Remote Jobs in Spain: What companies hire remotely in Spain, and how you can be hired remotely

Spain has become one of Europe’s strongest markets for remote work. A combination of time zone compatibility with the rest of Europe, a growing tech ecosystem in Barcelona and Madrid, a relatively low cost of living compared to Northern Europe, and a dedicated remote work law make it attractive for both workers and employers.

This guide covers what you need to know about finding and landing a remote job in Spain: which companies are hiring, what salaries to expect, what legal protections you have, and how to avoid the most common pitfalls.

Spain is one of the countries where the most remote-friendly companies in Europe have payroll set up. That means a larger pool of roles are available to Spain-based candidates than in many other European countries.

Companies that frequently list remote roles open to candidates in Spain include Grafana Labs, FundraiseUp , Typeform, Pleo, Iubenda, RoomsPriceGenie, Booksy, Docker, Datadog, and Twiilio, among many others. Some of these have legal entities in Spain; others hire through Employer of Record arrangements or direct foreign payroll.

Beyond the big names, a large number of European scale-ups across SaaS, fintech, e-commerce, and healthtech hire in Spain because of the depth of the talent pool, the time zone alignment, and the fact that employer costs, while significant, are well understood and manageable.

Browse current remote jobs in Spain on EU Remote Jobs. 

Remote salaries in Spain vary significantly depending on whether the employer benchmarks to local Spanish rates or to a pan-European or global pay band. Working for an international company remotely from Spain often pays meaningfully more than the Spanish market average.

For context, Spain’s national average gross salary is around €29,500/year (INE, 2024). Remote roles at international companies typically pay well above this.

These ranges reflect full-time employed roles with European or international companies. Freelance and contractor rates can be higher on paper but come without employment protections, paid leave, or employer social security contributions.

One important dynamic: some companies apply location-based pay adjustments for Spain, which means the same role may pay less than it would for someone in the Netherlands or the UK. Others, like GitLab, publish transparent compensation calculators. It is worth asking during the interview process how the company benchmarks compensation across countries.

Spain has one of the more developed remote work laws in Europe. Law 10/2021 (Ley de Trabajo a Distancia) applies to any employee who works remotely for at least 30% of their working hours over a three-month period.

What the law requires:

A written remote work agreement. The employer must sign a formal remote work agreement with you before remote work begins. This must cover your work schedule, the equipment provided, expense reimbursement, the location where you’ll work, data protection protocols, and a reversibility clause. Not having a written agreement is classified as a serious employer infringement, carrying fines of up to €7,500 per affected employee.

Employer-paid expenses. The employer must cover all costs arising from remote work. This includes equipment (laptop, monitor, peripherals), internet, and a proportional contribution to electricity. The specific mechanism for reimbursement is set through collective bargaining agreements or the individual remote work agreement, but the obligation itself is non-negotiable.

Equal treatment. Remote workers have the same rights as on-site employees: equal access to training, promotion opportunities, and working conditions. The law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on working arrangement.

Right to disconnect. The employer must respect your right to disconnect outside working hours. This means no expectation to respond to messages, emails, or calls outside your agreed schedule.

Voluntary and reversible. Remote work cannot be imposed unilaterally by the employer or the employee. Either party can request a return to on-site work under the terms set in the agreement.

Occupational risk prevention. The employer must assess and address occupational health risks in your remote workspace, including ergonomic considerations. A visit to your home for risk assessment requires your written consent.

If a company offers you a “contractor” or “freelance” arrangement but the working relationship looks like employment (fixed hours, company equipment, single client, reporting to a manager), this may be classified as false self-employment (falso autónomo) under Spanish law.

Spain’s Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo) actively investigates these arrangements. If reclassified, the company faces back-payment of social security contributions, unpaid employment benefits, and fines. For the worker, it means you’ve been working without the protections you were legally entitled to: no paid leave, no severance, no employer social security contributions.

This is a genuine risk, not a theoretical one. If you’re offered a B2B contractor setup for what is clearly a full-time, ongoing role with a single employer, it is worth asking why the company isn’t offering an employment contract. Legitimate reasons exist (genuinely project-based work, short-term engagements), but a permanent full-time role structured as a contractor arrangement is a red flag.

If a contractor setup is the only option, make sure you negotiate the salary to compensate for the statutory benefits you won’t receive as a freelancer: paid leave, sick pay, severance, and employer social security contributions. Many remote-first companies will offer full employee-equivalent benefits regardless of whether you’re hired as an employee or contractor, but don’t assume this. Ask, and negotiate accordingly. Knowing what you’d be entitled to as an employee gives you a stronger position at the offer stage.

It’s worth being aware that the standard EoR model used across most of Europe has significant compliance issues in Spain specifically. Spanish labour law requires that the entity directing your day-to-day work (the “Real Employer”) and the entity handling your employment administration (the “Formal Employer”) must be the same company. When an EOR acts as your legal employer on paper while a separate company manages your actual work, this separation is considered illegal assignment of employees (cesión ilegal de trabajadores) under Spanish law.

This isn’t a technicality. Boundless, a major EOR provider, publicly withdrew from offering EoR services in Spain for this reason, and Baker Tilly has documented the legal risks of using EORs in Spain. Fines for illegal assignment can reach up to €225,000, and both the EOR and the client company can be held jointly liable.

For workers, this matters because if your employment is later found to be non-compliant, it can create uncertainty around your entitlements and protections. If a company tells you they’ll hire you through an EOR in Spain, it’s reasonable to ask how they’ve addressed the legal position on this.

For companies looking to hire in Spain compliantly without setting up a local entity, direct foreign payroll registration is the legally recognised alternative. EU Remote helps companies set up direct foreign employer registration across European jurisdictions, including Spain.

Spain’s digital nomad visa (Ley de Fomento del Ecosistema de las Empresas Emergentes) allows non-EU citizens to live in Spain while working remotely for an employer or clients outside Spain. As of 2026, the income requirement is approximately €2,850 gross per month in stable remote income.

The visa is relevant for two groups: non-EU remote workers who want to relocate to Spain, and employers outside the EU who want to hire someone based in Spain without establishing a local presence. Workers on the digital nomad visa can opt into the Beckham Law tax regime, which applies a flat 24% income tax rate on Spanish-sourced income for the first six years.

For EU/EEA citizens, the digital nomad visa is not relevant. You already have the right to live and work in Spain.

Not every job listed as “remote” is actually open to candidates in Spain. The most efficient approach:

Search by Spain first. On any job board, filter for remote roles and set the location to Spain. These are roles where the employer has confirmed they can hire in Spain.

Then widen to Remote Jobs in Europe, and then remote jobs EMEA. Roles listed as Remote ¨Europe” or Remote ¨EMEA” are often open to Spain-based candidates, though not always. Check the job description for the specific list of eligible countries.

Then go further nd open your search up to remote jobs worldwide. But remember, these jobs are open anywhere in the world, and for that, you will be competing with candidates across the globe. So getting an interview is harder. 

Check the application form. Job descriptions re very often inccurte. The location tg often is required nd multiple locations can’t alwys be selected. So you might see Remote, UK, or London, UK and later remote tag with no clear description of where the job is actully opened to. This might be explained in the job description or the application questions. We aim to clarify this for you with ccurcte location tags. Some companies ask for your country of residence early in the process. This tells you quickly whether Spain is eligible.

EU Remote Jobs lists remote roles that are open to candidates in Spain, with location eligibility surfaced so you can see at a glance whether a role is available in your country.

For most remote roles at international companies, no. The working language is almost always English. Spanish is a bonus rather than a requirement for the majority of positions.

The exceptions: customer support roles serving the Spanish market, sales roles targeting Spanish-speaking clients, and content or marketing roles producing Spanish-language material. For these, native or near-native Spanish is typically required.

Having conversational Spanish is useful for daily life in Spain but rarely a factor in hiring for remote roles at international companies.

Spain consistently ranks as one of the most attractive countries in Europe for remote workers, and the numbers reflect that. The combination of a strong legal framework protecting remote employees, a cost of living well below Northern Europe, time zone compatibility with the rest of the continent, and a growing pool of international companies with Spanish payroll makes it one of the easier European countries to find remote work in.

The key is knowing where to look and understanding how cross-border employment actually works. Search by Spain first, check that the company can genuinely hire in your country, understand what your rights are under the remote work law, and be cautious of contractor arrangements that should be employment contracts.

Browse current remote jobs open in Spain on EU Remote Jobs, or explore roles across Europe by country and category.

The post Remote Jobs in Spain: What companies hire remotely in Spain, and how you can be hired remotely first appeared on EU Remote Jobs.

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