How much does it cost to set up a GCC in India?
A wholly owned 50-person GCC in India costs $2 to 3 million through the first year, covering entity setup, leadership hiring, facilities, and team ramp. A phased entry through an employer of record or a partner-operated pod compresses the initial outlay to between $150,000 and $400,000. Break-even against equivalent US hiring typically arrives in 12 to 18 months.
Those are the honest headline numbers. What follows is where they come from, and what the brochures leave out.
The cost stack, line by line
Entity and compliance setup.
Incorporation through SPICe+, PAN, TAN, GST registration, FEMA reporting, and legal fees. This is the smallest block, but skipping corners here creates the most expensive problems later. Registration alone runs 45 to 90 days.
Leadership.
The GCC head is a global-grade executive hire, and leadership quality drives an estimated 60 to 70 percent of GCC outcomes. This is the worst line in the budget to economize.
People.
The core of the model. A fully loaded India engineer through a managed structure runs $26,000 to $46,800 per year, against $185,700 to $215,000 for the US equivalent. The first cohort should be weighted 60 to 70 percent senior, which raises the per-head number and lowers the total cost, because junior-heavy centers import rework that erases the arbitrage.
Facilities.
Grade A office space, fit-out, and equipment. City choice moves this line meaningfully: Hyderabad and Pune run 15 to 25 percent cheaper than Bengaluru on comparable space and roles.
The buffer.
Attrition and backfill, retention programs, transfer-pricing documentation, and travel. Individually small, collectively real. Budget 15 to 20 percent above the headline salary model.
Three entry paths, three price points
What changed in 2026
India's February 2026 budget set a uniform 15.5 percent transfer-pricing safe harbour margin for IT services entities under INR 2,000 crore, electable through an automated process valid up to five years. The tax-dispute risk that used to sit as an unquantifiable line in GCC cost models is now routine compliance. See our full explainer on the 2026 budget changes.
