Deel EOR
Remofirst
Oyster HR
Velocity Global
Rippling EOR
Remote EOR
Multiplier
Papaya Global EOR
Globalization Partner
It's 2024. Building a solid team based on skills and competencies, regardless of location, is no longer a luxury - it's a reality.
You're leveraging the best recruiting software with modern recruitment strategies to attract and vet the best talents.
But when it comes to hiring globally, legal compliance and paperwork across different jurisdictions can still bog you and your team down.
That's where Employer of Record (EOR) services come in, taking the headache out of global hiring.
Data shows the continuous growth of the global EOR market in recent years, driven by a rise in remote work and hybrid work models and the need to manage diverse workforce compliance.
If you're here, you likely understand the EOR meaning, employer of record benefits, and what an employer of record can do. And you’re just looking for an ideal companion!
With so many options buzzing around, I've compiled this comparison guide of the best employer of record services in 2024 to help busy leaders like you quickly find your best-fit EOR partner.
I also include a shortlist table at the end for a glimpse of the top EOR services by years, costs, and global reach.
Now, let's dive in!
Best Employer of Record (EOR) Services in 2024
Employer of Record is a relatively new concept in the world of human resources.
I understand the confusion surrounding EOR vs PEO (Professional Employer Organization). In essence, the former helps you compliantly hire people in countries where you don’t have legal entities, while the latter can’t.
Some providers claim to be EORs but can only help if you have a legal entity, while others are known for PEO services but actually function as EORs. Some present themselves as robust HR platforms, keeping their EOR module hidden.
It’s really time-consuming to read between the lines.
But no worries, I've done the legwork for you and shortlisted the best EOR services with the most essential information in a straightforward manner:
Deel EOR
Best for streamlined EOR services with rich payroll options.
Launched in 2019 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Deel is a fast-growing EOR services provider with robust specialized capabilities. (The company has grown from zero to over $400 million ARR in less than five years and is now valued at $12 billion!)
Starting as a strong contractor management software for companies to manage and run payroll for their project-based talents worldwide, Deel quickly expanded into compliant full-time hires just a year after, in the wake of flexible working model demands after the pandemic.
Deel can help you hire, manage, and engage with talents in over 150 countries where you don't have entities with the 5-minute onboarding process, local teams of specialized experts, and local payroll engines across six continents.
Even though this number of country coverage does not sound impressive like some top EORs on this list, it covers key markets and is really deep in expertise in where it services.
Deel excels in managing local tax obligations, statutory benefits, visa immigrant support, and other regulatory requirements. Beyond that, they provide detailed compliance reports that help companies understand their obligations and maintain transparency with local authorities.
Deel's platform automates payroll calculations, tax deductions, and benefits administration, integrating seamlessly with existing HR systems, which significantly enhances operational efficiency and eliminates manual efforts and potential errors.
Notably, it supports multi-currency payroll disbursements and real-time exchange rates, catering specifically to the needs of remote and distributed teams.
These capabilities, combined with real-time analytics and reporting, position Deel as a comprehensive, reliable, and user-friendly solution for global employment compliance and payroll management.
The Downsides of Deel
While Deel's comprehensive feature set is a major advantage, it can also be overwhelming for some users at first.
Regarding pricing, Deel's services are indeed on the higher side, which is reflective of its extensive features that facilitate global employment.
Please be aware of potential top-up costs, including various fees for withdrawal methods. For example, there are fees for cross-border withdrawals, SWIFT transfers, non-local currency compensation, and specific charges for using services like PayPal and Payoneer.
But to be fair, paying for your desired options that may not be available or limited in other providers is worth considering!
Key Features of Deel
- Multi-Method and -Currency Global Payroll: Thanks to the recent acquisitions of PaySpace and PayGroup, Deel now offers native global payroll coverage worldwide, allowing you to pay employees in multiple currencies and methods, customize payments like adding bonuses and reimbursements, and facilitate both local and international payroll through a centralized system.
- Contractor Management: Deel provides tools for legally binding agreements, misclassification protection with human experts and AI algorithms, invoicing, and a Deel Card for expense management with multiple withdrawal options, including cryptocurrencies.
- Integration and Automation: The platform integrates with various HR, accounting, and recruitment software like BambooHR, Greenhouse, and QuickBooks, enabling data synchronization and workflow streamlining.
- HRIS Portal: Deel's self-service HRIS portal manages EOR and contractor recruitments, document storage, payroll, and expense management and provides access to vendors for equipment delivery and shared workspace rental.
- Benefits Administration: Just like other standard EOR services, Deel facilitates the management of localized benefits and health insurance, allowing businesses to provide tailored benefits packages to international employees while ensuring compliance with local regulations.
- Visa and Immigration Services: Deel offers an add-on to assist with visa sponsorship and immigration support for relocating employees in over 30 countries. They're expanding the number of supported countries, too.
- Real-Time Reporting and Analytics: Deel provides comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, offering insights into payroll operations, expense management, and other crucial metrics for effective international team management.
- Employee Self-Service Portal: Deel's self-service portal allows employees and contractors to access and manage personal information, submit time-off requests, and view payment and employment details.
Deel Pricing
You will love this: Deel gives away its automated HR platform for FREE for teams of up to 200 employees! Its global hiring packages cost:
- EORs: start at $599 per employee per month (billed annually)
- Contractors: start at $49 per contractor per month
Remofirst
Best for simple and cost-effective EOR service.
Remofirst is an excellent EOR service option for small to medium-sized enterprises that need straightforward EOR solutions without the complexity and high costs associated with larger platforms.
Launched in 2021 and headquartered in California, Remofirst's founders Nurasyl Serik and Volodymyr Fedoriv designed their solution with affordability in mind. This enables even early-stage startups with limited budgets to leverage the platform and build their global teams.
The platform boasts coverage in 180 countries and can support paying your employees in their local currency.
What sets Remofirst apart is its transparent pricing tiers, with the lowest starting point on the market at just $199 per employee. And there is no annual payment commitment and no minimum request!
Despite its competitive pricing, Remofirst maintains a high level of quality, offering a comprehensive range of services, including same-day onboarding, local employee contract compliance, global payroll, tax filings, and pensions, along with 24/7 support.
You have the option to provide advanced health benefits for your international employees through RemoHealth add-ons, which cost $55 per person. Remofirst also offers visa and immigration services with custom pricing depending on the country and visa type.
The Downsides of Remofirst
In exchange for its competitive pricing tiers, Remofirst offers a lower level of customization and integration options compared to other providers.
Additionally, Remofirst supports fewer currency options, including only US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), and Singapore Dollars (SGD), although your employees can still receive payments in their local currency with availability and exchange rates based on Remofirst's partners like Transferwise and Paypal.
It's worth noting that some users have reported hiccups in benefits administration, although Remofirst proactively listens to their customers and resolves these issues.
Key Features of Remofirst
- International Benefits: Although not all included in the base plan, Remofirst makes it easy to opt for additional job perks that are essential for your remote teams, which include advanced health insurance (medical, dental, and vision), equipment (laptops, monitors, chairs), and financial benefits (pension plans and 401(k) retirement).
- Single Management Dashboard: Remofirst provides client companies with a centralized dashboard where you can access payroll reports, employee pay slips, and compliance documentation with role-based controls.
- Automated Payroll Processing: Your team's hours, time-offs, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll, minimizing errors and saving time by eliminating the need for manual input.
- Visa & Work Permits: Remofirst recently added the RemoVisa add-on service, which helps your employees obtain the necessary authorizations to work in their current country of residence or the country they are relocating to. RemoVisa works for over 85 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Africa, and Oceania.
- Extensive Customer Support: In addition to 24/7 support service and a tutorial library for all stakeholders (HRs, employees, and contractors), Remofirst allocates a dedicated customer support manager to each client, ensuring you always have a responsive point of contact to ask questions and support arising issues when managing global talents.
Remofirst Pricing
- EORs: starting at $199 per user per month with additional services, including RemoHealth ($55/employee), Equipment Provisioning (custom pricing), and Visa and Immigration Service (custom pricing).
- Contractors: $25 per user per month
Oyster HR
Best for automated global hiring and onboarding.
Oyster HR, a relatively new Employer of Record service provider in the global employment platform market, was launched in 2020.
Since then, Oyster HR has expanded its global reach to 130 countries, helping companies manage the complexities of hiring people across multiple jurisdictions.
Oyster provides streamlined, fully compliant global employment processes through an automated platform, a strong in-house legal team, and powerful partnerships. This involves employee onboarding, PTO tracking, multicountry salary payments, benefits administration, and more for companies without legal entities in targeted countries.
Oyster's self-onboarding tools with a virtual hiring assistant, Pearl, set it apart from other providers.
It will guide HR managers and your new hires through detailed actions to collect information and automatically draft an employment contract based on expert-approved templates.
Although these automated global hiring features are not yet available for all countries serviced by Oyster, the EOR company plans to cover them all soon!
In addition to its hiring tools, Oyster offers a range of free resources to help companies make informed decisions about global employment. These include cost calculators, risk assessment tools, and comprehensive guides on best practices for recruiting, paying, and managing global employees in various countries.
The Downsides of Oyster HR
One limitation that sets Oyster back as a modern service provider is its reporting analytics. HRs must download the raw data in PDF or Excel files and interpret them on their own, given that all HR software platforms now can provide somewhat visualized analytics for direct insights and even AI interpretation and forecasting.
Another consideration is that, to rapidly extend its global coverage, Oyster partners with third-party providers for payroll and HR services in countries where it has not yet established a direct presence.
While this approach is effective in expanding Oyster's global reach, it might result in communication challenges and delays in resolving issues due to the involvement of multiple parties.
Additionally, the only way to contact Oyster's support team is by logging a ticket in the Oyster Portal. While this helps Oyster handle requests and inquiries effectively and professionally, it can be frustrating in urgent cases.
Key Features of Oyster HR
- Expense, PTO, and time management: Employees and contractors worldwide can request time off, submit their expenses in their local currency, and log hours directly on the Oyster platform. Plus, Oyster automatically reimburses expenses and integrates time off into payroll runs.
- Automated Global Hiring Features: include Pearl (a virtual hiring assistant to give you on-the-way instructions and insights), team member onboarding (a portal to collect employees' information), automated agreements, and e-signatures. Even though they do not live in all Oyster coverage countries yet, these developments save a lot of time and back-and-forth communication in operating in countries they applied.
- Preventing Employee Misclassification: Oyster offers a suite of tools to help companies avoid the risks associated with misclassifying employees, such as an analyzer, guided questionnaires, and support for converting contractors to employees. Oyster Shell, an upcoming misclassification insurance product, is also in the works!
- Benefits Administration: Thanks to its partnership with Allianz, the world's largest insurance company, Oyster offers variable employee benefits packages, from localized statutory benefits to high-end plans. Oyster also facilitates advanced rewards for high-performing team members, such as bonuses, commission schemes, and equity grants.
- Visa and Work Permits: Supports visa sponsorship in over 60 countries with tailored approaches.
- Employee Portal: Your global hires will engage with Oyster's platform from the onboarding process and interact with their "employers" (on paper and off paper) there, like requesting days off, reimbursing expenses, or generating employment verification letters.
- Expert Guidance: Oyster provides access to a team of knowledgeable, multilingual professionals who can offer advice on country-specific employment laws, assist with policy questions, help modify employee benefits or compensation, address concerns, and navigate the intricacies of global hiring. They can also help draft legally compliant contracts, such as those related to intellectual property protection and non-disclosure agreements.
- Refugees Hiring Program: In mid-2022, Oyster kept up with its competitors, Remote, with the "Oyster for Refugees" aiming to "bridge the gap between talent and opportunity." This helps companies find and connect with refugee talents in tech and data roles at little or no extra cost.
Oyster Pricing
- Contractors: start at $29 per contractor per month (30-day free trials)
- EORs: start at $599 to 699 per employee per month, depending on the countries
- Discounts are available for annual payments, bulk hiring (more than 5 full-time international hires), and qualified non-profit and B corporations.
Velocity Global
Best for extensive global coverage EOR service with on-the-ground experts.
Founded in 2014 by first-time entrepreneur Ben Wright, Denver-based employer of record company Velocity Global aims to "help companies seamlessly employ diverse teams, while simultaneously giving employees the freedom to work from anywhere," even before remote work became as prevalent as it is today.
Notably, Velocity Global acquired iWorkGlobal, an EOR service provider specialized in the US, and Shield GEO, a fellow competitor, in 2021.
These acquisitions expanded Velocity Global's service capabilities and global footprint to over 185 countries and all 50 states in the US, making it the largest EOR service.
Velocity Global differentiates itself with extensive in-house expertise and close partnerships with seasoned experts in various regions worldwide.
Hence, they can guide companies towards best practices and help them manage regulatory compliance and HR issues, ensuring you can enter new markets rapidly without the usual legal and bureaucratic delays.
Although it lacks built-in options, Velocity Global allows you to connect its Global Work Platform to specialized tools like Juro (AI-enabled contractor automation software) and DocuSign (e-signature) to streamline the digitalized onboarding process.
With its comprehensive global coverage, robust customer service, and ability to manage complex international payrolls, Velocity Global stands out among competitors, particularly for businesses seeking extensive geographical reach and specialized market support.
The Downside of Velocity Global
The only downside of Velocity Global is that its pricing details are available only on request. The complex pricing structure and lack of transparency may direct potential clients to competitors with the same expertise in their needed countries but with more straightforward pricing models.
Key Features of Velocity Global
- Global Employment Expertise: Velocity Global's extensive geographical reach and on-the-ground experts in each country allow them to assist clients with a wide range of employment-related matters, from payroll to compliance. Also, they equip HR managers with helpful resources and tools to navigate the complexities of international hiring, such as employment classifications, compensation, training, probation periods, offboarding, and more.
- Streamlined Payroll Management: Velocity Global's centralized platform with self-serve tools simplifies global payroll management, ensuring timely payments and compliance across different jurisdictions.
- Comprehensive Employee Benefits: The company offers and fully administers a wide array of localized benefits and international perks, including medical and life coverage, flexible retirement plans, veteran and low-income programs, and equity programs.
- Flexible Equity Plans: Offers a range of equity compensation options, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, and phantom awards. They can also manage various aspects of equity plans, such as withholding rates, payroll processing, supplemental reporting, and plan registrations.
- HR Integrations: Velocity Global's platform can be connected with popular HRIS software (like Oracle, BambooHR, and Bob) and ATS software (like Workable, Greenhouse, and JazzHR) for effortless, single-click employee data transfer.
- Visa and Mobility Assistance: Assists with the preparation and submission of documents and applications for business and work visas.
- Flexible Workspace Solutions: Through partnerships with well-known coworking space providers like WeWork, Industrious, and The Office Group, Velocity Global offers unlimited access to 10,000 on-demand locations in over 120 countries, providing employees with convenient physical workspaces when needed.
- Mergers and Acquisitions Guidance: Leveraging its hands-on experience and legal expert teams, Velocity Global can support clients during M&A transactions by ensuring compliance with local regulations, protecting intellectual property, enforcing restrictive covenants, and temporarily employing staff while the client establishes their own legal entity.
Velocity Global Pricing
Velocity Global charges per employee monthly management fees (including VAT) and a monthly wire transfer or bank transfer fee on a per-country basis, though specific rates are not publicly available.
Rippling EOR
Best for businesses with expansion needs that want an integrated global workforce management platform.
Rippling, known for its integrated HR, Finance, and IT platform for employee management, made a significant entry into the Employer of Record (EOR) industry in early 2023. The company now offers a Global Workforce Management solution, enabling businesses to hire, manage, and run payroll for employees across different countries where you don't yet have a legal presence.
Rippling's EOR service facilitates global hiring by handling compliance, payroll, and HR tasks, ensuring that local employment laws and regulations are followed.
It is well-suited for growth-oriented businesses prioritizing rapid deployment and comprehensive, integrated global workforce management tools.
Rippling is well-suited for medium to large businesses that prioritize rapid deployment and comprehensive, integrated global workforce management tools. Its fast onboarding and payment processes, combined with robust HR capabilities, make it a strong contender in the EOR space, particularly for growth-oriented businesses that prioritize rapid deployment and comprehensive, integrated global workforce management tools and can operate within its country coverage limits.
If your established entities are ready, you can make a switch from its EOR to Global Payroll through your own entities in minutes to cut down costs.
The Downsides of Rippling
As a newcomer to the EOR field, Rippling currently offers the fewest country options on this list, around 50 countries.
Additionally, the EOR services are not a standalone package, with core functions scattered among Rippling's modules, requiring a custom quote upon request.
This structure is convenient for companies that utilize Rippling as an automated, streamlined HR platform and temporarily opt for an additional EOR service. Otherwise, when compared to other competitors on the list, Rippling falls short in terms of specialized services, country coverage, robust benefits administration, and expert access.
That said, you should plan ahead for your requirements and pay attention to contract details when discussing a plan with Rippling to get the most cost-effective plan that includes the EOR service. Businesses requiring broader international reach or more transparent upfront pricing might consider other providers.
Key Features of Rippling
- Rapid Onboarding: Rippling boasts an industry-leading onboarding time, simplifying and accelerating the process of integrating new hires into the company within only 90 seconds.
- Comprehensive HR Functionality: Beyond basic EOR services in its operating countries, Rippling offers extensive HR management tools, including detailed reporting, time tracking, PTO management, and compliance training—all integrated within its platform.
- Global Payroll Management: Rippling enables quick and efficient payroll processing, capable of paying employees in their local currencies swiftly, which stands out for businesses requiring fast payment cycles.
- Automated Employment Agreements: Rippling verifies each employee's work authorization within seconds and then sends the necessary employment documents based on their location. This simplifies new hire paperwork processes and prevents onboarding delays.
- Locally Compliant Contracts: Each country, state, province, county, and city has its own employment laws. Rippling helps you stay on top of them with fully localized employment contracts that increase compliance, allow stronger enforceability with local law, and also offer better IP protection for your business.
- Geographic Holiday & Overtime Rules: Keeping track of holiday and overtime pay laws can be time-consuming. Rippling automates everything with rules that do all the calculations and scheduling for you to ensure that employees get the pay and time off they are due.
Rippling Pricing
Rippling does not publicly disclose its EOR pricing. For reference, it charges $500 to $600 per employee per month, combining the custom pricing with other requested functions.
Remote EOR
Best for direct EOR service with strong IP protection support.
Founded in 2019 by Job van der Voort and Marcelo Lebre, Remote has rapidly become one of the key players in the EOR market, with its impressive country coverage and distinguished client-centric approach. (Voort was VP of Product at GitLab, an AI-powered solution for the tech industry and a leading remote-first company.)
Remote's EOR service simplifies the process of hiring and managing international employees in full compliance without the need for companies to establish local entities in over 180 countries.
They claimed to have wholly-owned legal entities in all countries Remote services, hence, having full control and direct management of employment processes to ensure compliance, payroll, and benefits management aligned with local laws.
This translates to quick onboarding, streamlined service, and centralized operation for you and your international employees.
This is what makes Remote shine when put side by side with its direct competitors (Deel, Oyster, and Papaya), along with the unique two-step approach for IP protection.
Remote's EOR platform is praised for its ease of use and sleek UX design, with step-by-step instructions and many automation tools.
The Downside of Remote
Remote is placed in the higher pricing bracket, which may fall outside the affordability range of smaller enterprises or those with tight financial constraints.
While Remote has established a solid framework for its EOR services by having legal employer rights in every country it operates, this expansive coverage might not always translate to localized expertise.
Despite facilitating quick onboarding and streamlined operations, there can be discrepancies in the depth of legal advice and support available. Some users have reported long turnaround times for resolving issues, indicating that the level of specialized legal expertise varies across regions.
Key Features of Remote
- Global Coverage and Compliance: Thanks to its direct EOR model, Remote helps manage payroll, taxes, and legal compliance without third-party risks, making it easier for companies to employ globally with confidence.
- Payroll and Expense Reporting: Remote handles global payroll processing, ensuring compliance with local tax laws and regulations. Their system automates the payment of salaries in local currencies and includes detailed reporting features that allow businesses to track and manage expenses efficiently. They can also handle bonus and incentive payments.
- Employee Self-Onboarding: With an intuitive interface and clear instructions, Remote offers a user-friendly digital platform for employees and contractors to enter their personal and professional details, upload necessary documents, and complete their onboarding with minimal hassle. This streamlined process reduces the administrative burden on HR departments and speeds up the time it takes for new employees to become productive members of the team.
- Benefits Packages: Remote provides flexible, localized benefits packages adhering to specific regulations, including health insurance, life and disability insurance, retirement plans, and more.
- Equity Incentives: This includes not only the setup of equity incentive schemes but also ongoing management including compliance with local laws, tax implications, and reporting requirements.
- PTO Management: Remote simplifies the management of paid time off (PTO) by automating and integrating it into their platform. This allows employees to easily apply for and manage their leave, while employers can track and approve timeoffs without manual intervention, ensuring compliance with local employment laws regarding vacation and sick leave.
- Remote IP Guard: Distinguished from other providers, Remote protects your intellectual property rights with a transparent two-step transfer process. IP rights are assigned from the employee to Remote and then from Remote directly to the client company, with no intermediaries.
- Remote Talent: Remote just launched a remote job board to help "global job seekers and employers find each other." This allows companies to directly distribute their open roles and attract the right talent worldwide for a monthly fee starting at $199.
- Refugees Hiring Program: Remote partners with wide range of organizations to support refugee talents and provides its EOR service for free (up to 10 employees) in its available countries.
Remote Pricing
- EORs: start at $599 per employee per month, with a transparent commitment to no additional fees for onboarding, offboarding, off-cycle payments, transaction fees, and others.
- Contractors: Basic Contractor Management starts at $29 per contractor per month, Contractor Management Plus with indemnity coverage and compliance starts at $99/contractor/month.
- Discounts: one-year 15% discounts for qualified startups, non-profits, and social purpose organizations.
Multiplier
Best for affordable yet feature-rich EOR.
Multiplier is an excellent option for medium to large enterprises that require a robust solution for managing international employees with a focus on compliance and payroll automation.
Since 2020, the EOR company has enhanced its global presence to over 150 countries across APAC, Europe, Africa, and the Americas and allows companies to pay remote talents in over 120 currencies.
Multiplier simplifies the management of international employees while ensuring compliance with local employment laws and streamlining payroll processes.
Multiplier comes with intuitive and user-friendly management software that guides users through necessary action steps in various functional areas.
Multiplier also provides comprehensive resources on hiring talent from various countries, including visa guidance, salary data, tax information, minimum wage, termination processes, and public holidays.
The Downsides of Multiplier
Compared to other EOR services, Multiplier's platform may lack some of the deeper integration capabilities that can automate the entire HR workflow.
Additionally, while Multiplier offers multicurrency payments and can pay freelancers via cryptocurrency, this option is not available for full-time hires.
It's also important to note that Multiplier has a fixed cut-off day for payroll runs (the 10th of each month), meaning any changes or requests made after this date will be counted for the next month.
Key Features of Multiplier
- Global Employment Compliance: Multiplier makes sure that companies comply with local and international employment laws and continuously track regulatory changes to keep your employment practices compliant, protecting your business from potential penalties and legal issues.
- Multi-lingual Employee Contracts: Multiplier enables you to seamlessly create employee contracts in various languages, customized to meet the specific legal requirements of each country.
- Employee Self-Service Portal: Empowers employees to independently manage their personal information, access employment files, and review their payroll data.
- Insurance Package: To provide comprehensive protection for your global team, Multiplier offers customized international insurance packages, starting at $20 per employee per month.
- Localized Payroll Management: Multiplier's payroll management system is built to handle the complexities of processing payments in different currencies and tax systems. It ensures accurate and timely payroll processing, including compliance with local tax requirements and deductions.
- Expense and Leave Management: Multiplier streamlines the management of expenses and leaves by automating approvals and record-keeping. This system enhances efficiency and accuracy in managing employee costs and time-off requests, ensuring they are handled fairly and in accordance with company policies.
- Employee Stock Options Plan (ESOP): This feature supports the setup, administration, and legal compliance of ESOPs tailored to each country's specific regulations and tax laws. It includes tools for tracking vesting schedules, exercising options, and handling the resulting financial reporting.
Multiplier Pricing
- EORs: start at $400 per employee per month
- Contractors: start at $40 per contractor per month
Papaya Global EOR
Best for robust EOR with dedicated customer support.
Papaya Global is a formidable player in the global EOR and payroll market, ideal for businesses seeking a comprehensive solution for international workforce management in over 160 countries.
Papaya Global’s robust platform, coupled with advanced analytics and a proprietary payment system, offers significant advantages in managing complex global operations. It provides transparency, automation, and data integration into global payroll and HR activities.
Papaya also has deep expertise in local compliance issues by maintaining a network of local legal experts in each country they operate in, ensuring that their service is up-to-date with the latest labor laws, tax regulations, and compliance mandates.
Papaya Global's users are satisfied with the quick and responsive customer support services.
The EOR company assigns dedicated account managers to each client, providing a single point of contact that helps streamline communication and resolve issues swiftly.
The Downsides of Papaya Global
The biggest downside is that Papaya Global does not own its entities for EOR services; instead, it relies on third parties.
This means, theoretically, layering works. And it potentially results in delays, less timely problem-solving, and higher costs than EOR providers that control the process with their in-house, experienced professionals.
This somehow explains why its EOR pricing is on the higher side compared to some EOR providers like Oyster HR and Multiplier, which may offer more competitive rates for similar services.
However, Papaya Global follows this approach on purpose to "create a layer of auditing and compliance" and commits to work with top-tier partners in every country who represent their clients' best interests and provide genuine support for their global expansion.
Key Features:
- Global Employer of Record: Offers compliant hiring in over 160 countries through an aggregator model, utilizing in-country partners for legal employment tasks.
- Compliance and Legal Support: Thanks to years of hands-on experience, Papaya Global can effectively mitigate risk and stay compliant across jurisdictions. It also offers several in-depth resources publicly to inform and update employers on jurisdiction regulations.
- Payroll and Taxes: It automatically calculates salaries, taxes, and deductions and handles the filing and remittance of payroll taxes to the appropriate local authorities. It ensures compliance and timely payments in over 100 currencies and guarantees "full local compliance and liability for your funds and payment process."
- Localized Benefits and Automated Enrollment: Configures benefits packages to comply with local standards and practices while streamlining the enrollment process for new employees with automatic eligibility checks and notifications.
- Global Equity Plan Management: Automates the allocation and distribution of equity awards, like stock options, across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring compliance with local tax laws and regulations while providing centralized management and real-time reporting for easy tracking and decision-making.
- Dedicated Employee Portal: Employees can independently access and manage their payroll details, personal information, and HR documents, as well as track their time and attendance, giving them more autonomy and freeing up HR teams' involvement.
- Customizable Reporting: Clients can access real-time data and analytics, providing immediate insights into payroll expenditures, workforce distribution, and cost management across different countries. You can also tailor the information and controls to their specific needs and preferences.
- HRIS Connections: The platform can connect with major HRIS software, including Bob, Bamboo HR, Oracle, and SAP SuccessFactors, to synchronize employee data management and seamlessly manage expenses and PTO.
Papaya Global Pricing
- EORs: start at $599 per employee per month
- Contractors: start at $30 per contractor per month
Globalization Partner
Best for comprehensive EOR service with well-versed local expertise.
Recognized as an industry leader in the Global EOR Study 2023 Report by the IEC Group, Globalization Partners is a well-established and extensive EOR service provider with coverage across 180 countries in the APAC, EU, Latin America, Middle East/Africa, and North America regions.
The EOR company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to streamline the hiring process, manage international payroll, administer benefits, and comply with local employment laws.
The G-P Meridian Suite™, Globalization Partner’s proprietary platform, is what truly sets it apart. This suite offers configurable and integrated solutions to support various aspects of global employment, from payroll to compliance and employee management, with many automated actions and self-service functions.
Globalization Partners is also particularly noted for its deep localized expertise in employment laws and HR practices, which are tailored to each country's specific legal requirements.
The company's public Globalpedia, an up-to-date guide library on labor laws and regulations, is a proven evidence, providing valuable insights for businesses navigating the complexities of international employment.
G-P allows seamless connections with major HCM like ADP, Bob, and UKG. It is also praised for its high-caliber global PEO services, along with the support of legally hiring paperwork and payroll for companies without their own entities.
Put all together, G-P stands out as a comprehensive solution for a wide range of business types, from remote startups to established multinational corporations, with an extensive suite of services, deep expertise, and commitment to customer success.
The Downsides of Globalization Partner
Globalization Partners is often considered more expensive compared to some of its competitors due to its percentage-based pricing structure, especially for high-salary roles.
Additionally, when compared to competitive players in the EOR field, Globalization Partners may offer limited support for equity and rewards compensation programs, which are important for companies looking to provide comprehensive incentive packages to attract top global talent.
Not a downside, but rather a consideration: While GP is highly effective for medium to large enterprises, its offerings and pricing model may not be as well-suited for very small businesses or startups just beginning to explore international expansion. The comprehensive nature of GP's services, while beneficial for larger companies, might be more than what is necessary for smaller entities.
Key Features of Globalization Partner
- Automated Global Expansion: Companies can quickly assess, contract, and onboard talent in targeted countries using an automated platform that allows for the rapid creation of compliant employment offers, seamless contract signing, and exploration of country-specific regulations and costs.
- Compliance and Legal Assurance: Globalization Partners offers a robust compliance framework that ensures adherence to local laws and regulations in over 180 countries. This service includes updates on changing employment laws, helping companies stay compliant amidst evolving legal landscapes.
- Integrated Payroll and Benefits Management: The platform automates payroll processes with minimal manual intervention, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. It also streamlines benefits enrollment, allowing companies to offer competitive packages aligned with local norms, which employees can manage and elect directly through the platform.
- HR and Expense Management Tools: Globalization Partners facilitates the management of time and expenses, with features tailored to the specifics of each country. This integration helps centralize and simplify the administrative workload for finance teams, providing tools that are accessible via both cloud-based web and mobile platforms (GoGlobal for iOS and Android).
- Employee Onboarding & Offboarding: Globalization Partners simplifies the onboarding process with automated tools that generate locally compliant employment contracts, facilitating global background checks, and allowing new hires to review and sign their contracts online easily. The automated offboarding process ensures compliance with local laws and smooth transitions.
- Global Employee Portal: Globalization Partners offers a robust self-service platform through a centralized employee portal, where employees can access and manage their personal information, elect benefits, and stay informed about company policies and compliance updates. This portal enhances employee engagement and simplifies administrative tasks, making it easier for global teams to manage their professional details in a secure and user-friendly environment.
- Real-time Data and Reporting: Globalization Partners provides real-time access to important employee data and analytics, such as employment contracts, payroll schedules, and benefits details, all centralized in one secure platform.
Globalization Partner Pricing
G-P does not share its EOR pricing details publicly, but it will charge you a percentage of employees’ annual salary.
Employer of Record Services: Comparisons and Suggestions
No matter what vendors tell you or how they polish their service online, the vendors you engage with must, first, meet the standard requirements:
- Help you compliantly hire people in other countries even though you have no legal presence (They can compete in terms of employee onboarding speed and ease.)
- Allows you to run payroll effectively and handle tax implications with local government bodies (They can compete in currency and payment method support, ease of adjustment, and payment cycle flexibility.)
- Ensure standard statutory benefits for your employees per industry standards and local environments (They can compete in quality, flexibility, and customization of the packages.)
Each provider on the list offers unique strengths and capabilities that cater to different business requirements.
So, think about How much you're willing to spend on the service? What are your company's specific needs? And What are your global expansion goals?
For startups and small businesses prioritizing cost-effectiveness and straightforward pricing, Remofirst offers transparent and affordable pricing tiers starting at $199 per employee per month while maintaining high service quality across 180 countries.
Mid-sized companies focusing on automated global hiring, compliance, and payroll automation can consider Oyster HR (130+ countries) or Multiplier (150+ countries). Both platforms provide user-friendly interfaces, self-onboarding tools, and comprehensive HR functionality.
Larger enterprises requiring extensive global coverage, localized expertise, and advanced analytics should look into Velocity Global (185+ countries), Globalization Partners (180+ countries), or Papaya Global (160+ countries). These providers offer robust platforms, deep local knowledge, and customizable solutions.
For remote companies with a mix of full-time employees and contractors, make sure to check out Rippling (50+ countries), Deel (100+ countries), and Remote (100+ countries) for scalable global talent management tools. Despite unique selling points, they all provide strong capabilities in employee and contractor management, multi-currency payroll processing, and centralized HR platforms.
Here is the shortlist of the best employer of record services for 2024:
Read Next: Choosing The Right EOR Partner: 17 Questions to Ask Before Signing a Contract
Frequently Asked Questions
An EOR service acts as the legal employer for your international employees, handling compliance, payroll, benefits, and other HR-related tasks on your behalf.
This allows your company to hire talent globally without setting up legal entities in each country, saving time, money, and resources while minimizing legal risks.
EOR service providers have in-depth knowledge of local labor laws and regulations in the countries they operate.
They keep up with changes in legislation and ensure that employment contracts, payroll, benefits, and other HR practices comply with local requirements.
This helps your company avoid legal issues and penalties when hiring internationally.
Yes, most EOR services offer comprehensive support for onboarding and managing international employees.
This includes assistance with employment contracts, visa and work permit applications, benefits enrollment, and ongoing support for your employees.
Many EOR platforms also provide user-friendly portals for employees to access their payroll and HR information.
When selecting an EOR service provider, consider factors such as their geographic coverage, pricing, technology and automation, level of customer support, and range of services offered.
Evaluate their expertise in the countries where you plan to hire, and look for providers with a strong track record of compliance and customer satisfaction.
It's also essential to choose a provider that aligns with your company's specific needs and growth plans.
While both EOR and PEO services help companies manage their employees, there are some key differences.
An EOR acts as the legal employer for your international employees, assuming full responsibility for compliance and HR tasks.
A PEO, on the other hand, is a co-employment arrangement where the PEO shares certain employer responsibilities with your company.
PEOs are more common for domestic hiring, while EORs are typically used for international expansion.
Our latest articles
FlexOS helps you stay ahead in the future of work.