only, under the 2022 Social Insurance Law. Expatriates are entirely outside the scheme, so employer costs for an expatriate executive are salary, allowances, health insurance, residence permit and gratuity accrual. |
| Kuwait City Kuwait | KWD 2,000–5,500 | USD 6,500–17,900 | USD 228k–456k | Kuwaiti nationals only: PIFSS at 11.5% employer and 8% employee on salary up to KWD 2,750 a month, plus a further 2.5% employee contribution. Expatriates attract no social security at all. |
| Manama Bahrain | BHD 2,500–6,500 | USD 6,650–17,300 | USD 226k–426k | Bahraini nationals 26% total, of which 18% is employer. Expatriates 4% total, of which 3% is employer. LMRA work-permit fees are a separate and rising per-expatriate cost. |
| Muscat Oman | OMR 2,000–5,500 | USD 5,200–14,300 | USD 169k–338k | Under the Social Protection Fund since July 2023: Omani nationals around 21% total of which about 13.5% is employer. Expatriates are now inside the SPF for occupational hazards and job security — roughly 1% employer for work injury plus the job-security branch — but not pension. The job-security benefit runs in parallel with, not instead of, end-of-service gratuity. |
East Asia
| City | Fractional, per month | In USD | Full-time, all-in | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR | HK$60k–150k | USD 7,700–19,200 | USD 270k–640k | MPF at 5% of relevant income, capped at HK$1,500 a month — a maximum of about HK$18,000 a year regardless of salary. |
| Tokyo Japan | ¥600k–1.8m | USD 3,800–11,300 | USD 157k–252k | Around 15% of salary plus workers’ accident insurance. Health at about 4.955% on a standard remuneration cap of ¥1,390,000; welfare pension at 9.15% on a ¥650,000 monthly cap; employment insurance 0.9%; long-term care 0.795% for ages 40–64. The pension cap means employer cost flattens sharply at senior salaries. |
| Seoul South Korea | KRW 6m–18m | USD 4,200–12,700 | USD 141k–268k | Around 10.5–12.5%: national pension 4.5% on an income cap of KRW 6,590,000 a month, health insurance about 4.07% including long-term care, employment insurance 1.15–1.75%, and industrial accident cover. On top sits statutory severance accrual of about 8.3% of payroll. |
| Taipei Taiwan | TWD 150k–450k | USD 4,600–13,900 | USD 155k–279k | Around 17–18% all-in. Labour insurance at 11.5% total with the employer bearing about 70%; national health insurance about 5.17% with an employer share near 60% and a supplementary premium on bonuses; labour pension at 6% employer-only; employment insurance and occupational accident cover on top. Foreign nationals are not eligible for the Labour Pension Programme, which removes the 6% for a foreign executive. |
| Shanghai China | CNY 40k–120k | USD 5,900–17,800 | USD 252k–489k | Employer 25.7–27.4% — pension 16%, medical including maternity 9%, unemployment 0.5%, work injury 0.2–1.9% — plus a housing fund of roughly 5–7%. The Shanghai contribution base is capped at CNY 37,302 a month, so employer cost caps around CNY 10,000 a month and social insurance is materially cheap at executive salaries. Foreigners holding a China work permit must participate unless covered by a totalisation agreement. |
Oceania
| City | Fractional, per month | In USD | Full-time, all-in | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Australia | A$4,000–15,000 | USD 2,800–10,500 | USD 274k–443k | Superannuation guarantee at 12.00%, with a maximum contribution base moving to AUD 270,830 a year from July 2026 under Payday Super. NSW payroll tax at 5.45% on Australian wages above an AUD 1,200,000 annual threshold — and superannuation counts as taxable wages. Grouping rules aggregate related entities to one threshold. Workers’ compensation premiums are industry-rated on top. |
| Melbourne Australia | A$4,000–15,000 | USD 2,800–10,500 | USD 169k–359k | Superannuation guarantee 12.00%, federal. Victorian payroll tax at 4.85% metropolitan with an AUD 1,000,000 threshold, 1.2125% for regional employers, and a deduction phase-out between AUD 3m and AUD 5m of Australian wages. A mental health and wellbeing surcharge of 0.5% applies above AUD 10m of national wages and a further 0.5% above AUD 100m, with a COVID debt surcharge mirroring the same tiers until 2033. |
| Auckland New Zealand | NZ$5,000–18,000 | USD 3,000–10,700 | USD 164k–266k | Comparatively light. KiwiSaver compulsory employer contribution at 3.5%, rising to 4% from April 2028, payable on top of gross salary unless a total remuneration approach is agreed, and subject to employer superannuation contribution tax. ACC work account levies are industry-rated. There is no payroll tax and no social security charge — the key structural difference from Australia. |
How to read these
- A day a week is not a fifth of a salary. Fractional day rates carry a premium over the implied full-time equivalent, because the executive is buying their own downtime, taking no severance and carrying their own overheads. Expect the annualised cost of two days a week to land somewhere near half a full-time package, not two fifths.
- The employer on-cost column is where markets diverge most. Malaysia's EPF is uncapped at 12–13%; Thailand's social security caps at about THB 10,500 a year. That single line changes the arithmetic more than the salary does.
- Severance is the number people forget. It does not appear in either column, but a Bangkok executive at twenty years' service carries 400 days of uncapped wages. In Vietnam, after unemployment-insurance deductions, it is close to nothing.
- Withholding tax is real money on cross-border contracts. Saudi Arabia commonly withholds 15% on technical and consulting fees; Cambodia 14%; Indonesia 20% under Article 26. Price it into the contract rather than discovering it on the first invoice.
Where these come from
Tax, severance and employer-contribution figures come from national revenue and labour authorities and the Big Four worldwide tax summaries, cited on each city page. Compensation figures come from published salary guides where they exist. We update this quarterly and correct it whenever a reader tells us we are wrong — please do.