6 Best Employer of Record Services
An employer of record (EOR) offers a wide suite of services and solutions for managing global employment and payroll. Here are our picks for the best EOR services.
Usually used for companies with international payroll, an effective EOR service can take a lot of stress and busywork off your plate so you can concentrate on expanding your business. The best employer of record services can handle global payroll and hiring and has the expertise needed to manage complicated labor, payroll, and tax regulations in multiple countries.
In this guide, we evaluated over 20 EOR providers and narrowed our list to the six best ones.
- Remote: Best overall employer of record
- Deel: Best for flexible payments and immigration services
- Rippling: Best for automated global compliance
- Papaya Global: Best for bulk employee onboarding
- Multiplier: Best low-cost EOR service
- OysterHR: Best for businesses that hire often
Best Employer of Record Services Compared
Note that all of the EOR providers we reviewed offer global hiring and payroll tools, international tax support, online onboarding, local benefits plans, time off tracking, and locally-compliant employment contracts. They also help you pay global contractors and provide access to in-country experts who can guide you through the complexities of managing local laws and regulations.
Looking for something else? If you need expert assistance in handling core HR processes for your US workforce, consider Justworks. Its affordable professional employer organization (PEO) service (monthly fees start at $79 per employee) enables it to manage payroll, tax reporting, compliance, and benefits for you. Justworks even offers an EOR package, but didn’t make our list because it has a limited number of local entities, offering most of its hiring and payroll services through its network of in-country partners.
Why You Can Trust Us
I have over 5 years of experience evaluating payroll and HR software for Fit Small Business and 10 years of experience in human resources and handling HR systems. As a result, I am deeply familiar with the needs of business owners and the HR solutions available on the market.
See our full methodology below.
Payroll & HR Software Expert at Fit Small Business
Remote: Best Overall EOR
Pros
- Strong intellectual property (IP) protection
- Offers a 90-day money-back guarantee to new customers
- Discounts for startups and nonprofits
- Free HRIS included with EOR
Cons
- Payroll and onboarding cutoff deadlines may limit flexibility
- Remote may collect a refundable deposit, depending on its risk assessment
- Email and live chat support only
Overview
Who should use it:
Remote is a good fit for businesses hiring in multiple countries that want stronger compliance support and less reliance on third-party local partners.
Why I like it:
Among the best employer of record services in this guide, Remote is one of the more compliance-focused options. Its fully-owned local entity model gives it a more direct role in employment contracts, payroll, and local employment practices compared to partner-led providers like Papaya Global.
I also like that Remote is more explicit than most providers about the safeguards behind its EOR service. It includes built-in compliance protections, in-house local support, and a stronger focus on intellectual property (IP) protection than most of the providers in this guide. It even has a 90-day money-back guarantee, which helps reduce risk when committing to a new EOR partnership.
However, if budget is a priority, I recommend starting with Multiplier. Deel is also a good pick if you’re looking for flexible employee payments.
- Employer of Record: $699 per employee monthly
Other products
- Payroll: $29 per employee monthly; global pay processing only
- Contractor of Record: Starts from $325 per contractor monthly; tools for direct contractor engagement and payments
- Contractor Management: $29 per contractor monthly; contractor payments and invoices only
- Contractor Management Plus: Contractor Management features with indemnity protection
- Professional Employer Organization: Starts from $99 per employee monthly; PEO services for hiring, paying, and managing US workers
- Equity: Starts from $39 per employee monthly, for companies that need to grant equity to global employees and contractors
- Dedicated onboarding: Remote provides dedicated onboarding support for each new hire, which can help reduce setup errors and keep the process moving.
- Core HR tools: Comes with HR Essentials for employee records, document management, time-off tracking, org charts, and workflows, so you don’t need a separate HR system for the basics.
- Strong IP protection: Offers a three-stage approach to IP protection and employs experienced counsel in top-tier law firms to help protect ownership of employee-created work across different legal jurisdictions.
- Bonus payments: Processes bonus and incentive payments for international staff, and even supports the Dutch 30% ruling
With this ruling, qualified highly skilled migrants who moved to the Netherlands for specific jobs get tax-free allowances equal to a maximum of 30% of their gross salary.
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Remote offers a dashboard for people managers to view documents, approve requests, access forms, and more.
(Source: Remote)
Deel: Best for Flexible Payments and Immigration Services
Pros
- Wide range of payment options for employees and contractors
- Strong immigration and visa support
- Owned-entity model in 110+ countries
- Global background checks built into Deel’s onboarding tool
Cons
- Dedicated customer success manager only available to enterprises
- Pricing can increase as you add services
Overview
Who should use it:
Global businesses can rely on Deel to handle the complexities of paying international workers, providing you with the flexibility to choose payment methods, such as via bank transfer, crypto, bitcoin, digital payment processors, and a Deel contractor card.
Why I like it:
Two things set Deel apart from competitors I’ve reviewed: payment flexibility and immigration services. No other EOR on this list gives workers as many payment options. Let’s say you’re hiring a contractor in a country where international wire transfers are slow or expensive. Having Wise or crypto as fallback options keeps your team paid on time and reduces friction during onboarding.
Visa sponsorship is also built directly into the contract creation workflow, letting you check eligibility, get a cost and timeline breakdown, and initiate sponsorship before an employment contract is even finalized. Competitors like Remote and Rippling may offer visa support, but Deel’s approach is more operationally integrated.
However, Deel can get pricey if you add more services and tools, like device management and visa services. You also need to upgrade to its EOR Enterprise plan if you want dedicated onboarding support.
Employee of Record plans
- Standard: Starts at $599 per employee monthly
- Includes full legal employment in over 110 countries, automated onboarding and compliance, managed payroll and tax filings, benefits enrollment, and on-demand HR and legal support
- Enterprise: Starts at $899 per employee monthly
- Standard plan features + dedicated onboarding manager, audit log exports, legal response guarantees, and dedicated Slack/Microsoft Teams support channel
Other products
- Managed payroll
- Global payroll: Starts at $29 per employee monthly
- US payroll: Starts at $29 per employee monthly
- Self-service payroll: Call for a quote; run payroll yourself in the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore
- Hire contractors
- Standard: Starts at $49 per worker monthly; includes contractor management, multi-currency payments, and contractor invoicing
- Contractor of Record: Starts at $325 per worker monthly; Standard plan features with Deel as the legal contracting entity
- Deel Mobility plans: Call for a quote; immigration and visa support services
- PEO full-service outsourcing: Starts at $125 per employee monthly; managed payroll, tax, and benefits services for US-based companies only
Several plans are also available for IT, HR, benefits, and applicant tracking tools. Check the Deel website for pricing details.
- Contractor card: A Deel contractor card allows contract workers to receive payments and pay for personal purchases.
- HR and legal support: Instead of receiving third-party partner advice, you get expert guidance from Deel’s team of over 200 local HR and legal professionals specialized in employment regulations, local statutory benefits, and tax laws.
- Visa and immigration tools: Extensive immigration services and tools for managing and tracking new work permits, renewals, compliance, and immigration reporting.
- Compliance tools and resources: Deel provides continuous compliance tools with real-time regulatory updates, risk alerts, and workforce insights to help teams stay aligned with local laws.
Deel’s website comes with country guides and other hiring tools that you can use for free. (Source: Deel)
Rippling: Best for Automated Global Compliance
Pros
- Offers tools for onboarding software and hardware
- Integration capabilities with over 500 options
- Can use for international and domestic payroll and HR
- Workflow automation simplifies HR and payroll processes, including global compliance
Cons
- Pricing isn’t all transparent
- Some features may cost extra (like IT tools to manage business apps)
- No dedicated support representative
Overview
Who should use it:
Companies with a globally distributed workforce will appreciate Rippling’s all-in-one HR, payroll, and IT platform. In addition to its EOR services, its feature-rich software can help you manage the entire employee lifecycle, including company devices and business software access. Rippling, which is one of our top-recommended HR payroll software for small businesses, also makes managing global compliances easy with its automation tools. It can help enforce country-specific minimum wages, apply overtime rules, and even enroll workers in required compliance training programs.
Why we like it:
Rippling has an intuitive interface with HR, IT, and finance modules you can mix and match. This allows you to create an HR platform with the features you need. Like all EORs on our list, Rippling pays in local currency, handles local taxes wherever your employee lives and works, and bills you when the work is done. Just like with its regular US payroll services, it takes only 90 seconds to pay your international employees.
However, its EOR service only covers more than 140 countries. For wider coverage, consider Remote, which offers EOR services in over 180 nations.
Rippling does not list its pricing online, so you need to call a sales representative. We were given a quote for the following services:
- EOR services: $599 per employee monthly
- Global payroll: $20 per employee monthly
- Global contractor payroll: $20 per worker monthly
Note that new users who sign up for a Rippling plan get the first month free
This can end at any time. Visit the provider’s website to view the latest promotions.
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Rippling’s modular HR, IT, and finance platform makes it one of the easiest to work with for administrators and employees. (Source: Rippling)
- Rippling can assign computers and software licenses to employees and helps with the return of hardware at termination (Multiplier has a similar service, as well as Deel but via its partner, Hofy).
- It can connect with over 500 apps, such as accounting, expense management, HR, sales, communication, and productivity tools (most on our list integrate with finance and HRIS software).
- Job costing tool lets you apply employee time to a client, task, and job location for billing or analysis.
- User permissions, policy management, and customizable workflows help streamline HR processes, saving you time in managing day-to-day HR tasks (such as tracking PTO accruals and approving time off and expense claim requests).
- Access to local experts with over 10 years of HR experience who can help you understand in-country labor and employment regulations.
Papaya Global: Best EOR for Bulk Employee Onboarding
Pros
- Strong global payroll infrastructure for multi-country teams
- Advanced payroll analytics and audit capabilities
- Supports large-scale onboarding and workforce expansion
Cons
- Relies on a partner network instead of fully owned entities
- May require setup fees and deposits depending on the scope
- Less suitable for those with simple global hiring needs
Overview
Who should use it:
Papaya Global makes the most sense for businesses running payroll across multiple countries or onboarding large groups of employees at once. Its centralized payroll system and workforce wallets make it easier to manage payments, taxes, and compliance across regions from one place.
Why I like it:
Papaya Global’s EOR services cover more than 160 countries and come with hiring, onboarding, multi-currency payments, and benefits management tools. It’s the only provider on my list of the top employer of record companies that can onboard up to 1,000 workers at a time.
Its centralized payroll system, workforce wallets, and payroll analytics also give your finance and HR teams more control over how employees are paid across countries. With Papaya’s payment network, you get guaranteed cross-border payouts of 72 hours or less.
The tradeoff is Papaya’s partner-entity model — it owns no operations in any of the countries it services, using only its network of local partners. That may result in slower onboarding, more variable service quality across markets, and no owned-entity compliance guarantee that providers like Remote offer.
- Employer of Record: Starts at $499 per employee monthly
Other products
- Contractor of Record: Starts at $295 per worker monthly; lets you hire and pay global contractors
- Contractor solution: Starts at $5 per worker monthly; includes tools for managing contractor onboarding, invoices, and payments
- Payroll Plus: Starts at $29 per worker monthly; fully managed global payroll with direct debit payments and time tracking
- Payments OS: Starts at $3,50 per transaction; unified payments platform for processing payments for employees, contractors, vendors, and tax authorities across 160+ countries
- Workforce OS: Call for a quote; includes tools to unify end-to-end workforce and payroll operations
- Contingent OS: Call for a quote; includes tools for managing contingent workforce
- Vetted local partners and experts: Access to in-house global payroll professionals and Papaya’s team of designated country experts, which consists of 40 different top-tier certified public accountant (CPA) firms across the globe.
- Workforce wallets: Unlimited workforce wallets to securely pay workers via direct deposits and remit payments to local authorities.
- Secure funds: Funds in dedicated workforce wallets sit safely in segregated Client Money Accounts with global banking institution, J.P. Morgan.
- AI data validation: AI tool identifies, extracts, and validates information from your uploaded documents, which helps you save time when translating languages into standardized data.
Papaya offers country-specific information to complement its payroll and HR tools. (Source: Papaya Global)
Multiplier: Best Low-cost EOR Service
Pros
- Lower-cost EOR option than most providers in this guide
- Pays in cryptocurrency if desired
- Generates employee contracts in under five minutes
- Affordable EOR package
Cons
- Pricing isn’t all transparent
- Has a fixed payroll cut-off date (every 15th of the month)
- Limited integration options
Overview
Who should use it:
Multiplier is optimal for businesses looking for a low-cost package to hire and manage international workers. Its EOR plan is the least expensive on our list, with monthly fees that start at $400 per employee (the other providers I reviewed charge $599 and more).
Why I like it:
Multiplier can recruit global employees in over 150 countries and pay workers in more than 100 currencies (including cryptocurrency). Unlike some of the providers on our list, it doesn’t charge a refundable deposit or setup fees. Multiplier can also help manage immigration and visa processing, but it doesn’t sponsor worker visas like Deel can. And, while its platform can onboard employees in just a few clicks, it can’t onboard 1,000 workers at a time as Papaya Global does.
- Employer of Record: Starts at $400 per employee monthly
Other products
- Global payroll: Call for a quote
- Contractors: Starts at $40 per worker monthly; includes tools for onboarding and paying contractors
- Immigration: Call for a quote; visa management and support in 140+ countries
- Employment contracts: Lets you generate locally compliant, multilingual employment contracts in under five minutes, which helps speed up hiring across different regions
- Software and device management tools: Supports assigning laptops and pre-configured software to international hires, so you can standardize IT setup across countries
- Fast onboarding: Multiplier touts that it can onboard new hires in less than one week, which is faster than Papaya Global’s five to 10-day window and competitive with Deel’s two to five-day range
Onboarding takes minutes or less with Multiplier and you can choose to onboard one or several workers at a time.
(Source: Multiplier)
OysterHR: Best EOR for Businesses That Hire Often
Pros
- Scale plan lets you pre-purchase employee seats at reduced rates; you can reuse empty seats to fill vacant and new roles
- Dedicated support for account and system setup
- Discounts for nonprofits, eligible startups, and refugee hiring
Cons
- Requires a refundable deposit
- Limited reporting options
- Scale plan requires upfront payment of all annual fees and is reserved for companies with more than five employees
Overview
Who should use it:
Oyster is a good fit for businesses that expect to keep hiring internationally over time, not just make a few one-off hires. Its Scale plan allows you to pre-purchase reusable employee seats for one year at negotiated and reduced rates. None of the other EOR in this guide offers this option.
Why I like it:
The Scale plan is one of Oyster’s competitive advantages. When you’re hiring to fill roles constantly because of expansion plans or significant turnover, paying per-seat annually rather than per-employee monthly changes the math substantially.
Similar to Remote, it offers special plans for eligible non-profits and startups. It also has free online tools to help you calculate employment costs, check best-in-class benefits in top hiring locations, and assess the potential risks of converting a contractor into an employee.
However, OysterHR’s reporting options are limited. For comprehensive workforce and payroll analytics, consider Papaya Global, as its customizable reports provide insights into several topics, from employee costs to staff turnover and payment funds.
- Employer of Record: $699 per employee monthly*
*Oyster requires a refundable deposit for each EOR employee to help ensure on-time payments
Other products
- Global payroll: $29 per employee monthly; includes tools for managing payroll for your global entities
- Global contractors: $29 per worker monthly; lets you hire, pay, and manage international contractors
- US PEO: $114 per employee monthly; lets you outsource your US payroll, benefits, and HR to Oyster
- People Partner Services: $300 per hour; white-glove and project-based HR advisory support
- Dedicated hiring support: Access to a dedicated hiring success manager who can help find qualified candidates for your volume hiring requirements.
- Virtual hiring assistant: Guides HR teams through local compliance requirements in real time during the new hire process, which is useful for teams without dedicated legal or HR ops staff.
- Templates and tools: Free downloadable interview templates, checklists, and recruiting emails created and reviewed by OysterHR’s HR and legal experts (the other EORs on our list don’t provide these expert-vetted templates for free).
OysterHR offers many resources to help you navigate international employment, like its hiring tool that checks for compliance. (Source: OysterHR)
How to Choose the Best EOR
In selecting the best employer of record for your company, we recommend looking at the provider’s track record in handling global HR payroll processes. Next, look at the legal and compliance support offered, and if the provider has the expertise needed to handle complicated labor, payroll, and tax regulations in the countries you plan to expand to.
You should also consider the following factors:
- Software pricing and your budget: Finding a solution that meets your budget is important, but you should also check if the provider’s EOR package comes with annual payment-only requirements or user count limits.
- Ease of use: The EOR solution and its features should be simple to use. Having access to an online platform that can securely store employee information, track payments, and manage basic HR processes (such as time and PTO tracking) is also critical. If you use accounting solutions or have a separate HR system for your local employees, look for integration options with these business software.
- Payment options: In addition to secure payments, you should look at the payment timelines and options. Most providers remit payments to workers in three to five working days via international bank transfers. Some offer a longer processing time or have limited payment options (e.g., no cryptocurrency payouts).
- Reporting and analytics: Reports are important as these allow you to see headcount costs across countries. While you should look for the availability of basic reports (like payroll registers and employee lists), don’t forget to check for customization solutions for creating ad hoc reports.
- Customer support: Contacting the provider’s support team via phone is ideal, but if this isn’t available, check for live chat support. You may also want to consider looking at online user reviews to help you gauge whether or not its support team is responsive.
Methodology: How We Evaluated the Top Employer of Record Companies
In our evaluation of the best employer of record services, we looked at more than 20 EOR providers, narrowing them down to those that served small and midsize businesses and were priced reasonably (where we could get quotes). Then we dove deep to evaluate them for features and ease of use. Finally, we added feedback from real-world users to come up with the top six.
Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria:
20% of Overall Score
We looked for transparency—can you find the pricing on a website or with a phone call, or do you need an in-depth assessment of your business? We also considered setup fees, separate (cheaper) plans for your contractors, and whether they have add-ons for additional tools.
20% of Overall Score
Your EOR should handle your employees from hiring to termination, including paperwork, benefits, and compliances. We also looked for any indication that they protect your intellectual property, like patents created by your employees.
10% of Overall Score
We not only considered what reports are available but also how customizable they are, and if they can be separated by country.
20% of Overall Score
In addition to the basics, like time tracking tools, we concentrated on global features like paying in local currency and having local entities as opposed to third-party partners.
15% of Overall Score
Here, we considered appropriateness for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), how good the software was, and what real-world users thought of the service.
15% of Overall Score
For this criterion, we looked at setup assistance, customer support, access to how-to guides, integration options, and whether the provider offers an intuitive user platform.
*Percentages of overall score
Best Employer of Record Companies Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
An EOR makes the most sense when you’re hiring in a new country and do not have a local legal entity there. It can also be a good fit if you want to build a global team quickly or avoid managing local labor laws, payroll rules, and tax requirements on your own.
EOR pricing typically ranges from $400 to $800 per employee per month, depending on the provider, country, and services included. Some of the top employer of record companies also charge setup fees, refundable deposits, or require annual commitments.
Yes, most businesses use an EOR as a temporary solution while entering a new market. Once you establish a local entity, many providers can help transfer employees from the EOR to your company. The process typically involves new contracts and compliance checks, so it’s important to plan ahead and confirm the provider’s offboarding and transition support before you start.
No. Coverage and service quality can vary by country, especially for providers that rely on partner networks instead of fully owned entities. Some of the best employer of record services offer more consistent compliance support because they operate their own entities, while others prioritize broader country coverage.
Bottom Line
An employer of record can take a lot of stress off a business, especially when hiring international employees. It takes the liability and administrative responsibility for hiring, paying, and terminating your employees so you can concentrate on training and tasking. As the official on-paper employer, it assumes liabilities for tax and workplace compliances.
Overall, Remote took the clear lead as the best EOR service. It works in over 180 countries for payroll and HR services; has a separate, cheaper plan for international contractors; and provides solid IP and invention rights protections. Check out Remote and get started on broadening your international reach.
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