PEO vs. Building In-House HR
For companies in the 50–400 employee band, the question is rarely 'PEO or nothing': it's 'PEO or hire and build it yourself.' The math usually favors a PEO until you're large enough to self-insure and staff a full department.
The short answer
Building in-house HR means hiring HR, payroll, and benefits staff and buying small-group insurance on your own. A PEO gives a growing company enterprise-grade benefits, multi-state compliance, and payroll for a predictable per-employee cost, usually well before an internal team becomes economical.
| With ONYX | In-house HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Benefits buying power | Large-group PEO pool | Your own small/mid-group rates |
| Multi-state compliance | Handled by the PEO | Your team researches each state |
| Fixed cost | Predictable per-employee fee | Salaries, software, and benefits broker |
| Time to stand up | Weeks | Months of hiring and setup |
| Best at scale | Growth-stage, 50–400 employees | Large enough to self-insure |
You should get a benchmark if…
- You're spending leadership time on HR and payroll instead of the business
- You can't match competitors' benefits with your current group size
- You're expanding into new states faster than you can staff compliance
Questions
At what size should we build in-house HR instead of a PEO?
It varies, but many companies stay on a PEO until they're large enough to self-insure benefits and justify a full HR, payroll, and compliance team. ONYX models the crossover for your specific headcount and spend.
More comparisons
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