Compare a Korean household-service provider with a person engaged directly over the same visits, hours, task scope, and horizon. The dedicated bilingual calculator reuses one pure KRW function for provider introduction, base, service-hour, visit, overtime, cancellation, backup and coordination costs, plus direct paid hours, confirmed employer payments, retirement preparation, leave cover, supplies, recruiting and family management time. It separates cash and economic cost, solves monthly service-volume, provider hourly-fee and direct hourly-wage thresholds, tests 3 to 36 months, and identifies a cumulative crossover. The guide preserves the Domestic Workers Act and Decree, Labor Standards Act Article 11, Minimum Wage Act Articles 3 and 6, the 2026 KRW 10,320 notice, and Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act Articles 4 and 8 as checked on September 3, 2026, without inventing worker status, certification, statutory paid hours, insurance coverage, retirement entitlement, a market rate, or contract compliance.
Wages, agency fees, and cancellations are illustrative rather than market averages. Align scope, visits, and hours, and remember that a zero labor-cost item may mean unverified rather than exempt.
Normalize both options to one scope and schedule, then record what you confirmed about each contracting relationship.
Whole months from 1 to 120
Use the same included and excluded tasks in both written options.
Whole visits from 1 to 14
Align the service hours being priced, excluding travel and any separate break.
Value for scheduling, payment, inspection, complaints, and replacement coordination
Check whether it is a certified provider or only an introduction or matching service.
Confirm the real relationship, not just the contract label, with a qualified Korean source.
Enter joining, base, hourly, visit, extra-hour, cancellation and replacement cost plus retained household coordination.
For a flat quote, enter the full monthly fee here
Use zero for a fully flat monthly quote
Use zero when travel, supplies, and visit add-ons are included
Enter only hours beyond the shared schedule
Whole number from 0 to 366; count only charged cancellations
Use zero when replacement is fully covered
Confirmed holiday, deep-clean, renewal, or other annual charges
Scheduling, access, inspection, complaints, and replacement requests
Enter the hourly rate and confirmed paid time, contributions, retirement reserve, cover, supplies, setup, and management time.
KRW 10,320 for 2026 is a review benchmark, not an applicability ruling
Enter 0 to 24 only after confirming the relationship and terms
Use the confirmed amount, not a universal rate
A planning reserve, not statutory severance
Sourcing, interviews, identity checks, and contract preparation
Confirmed training, health, holiday, and other cost
Scheduling, payment, records, cover, and dispute handling
Checks never add or remove cost automatically. Select only items supported by documents and enter confirmed amounts above.
12-month total economic-cost comparison
Direct hire KRW 955,714 saved
Agency total
KRW 11,968,571
Direct-hire total
KRW 11,012,857
Monthly saving
KRW 79,643
Annualized saving
KRW 955,714
KRW 11,968,571
KRW 11,012,857
These hours describe this household only, not a provider employee’s total weekly schedule. Status and benchmark checks are not legal conclusions.
8 hours
8.69 visits
34.76 hours
34.76 hours
The example treats the agency as a confirmed certified provider. Recheck the actual provider in Gasarang.
Inputs assume an employment basis. Separately review the domestic-employee exclusion and each labor-cost item.
The input is at or above KRW 10,320.
This household schedule is under 15 hours per week. Domestic Workers Act Article 15 concerns the employee’s full arrangement with the provider, so this household schedule cannot determine applicability.
Hold all other inputs constant and change only monthly scheduled hours, the agency hourly fee, or the direct hourly rate until economic cost matches.
18.83 hours/month
Holding other inputs constant, the agency option is cheaper below this threshold.
KRW 22,709/hour
Holding other inputs constant, the agency option is cheaper below this threshold.
KRW 22,291/hour
Holding other inputs constant, direct hire is cheaper below this threshold.
The hours threshold holds visits, per-visit cost, extra hours, cancellations, and paid non-service time fixed. It is not a statutory minimum, fair wage, or recommended agency price.
Keep scope, schedule, and rates fixed while changing only the horizon to see setup-cost dilution and recurring cost.
| Horizon | Agency | Direct hire | Lower-cost option | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | KRW 3,067,143 | KRW 2,865,714 | Direct hire | KRW 201,429 |
| 6 months | KRW 6,034,286 | KRW 5,581,429 | Direct hire | KRW 452,857 |
| 12 months | KRW 11,968,571 | KRW 11,012,857 | Direct hire | KRW 955,714 |
| 24 months | KRW 23,837,143 | KRW 21,875,714 | Direct hire | KRW 1,961,429 |
| 36 months | KRW 35,705,714 | KRW 32,738,571 | Direct hire | KRW 2,967,143 |
About 0.6 months is where the advantage changes from agency to direct hire.
This is an economic crossover with annual cost spread over 12 months, not an invoice, payday, or refund date.
Korea-based 2026 contract comparison · primary sources verified 2026-09-03
A family may already have decided to obtain recurring help but still need to choose between a provider and a person engaged directly.
Comparing the provider’s advertised hourly rate with the individual’s wage does not answer that question.
A provider proposal can include an introduction charge, a monthly minimum, a service-hour fee, a per-visit supplement, overtime pricing, paid cancellation rules, uncovered replacement cost, and annual additions.
A direct arrangement can include paid hours, confirmed insurance or other employer payments, retirement-benefit preparation, leave or absence cover, supplies, recruiting and contracting cost, and the family’s payroll and schedule-management time.
This calculator applies the same visits and service hours to both choices, converts recurring and one-time amounts to one comparison horizon, and keeps cash cost separate from the economic value of retained family time.
It reports total and monthly cost, cost per actual service hour, break-even service volume, two rate thresholds, horizon sensitivity, and any cumulative crossover caused by different upfront costs.
It is a Korea-based planning tool, not a worker-status, tax, certification, wage-entitlement, social-insurance, leave, severance, or contract-compliance decision.
Use the result to identify which option has the lower entered cost and which uncertain term could reverse the choice.
Then freeze the task list, visit schedule, access procedure, backup requirement, and cancellation rule on one page.
Ask the provider for a written service agreement and price schedule, or document the direct employment or service terms, and rerun the comparison with confirmed numbers before signing.
The same apartment size can require very different work when the home has additional bathrooms, stairs, pets, heavy laundry, ironing, meal preparation, mobility assistance, or child supervision.
A provider quote limited to routine cleaning is not comparable with a direct plan that silently adds laundry, cooking, errands, or care.
The work-scope selector in this calculator creates a review signal and a shared description; it does not invent a price multiplier.
List rooms, bathrooms, kitchen work, balconies, floors, dusting, laundry, ironing, bedding, waste, and periodic deep cleaning.
Align visits per week, hours per visit, start windows, public holidays, keys, security codes, pets, and work while the family is absent.
State who buys detergents, bags, gloves, paper goods, ingredients, vacuum equipment, replacement parts, and protective items.
Separate a family cancellation from worker absence and record rescheduling, refund, substitute-worker, notice, and minimum-use terms.
If provider services include protecting a child under age 12, the Domestic Workers Act contains disqualification and criminal-record review provisions for that provider context.
Selecting child care or mixed household care only displays a review signal; the calculator does not assess any person’s record, qualification, training, or suitability.
The word “agency” can describe different relationships.
A certified domestic-service provider employs domestic workers and contracts with users under the special statutory framework.
A matching or introduction business may connect a household and an individual without being the employer or the certified service provider for that engagement.
A platform interface or branded invoice by itself does not establish who employs the worker, who directs the work, or who bears wage, insurance, replacement, and damage obligations.
| Selected status | Evidence to obtain | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Certified provider confirmed | Current government listing, provider identity, written user agreement, worker relationship | That every offered add-on or person is automatically within the certified service |
| Matching or introduction | Introduction terms, fee recipient, contracting parties, payment flow, direction and control | That the intermediary remains responsible for wages, backup, insurance, or damage |
| Not checked | Business identity, certification status, contract, price schedule, cancellation and compensation terms | That a familiar brand name settles legal status or responsibility |
A useful model should be auditable by another family member.
Add the date, source, tax basis, and owner of each number to the quote or worksheet instead of relying on memory.
Where a cost is unresolved, keep the related confirmation box open and calculate a low and high case rather than treating zero as an exemption.
| Cost area | Calculator inputs | Preferred evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Shared service | Horizon, weekly visits, hours per visit, work scope | Task sheet, recent service log, household calendar |
| Provider recurring price | Monthly base, service-hour fee, visit add-on, overtime hours and rate | Written quote tied to the same task and schedule |
| Provider exception cost | Introduction, cancellation, uncovered replacement, annual extras | User agreement, refund policy, backup terms, price schedule |
| Direct paid cost | Hourly wage and paid non-service hours | Written terms, attendance, payroll record, applicable wage review |
| Direct non-wage cost | Confirmed contributions, retirement preparation, backup, supplies, other labor cost | Enrollment and payment records, agreement, invoices, professional advice |
| Retained family work | Provider coordination or direct management hours and one opportunity-cost rate | Four-week log of calls, messages, payroll, access, quality checks, and backup searches |
Average weeks per month = 365 / 7 / 12 = approximately 4.3452
Monthly visits = weekly visits x average weeks per month
Monthly scheduled service hours = monthly visits x hours per visit
Direct monthly paid hours = scheduled service hours + weekly paid non-service hours x average weeks per month
Horizon service hours = monthly scheduled service hours x comparison months
Paid non-service hours are an explicit input because the household schedule alone cannot establish paid weekly-holiday, leave, waiting, training, or other entitlements.
Enter only the hours confirmed for the actual relationship and terms.
The displayed signal for a household schedule of at least 15 hours per week is not a legal conclusion: a provider-employed domestic worker may work for multiple users, and different statutes apply different tests, periods, and exceptions.
Start with the introduction fee.
Add comparison-month totals for the monthly base, scheduled service hours at the quoted hourly fee, per-visit additions, monthly overtime, uncovered replacement, and the annualized cancellation and other additions.
Add provider-coordination hours multiplied by the same household opportunity-cost rate used for the direct option.
Start with recruiting and contracting cost.
Add all entered paid hours at the hourly wage, confirmed monthly employer contributions, retirement preparation, leave or absence cover, supplies, and annual other labor cost.
Add direct-management hours multiplied by the household opportunity-cost rate.
The default example uses cleaning and laundry twice each week for four hours per visit over 12 months.
The provider side enters a KRW 100,000 introduction fee, KRW 20,000 monthly base, KRW 25,000 service-hour fee, two monthly overtime hours at KRW 30,000, four annual paid cancellations at KRW 30,000, and one monthly coordination hour.
The direct side enters a KRW 20,000 hourly wage, KRW 100,000 monthly leave or absence cover, KRW 50,000 monthly supplies, KRW 150,000 recruiting and contracting cost, and two monthly management hours.
Both sides use KRW 30,000 as the household time value.
These inputs are formula fixtures, not market averages, official prices, recommended wages, or legal assumptions.
| Metric | Result | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly visits | 8.6905 visits | Two weekly visits converted with 365 / 7 / 12 |
| Monthly service hours | 34.7619 hours | Shared workload for both choices |
| Twelve-month service hours | 417.1429 hours | Denominator for per-service-hour economic cost |
| Provider cash cost | KRW 11,608,571 | Before KRW 360,000 of retained coordination time |
| Provider economic total | KRW 11,968,571 | Cash cost plus one monthly coordination hour |
| Direct cash cost | KRW 10,292,857 | Before KRW 720,000 of direct management time |
| Direct economic total | KRW 11,012,857 | Entered insurance and retirement preparation remain zero and unconfirmed |
| Economic total-cost gap | KRW 955,714 | Direct is lower under only the entered assumptions |
| Monthly equivalent gap | KRW 79,643 | Small enough that an unresolved cost can matter |
The provider’s scheduled-service component is KRW 10,428,571, overtime is KRW 720,000, paid cancellations are KRW 120,000, and coordination time is KRW 360,000.
Direct wages are KRW 8,342,857, while entered leave cover and supplies total KRW 1,800,000 across the year, the one-time direct cost is KRW 150,000, and management time is KRW 720,000.
The direct result must not be presented as complete until the family confirms the open paid-leave, insurance, and retirement items.
The model separates costs that do and do not move with scheduled service hours, then solves the monthly volume where the two lines meet.
In the default case the threshold is approximately 18.8333 monthly hours; below and above directions are shown with the number.
If both hourly slopes are equal or the mathematical crossing is negative, the result correctly reports that one option remains lower for all non-negative volumes instead of displaying a misleading threshold.
The current scheduled provider charge is removed from provider total cost, and the remaining room below direct cost is divided by all service hours in the horizon.
The default threshold is approximately KRW 22,708.90 per service hour, with every other input held fixed.
A flat monthly quote should be entered in the monthly base field with a zero hourly fee so that the same service is not counted twice.
The direct wage component is removed and the remaining room below provider cost is divided by all entered direct paid hours.
The default mathematical threshold is approximately KRW 22,291.10 per paid hour.
This is not a lawful wage recommendation, market rate, or safe negotiation target.
If a threshold is below the applicable minimum or reasonable pay, revisit service design, provider terms, or non-wage cost instead of using the lower figure.
One-time introduction and recruiting costs matter most in short comparisons, while hourly and monthly differences dominate longer comparisons.
The calculator recomputes 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months with the same inputs and also includes the selected horizon.
It does not simply multiply a rounded monthly result; annual items are prorated and service time is recomputed from the calendar conversion.
A crossover exists only when the option favored by upfront cost is eventually overtaken by the recurring-cost difference within the selected horizon.
With default inputs, the direct option has KRW 50,000 more initial cost but a lower recurring economic cost, so the initial provider advantage changes to a direct advantage at approximately 0.60 months.
If there is no positive crossing inside the horizon, the interface states that no crossover was found rather than forcing a date.
The current Korean source texts were checked through the official National Law Information Center on September 3, 2026.
The Act on the Employment Improvement of Domestic Workers has law ID 014099, master-text ID 232959, effective June 16, 2022.
Its Enforcement Decree is law ID 014286, master-text ID 267779, effective December 31, 2024.
The current Labor Standards Act source is law ID 001872, master-text ID 283457, effective August 20, 2026.
The Minimum Wage Act source is law ID 000129, master-text ID 218303, and the current Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act source is law ID 009883, master-text ID 284455, effective July 1, 2026.
| Official source | Planning signal | What still requires confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Workers Act Articles 2 and 6 | Separate a certified provider employment structure from an unchecked provider label | Current certification, contracting parties, actual worker relationship, and service scope |
| Domestic Workers Act Articles 9 and 11 | Prompt for published services and pricing plus a written user agreement | Scope, day, time, rest, safety, price, payment, compensation, and limits on extra requests |
| Domestic Workers Act Articles 12 and 13 | Display an additional child-care review signal | Whether the covered provider service protects a child under age 12 and required checks were performed |
| Domestic Workers Act Articles 14 to 16 | Prompt for written employment conditions, working time, paid holiday, and annual leave review | The provider relationship, entire employment schedule, expressed shorter-hours choice, and decree details |
| 2026 minimum-wage notice | Show the notice amount as a direct-rate review benchmarkKRW 10,320 per hour | Actual legal relationship, statutory coverage, included wage items, and payment conditions |
| Retirement Benefits Act Articles 4 and 8 | Provide an editable confirmed monthly retirement-preparation field | Employee status, continuous service, four-week average weekly hours, plan, and average wage |
Labor Standards Act Article 11 and Minimum Wage Act Article 3 contain exclusions concerning a domestic employee in a household.
The Domestic Workers Act creates a different framework for a domestic worker employed by a certified provider and addresses the application of labor rules, while Articles 15 and 16 contain their own working-time, paid-holiday, and annual-leave structure.
These provisions are why the calculator does not automatically apply KRW 10,320, weekly-holiday hours, annual leave, insurance payments, or retirement preparation to every direct arrangement.
The benchmark warning is deliberately visible, but the household must confirm the actual relationship and current rule before using any amount as legally complete.
A lower provider total is meaningful only if the promised service and responsibility are written down.
The provider confirmation boxes do not change cost; they expose missing evidence beside the financial result.
A direct arrangement may create continuing duties that a household has not previously administered.
Calling an agreement a service contract does not by itself resolve worker status, and calling it employment does not populate the correct wage, insurance, leave, or retirement amount.
Use the relationship selector as a prompt to obtain advice and records, not as a self-certification.
Direct recruiting and administration may not be recovered over a short horizon, while a provider may offer faster substitution.
Test the actual introduction, minimum-use, cancellation, and rescheduling terms because flexibility can also be expensive.
Direct upfront cost can spread over more months and the recurring rate may be lower.
Add every confirmed employment, backup, leave, retirement, supplies, and management amount before treating continuity as a financial saving.
The service user, payer, access manager, complaint contact, and emergency contact may be different people.
Include travel, remote coordination, family updates, replacement search, and payment administration in retained time.
Do not add meal assistance, medication reminders, mobility help, or child supervision informally to a cleaning-only scope.
Rewrite the task boundary, competence, safety process, emergency contact, substitute standard, time, and price before comparing.
Many household decisions begin before every cost is known.
That is acceptable if uncertainty remains visible.
Create a low, central, and high case for disputed amounts, or move one field to its threshold and ask whether that value is plausible under the written terms.
| Uncertainty | Low case | High case |
|---|---|---|
| Cancellation | Only historically unavoidable paid cancellations | Travel, illness, holidays, and notice misses based on the contract |
| Backup coverage | Provider supplies equivalent substitutes or family can absorb absence | Paid emergency substitute, leave, or lost family work time |
| Direct obligations | Only amounts currently confirmed by records or advice | Plausible covered insurance, leave, and retirement amounts pending confirmation |
| Family time | Observed routine coordination with a conservative hourly value | Replacement search, complaints, payroll correction, travel, and urgent disruption |
If the winner changes across modest cases, the rational next step is better evidence or a contract revision.
If one option remains lower under a wide range and also meets the household’s safety, continuity, and administration requirements, the decision is more robust.
No.
Different statutes and benefits use different relationships, reference periods, total hours, service durations, and exceptions.
A provider-employed worker may serve several users, so one household’s schedule is not the provider employment total.
Enter confirmed payments and obtain current advice for unresolved paid time, insurance, leave, and retirement items.
No.
Confirm whether the business is a certified provider, a matching intermediary, or another contracting model, and read the written allocation of service, payment, direction, safety, damage, cancellation, and backup obligations.
A brand label or app payment screen does not settle those facts.
The calculator does not classify the transaction or alter tax.
Confirm whether every quoted amount is tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive and enter the household’s actual cash outflow on one consistent basis.
Do not assume business input-tax recovery for a household decision.
Use a documented basis such as lost paid work, business time, replacement-care cost, or a conservative family-agreed value.
If the value is uncertain, run zero, central, and high cases and observe whether the choice changes.
Cash results remain separate, so time value is not mistaken for an invoice.
No.
It is the hourly amount in the 2026 minimum-wage notice and is displayed as a review benchmark.
Statutory coverage and the relationship must be confirmed from the actual facts and current law; entering a rate above or below the benchmark neither creates nor removes a legal relationship.
No.
Cost is one dimension alongside trust, continuity, safety, keys, privacy, child or elder boundaries, substitute quality, damage response, emergency procedures, and the family’s willingness to administer the relationship.
A small cost gap can be reversed by one unresolved contract item, so close the evidence gaps first.
Replace every example with the current quote, agreement, payment record, and measured family time.
Compare several horizons, close every confirmation gap, and use the thresholds to negotiate the condition that matters most.