The best employer of record for a small US company: Deel vs Remote vs Oyster

The first time a US company wants to hire a full-time employee abroad, the usual answer is an employer of record. The EOR employs the person through its own local company, on a local contract, and runs payroll, tax withholding and statutory benefits. You direct the work, and you pay a monthly fee on top of the salary.

Dozens of companies sell this service. Three of them publish a fixed price per employee: Deel, Remote and Oyster. That makes them the easiest to compare, and the usual shortlist for a small company. This comparison covers what each costs, what you get, and which one fits which kind of team.

Prices side by side

Published monthly list prices per person, checked on October 13, 2026.

The fee covers the provider's work. The salary, the employer's taxes and social contributions in the person's country, and any extra benefits come on top. Those costs vary far more by country than the fees do.

What the fee buys

At its core, every employer of record does the same job:

• issues a local employment contract that complies with local law,
• runs payroll in the local currency, with tax withholding and filings,
• pays statutory benefits, such as pension and health contributions,
• handles leave, and
• manages the paperwork when someone leaves, including notice and severance.

The differences sit around that core. Coverage decides whether a provider can hire in your country at all. Deposits decide how much cash you tie up. And the quality of the local team decides how smoothly onboarding, payroll questions and terminations go, which matters more than any feature list.

Deel

Deel shares the lowest published EOR price with Remote, at $599 per employee a month, and has the widest coverage, 130+ countries. It also sells contractor management at $49 a month, contractor of record at $325, a US PEO at $125 per employee and recruiting tools at $14 per worker a month, so one vendor can cover most of the hiring job.

The cost that doesn't appear on the pricing page is the deposit. Deel's help center puts the standard EOR deposit at one to one and a half times the monthly charges for each employee, which include salary, employer costs and the fee. In countries where ending employment is expensive, it can be higher. It's refunded when the employment ends, once the final invoice is settled.

Best for: teams hiring in many countries, or in less common ones that the others don't cover. Watch for: the deposit. On an engineer whose total monthly cost is $8,000, it ties up $8,000 to $12,000 per hire.

Remote

Remote charges $599 per employee a month for EOR, the same as Deel, in 90+ countries. It's cheaper than Deel for contractors, at $29 a month, and its Contractor Management Plus tier, at $99, adds up to $100,000 of cover per contractor for misclassification penalties. Contractor of record starts at $325, and its US PEO from $99 per employee.

On deposits, Remote says they're required only for "select businesses that meet certain financial criteria," based on external data and industry factors, and that any deposit is refundable. For many small companies, that means no deposit at all. Remote also says it owns its own entity in every country where it employs people, rather than relying on third parties.

Best for: companies hiring in the countries it covers, especially those that mostly hire contractors, want penalty cover, or can't spare cash for deposits. Watch for: coverage. Check your country is on its list before anything else.

Oyster

Oyster charges $699 per employee a month for EOR, $100 more than Deel and Remote, and lists coverage in 120+ countries. Contractors cost $29 a month after 30 days free, in 180+ countries. It also sells HR advisory through its People Partner service at $300 an hour, for questions such as setting compensation in a new country.

Oyster charges a refundable deposit when you engage someone. Its help center describes the deposit as roughly one month of the total cost of the employee, returned as a credit after the employment ends, usually about 60 days after the final day once invoices are settled. Its pricing page notes that annual discounts are available, and that you can pay it in US dollars, euros, pounds or Canadian dollars.

Best for: companies that want wider coverage than Remote, or a free month to try contractor payments, and can get an annual discount that closes the gap. Watch for: the deposit, and ask what the annual discount would be for your hires.

What three hires cost in fees

Take three engineers hired abroad through an EOR, for a year.

• Deel or Remote: 3 × $599 × 12 = $21,564 in fees.
• Oyster: 3 × $699 × 12 = $25,164 in fees.

Deel and Remote save $3,600 a year on fees against Oyster's list price. Between those two, the deposit decides it. If each engineer costs $8,000 a month all in, Deel's standard deposit holds $24,000 to $36,000 of your cash for as long as they're employed. Oyster's holds about $24,000. Remote may ask for nothing. At the same fee, a hire with no deposit is the cheaper one to carry, as long as Remote covers the country.

Contractors as well as employees

Most small companies hiring abroad end up with a mix of employees and contractors, and the pricing flips for contractors.

• Each EOR employee costs the same on Deel and Remote, and $100 a month more on Oyster.
• Each contractor costs $20 a month less on Remote or Oyster than on Deel.

So on list prices Remote costs the same as Deel or less for any mix, and Oyster only beats Deel when you have more than five contractors for every employee. Our comparison of Deel and Remote works through the sums for a mix of both, and our guide to paying international contractors covers the cheaper route for a contractor or two: a contract, a Form W-8BEN and a low-cost payment service.

Country coverage comes first

Before comparing prices, check that each provider can employ someone in your country through its own entity or a partner. Coverage lists change, and a provider that doesn't cover your country is out regardless of price. Ask too whether the provider runs its own local entity there or works through a partner, since that can affect how quickly payroll questions get answered.

It's also worth asking how long onboarding takes in your country. In some places a new employee can start within days of a signed offer. In others, background checks, contract registration or a notice period at their current job add weeks.

Costs that don't appear on a pricing page

The monthly fee is the easy part. Ask each provider about the rest.

• Employer contributions. Social security, pension and health contributions vary widely by country, from a modest addition to a large share of salary. Every provider has a cost calculator. Use it for your exact salary.
• Mandatory benefits and allowances. Some countries require extra monthly salaries, meal allowances or specific insurance.
• Exchange rates. If you pay the provider in dollars and it pays the employee in local currency, ask which rate it uses and what margin it adds.
• Termination costs. Notice periods and severance depend on local law and length of service, and can be significant in parts of Europe and Latin America.
• Equipment. Laptops and their shipping, local taxes on equipment and its return when someone leaves are often extra.

Other providers worth a quote

Deel, Remote and Oyster are the easiest to compare because they publish fixed prices. They aren't the only options. Rippling, Multiplier, G-P and Velocity Global all sell employer-of-record services, and some smaller providers specialize in a single region. If one of them covers your country well or already runs your HR or payroll, ask for a written quote and compare it on the same terms: the total monthly cost, the deposit and the onboarding time.

When an EOR isn't the answer

An employer of record isn't the right tool for every hire abroad.

• A defined project with an independent professional. A contractor arrangement is simpler and cheaper. Our guide to employer of record or contractor explains where the line falls.
• Employees in the US. An EOR is for countries where you have no entity. At home, you need payroll software or a PEO, as our guide to PEO vs EOR explains.
• A large team in one country. Once you have several people in one country and plan to stay, the fees add up to more than a local company would cost to run. At that point, price up your own entity there.

Switching providers later

You can move employees from one EOR to another, but it isn't painless for the employee. In most countries it means a new employment contract with a new legal employer, new payroll details and sometimes a new benefits plan. Ask any new provider how it handles transfers, whether length of service carries over, and how long the move takes. Pick carefully the first time, and switching becomes an option rather than a necessity.

What stays your job

Whichever provider you choose, you still manage the person. You set their work and goals, run reviews, decide on raises and promotions, and keep them engaged. You also keep an eye on your company's own tax position abroad. A senior employee who negotiates or signs contracts for you can, in some countries, create a taxable presence for your company. Raise it with your CPA once someone abroad starts selling for you.

Questions to ask on every sales call

• What is the total monthly cost for this salary in this country, including employer contributions and mandatory benefits?
• Will you ask for a deposit for this hire, and how much?
• Do you employ people in this country through your own entity or a partner?
• How long from signed offer to the first paid day?
• What notice and severance apply if the role ends in the first year?
• Which exchange rate do you use, and what margin do you add?
• Is there a discount for an annual contract or several hires?

Ask for the answers in writing. Two or three quotes side by side will tell you more about your real cost than any list price can.

Who should pick which

• Pick Deel if you're hiring in a country Remote doesn't cover, or want recruiting and employment from one vendor.
• Pick Remote if it covers your country. It matches Deel's fee, costs less per contractor, offers penalty cover and asks most customers for no deposit.
• Pick Oyster if it covers your country well and its quote comes in below the others once its annual discount is applied.

If your first hires will be engineers in India, our guide to hiring developers in India from a US company compares contractors, an EOR and your own entity at different team sizes.