Deel vs Remote vs Oyster: Hire Anywhere Without Opening a Company Abroad

As of 12 October 2026, Deel lists its Employer of Record (EOR) service at $599 per employee per month, Remote at $599 on annual billing or $699 month to month, and Oyster at USD 699 with annual discounts it does not quantify. All three say you can hire in another country without setting up a local company. The real differences are country coverage, contractor tools and what each vendor says about deposits.

This comparison uses only the vendors' published pages and US Department of Labor guidance. We did not test any of the platforms. Every price and country count below is the company's own claim.

What does an Employer of Record actually do?

An EOR becomes the legal employer of your worker in a country where you have no entity. The vendor says it handles the contract, payroll, tax filings, benefits and compliance, and you manage the work itself. Deel describes its EOR as handling "contracts, payroll, benefits, and compliance," and Remote lists onboarding with a dedicated specialist, local payroll and built-in compliance protections.

For a recruiting or HR agency owner, this matters in two cases: placing a candidate who needs to be employed in their home country, and hiring your own remote staff abroad. The platform fee is only one part of the bill, because salary, employer taxes and benefits are separate.

How do Deel, Remote and Oyster compare at a glance?

The table uses each vendor's own pricing pages, read on 12 October 2026. Prices are USD per person per month unless stated.

Remote also lists global payroll at $29 per employee per month. Neither Oyster's nor Deel's pricing page lists a standalone payroll price.

How much does each EOR really cost per year?

Take a five-person team hired through an EOR for 12 months, platform fees only. At Deel's $599, that is 5 x $599 x 12 = $35,940. Remote on annual billing is the same $35,940, while Remote month to month at $699 is $41,940, a $6,000 gap. Oyster at its $699 list price is $41,940 before any annual discount.

That math excludes salaries, employer taxes, benefits, deposits and add-ons. Oyster, for example, lists People Partner Services at USD 300 per hour and visa sponsorship as an add-on with no price shown. Ask each vendor for a written quote for your country and role.

Which provider covers the most countries?

It depends on whose number you believe, and the vendors' own pages disagree. Remote states 90+ countries for EOR. Oyster states 120+ countries for employment and 180+ for contractor contracts. Deel's pricing page says 130+ countries next to the EOR price, while its EOR page uses 100+ in the description, 130+ for owned entities and 150+ for local laws.

Treat these as marketing figures. Check your target country by name, and ask whether the vendor employs through its own entity or a partner, since that affects who carries the local obligations.

Should I hire a contractor instead of using an EOR?

Only if the person is truly running their own business. Contractor tools are cheaper: Remote and Oyster list $29 per contractor per month, Deel lists $49. But the label on the contract does not settle the question.

In the US, the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 13 says the test is whether the worker is economically dependent on the employer or in business for themself, judged on the totality of circumstances. It lists six factors:

1. Opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill
2. Investments by the worker and the employer
3. Degree of permanence of the work relationship
4. Nature and degree of control
5. Extent to which the work is an integral part of the employer's business
6. Skill and initiative

The same fact sheet says a job title, a 1099 or a signed contractor agreement does not decide status. This is a US federal wage-and-hour test. Other countries apply their own rules, so a contractor in another country needs local advice.

What protections do the contractor products add?

Each vendor sells a way to shift or insure some classification risk, and each is a company claim. Deel offers a Contractor of Record at $325 per contractor per month, which it says shifts liability to Deel. Remote's Contractor of Record starts from $325, and its Contractor Management Plus tier at $99 includes "Coverage up to $100,000 per contractor for penalties." Oyster's contractor product includes an employee misclassification analyzer and an add-on called Oyster Shell with aggregate protection up to USD $500,000, with no price shown.

Remote also says it offers unlimited indemnity to EOR customers. Read the contract terms before relying on any of these, because coverage limits and exclusions are in the legal documents, not on the pricing page.

Which one fits which kind of company?

These are judgments from the published price and feature lists, not test results.

• Small team hiring a few people abroad with a long horizon: Deel's $599 with month-to-month terms, or Remote's $599 on an annual commitment, are the lowest listed EOR prices. Remote's month-to-month $699 matches Oyster's list price.
• Teams that mainly use contractors: Remote and Oyster list the lowest contractor fee at $29. Oyster adds a 30-day free period.
• Teams that want one vendor for employees, contractors and payroll: Remote publishes all three prices in one place. Deel also publishes EOR, PEO and contractor prices.
• Agencies placing candidates in less common countries: coverage lists matter more than price. Ask for your exact country in writing.

If your agency also runs an applicant tracking system, note that Desk of HR is affiliated with Sortinghat, a staffing ATS and CRM. None of the three EOR vendors here is a staffing ATS, and the rankings above do not depend on that relationship. For domestic payroll costs, see our Gusto vs ADP vs Paychex cost comparison.

What's still unclear?

Several points cannot be settled from public pages.

• Oyster's annual price. The pricing page says "Annual discounts available" but does not give a number.- Deposit amounts. Oyster says its deposit is refundable but does not publish the amount. Remote says reserves apply only in rare high-risk cases. Deel lists none.
• Country counts. Deel's own pages use three different numbers, and no vendor publishes a country-by-country list on its pricing page.
• Employer on-costs. Employer taxes and benefits vary by country and are billed on top of the platform fee. No vendor publishes a single figure.
• US contractor rules are moving. Fact Sheet 13 notes that the 2024 rule is the subject of litigation, and that DOL announced a proposed rule on 26 February 2026 (comments closed 28 April 2026). The six-factor test above may change.
• Weakest point of this comparison. It rests on list prices and company claims. Service quality, onboarding speed and support are not measured here, and an EOR does not remove the need for local legal advice on your specific hire.

Last checked: 12 October 2026.