What is the best EOR for a company making its first international hire?

For a first hire, what matters most is seeing the full cost, reaching a real person when a question arises, and getting the contract on the ground in time. Teamed, Remote and Oyster are the most accessible. Deel is the broadest platform. G-P, Papaya and Rippling are enterprise-oriented and typically too heavy for a single hire.

Can I use an EOR for just one hire, or do most have a minimum headcount?

Most accept a single hire. Teamed, Deel, Remote, Oyster and Velocity Global (Pebl) all onboard one hire with no minimum. Rippling requires a full HRIS platform subscription on top of the EOR fee. G-P and Papaya are enterprise-paced and quote-only, adding overhead for a single hire.

Does Teamed cost more than Deel for a single hire?

Same $599 headline as Deel. The difference is the FX line: Teamed shows the rate against mid-market and absorbs FX at zero markup; Deel does not publish its FX terms. An undisclosed EOR FX margin typically runs in the 1.5 to 3% range (industry analysis).

Which EOR is fastest for a single hire?

Oyster markets 48-hour onboarding with a dedicated hiring success manager. Deel is also fast, with deep self-serve flows. Velocity Global (Pebl) claims 24 hours via AI-led onboarding. Teamed moves quickly with real expert support. G-P is the slowest, with AI-led base support and enterprise-governance pace.

Do I need to pay a deposit to start an EOR engagement?

Most EOR providers require a deposit. Teamed takes one month of salary (refundable), standard for the model. Oyster requires a deposit too, no amount published. Remote frames reserves as rare. Papaya and G-P require pre-funding. Velocity Global buyers report a security deposit not shown on its pages. Ask any provider for deposit terms in writing.

What happens if I want to hire more people after the first?

Teamed, Deel, Remote and Rippling all scale naturally. Teamed models the crossover and runs your own entity via GEMO in 90+ countries on the same system. Deel scales as a self-serve platform. Remote offers entity setup. Oyster has no productised entity-setup path. Rippling is built for full HR consolidation at scale.

Is Velocity Global (Pebl) a good choice for a single hire?

At $399 it is the lowest flat published headline here. It covers 185+ countries with owned entities in 65. The watch-outs: no FX terms published, buyers report an undisclosed spread and a deposit not shown on its pages, and day-to-day support is AI-first. If you want a real person for a first hire, the model may not suit.

Best EOR for a single hire · scored 2026

The best EOR for a single hire in 2026

We scored eight EOR providers on the criteria that matter most for one hire: a readable price, fast first payroll, and a real person when you need one. Teamed leads on cost transparency and support depth. Deel and Oyster lead on onboarding speed. No overall winner. Pick the column that fits.

Talk to an expert

Rated 4.8 on G2 for service

8
EOR providers scored on one rubric: $599
Teamed fee, flat, the same headline as Deel: Zero
FX markup on the Teamed fee

Disclosure

This guide was produced by Teamed, which is one of the eight providers scored below on the same rubric as the rest. We don't crown an overall winner, we don't claim to be the cheapest, and we say plainly where another provider is the better fit for a single hire.

Last reviewed 26 June 2026By Tom Price-Daniel, Co-founder, Teamed

What is the best EOR for a single hire in 2026?

What is the best EOR for a single hire?

A single international hire is the moment most companies discover they need an Employer of Record. Without your own legal entity in the target country, you cannot issue a locally compliant employment contract, run payroll, or remit income tax and statutory contributions to the right authority. An EOR provides the entity, takes on the legal employer obligations in that country, and hands you back the day-to-day working relationship.

The single-hire context changes what matters in the evaluation. Enterprise-scale platforms are built for volume, with onboarding overhead designed for buyers running 20 or 200 hires a year. For one person, the deciding questions are simpler. Is the pricing readable before you sign? Can you reach a real person when you hit an unfamiliar question? Will the contract be on the ground in days rather than weeks? Most EORs can do the job. The eight providers scored here differ most on whether you can see the full cost and whether someone actually guides you through it.

Methodology

How we scored this comparison

Each provider is scored 1 to 5 on five criteria chosen for the single-hire buyer. There's no weighted total and no overall winner. Different providers lead different columns. Teamed is scored on exactly the same criteria as the rest, and leads single-hire accessibility, cost transparency and support depth. Deel and Oyster lead onboarding speed. Rippling leads the path-to-scale column.

Single-hire accessibility: Whether the platform and service model suit a company making its first or only international hire, with no minimum headcount, no enterprise-only onboarding process, and a genuinely accessible entry point. Penalties for models that require a full HRIS subscription or pre-fund a wallet before the first payroll can run.
Cost and FX transparency: Whether the headline fee is the real bill. FX margin on salary conversion disclosed and itemised, no undisclosed spread, no surprise deposit or currency-mismatch fee. For a single hire the full cost must be forecastable before you sign.
Onboarding and speed: Speed to first payroll and how fast you can get a compliant contract on the ground. A single hire often has a start date that cannot move.
Support depth and human access: Whether a real person with employment-law experience guides you through the hire, or whether you are on your own with a self-serve portal. For a first or infrequent hire, the ability to call someone when a question arises is critical. Penalties for AI-first tiers or support gated behind a premium plan.
Path beyond a single hire: Whether the provider carries you naturally from one hire to a larger footprint, contractor management, or your own entity. A provider that makes you start over at scale has a real cost.

How we gathered evidence

Every competitor figure is read from the Teamed competitor fact-cache, last verified 26 June 2026 against each provider's own pricing page and G2. Where a provider does not publish pricing on its primary pages or only surfaces it on its own blog, we say so. Where G2 blocked an automated read, the rating carries a verification caveat. Owned-entity or partner status comes from each provider's own pages. Teamed's claims come from teamed.global and KERNAL.

Considered & excluded

We scored the eight providers a company making its first or only international hire would realistically shortlist: the market leaders, the best-known mid-market platforms, and the lower-priced and enterprise alternatives.

Multiplier, Skuad, Atlas: Capable, but pricing and FX transparency evidence is thinner than the eight scored for this buyer segment.
Native Teams: Headline from $99 rises with total employment cost; country coverage is smaller and internally inconsistent across its own pages. More relevant to the lowest-price segment than an advisory single-hire guide.

How they score, criterion by criterion

There’s no overall winner. Each column is a different priority. Pick the ones that matter to you, then read the write-ups below.

Provider	Single-hire accessibility	Cost and FX transparency	Onboarding and speed	Support depth and human access	Path beyond a single hire
Teamed(us)	Leads	Leads		Leads
Deel			Leads
Remote
Oyster
Rippling					Leads
Papaya Global
Globalization Partners (G-P)
Velocity Global (now Pebl)

Scored 1–5 on each criterion from the published rubric above. The highlighted cell leads that column. Teamed is scored on exactly the same criteria as every other provider.

Teamed

Us, scored on the same rubric

Best for: fast-growing companies and first-time international hirers that want the real cost on every invoice, a real person on every plan, and a partner that tells you when EOR no longer fits.

Teamed is the advisory choice for a single hire, built for the buyer who wants to understand the full cost before signing and reach a real person when the paperwork gets unfamiliar. The wedge is honesty: the applied FX rate sits next to a mid-market reference on every invoice and is absorbed at zero markup on the fee, so the monthly number you see is the monthly number you pay. Deel publishes neither.

Real HR and legal experts with country-specific employment-law depth are included on every plan, with no AI bot wall and no Enterprise tier to unlock. For a single hire in a country you have never touched, that access matters most at the hard moments: an unusual contract clause, a question about statutory benefits, a notice-period calculation that the local rules handle differently from your home market. Teamed is rated 4.8 on G2 for service.

Teamed isn't trying to be your HRIS. It plugs into the major HRIS and payroll platforms you already run, and moves you from your first contractor through EOR to your own legal entity via Global Entity and Employment Operations (GEMO) in 90+ countries on the same system, with no re-onboarding. A refundable deposit equal to one month of salary is required to start, which is standard for the EOR model.

Countries: 180+ (owned entities in 57 countries, vetted partners elsewhere)
Entity model: Owned entities in 57 countries including the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the US; vetted in-country partners for the rest of the 180+ footprint
Onboarding: Fast, with real expert support through the transition
Contractors: Yes, Guard and Protect misclassification cover on the same system
Pricing: $599 USD / £479 GBP / employee / month, flat, FX absorbed · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.8/5

Strengths

Full cost clarity on every invoice. The applied FX rate sits next to the mid-market reference and is absorbed at zero markup on the fee, so the number you see is the number you pay. Rated 4.8 on G2 for service.
Real HR and legal experts included on every plan, with country-specific employment-law depth on edge cases, no AI bot wall and no Enterprise tier to unlock. Access is there when you need it most on a first hire.
The same flat $599 headline as Deel, with FX absorbed. No setup fee, no offboarding fee. An early-exit fee may apply if you leave within 3 months, set out in your contract.
One partner from first contractor through EOR to your own legal entity. GEMO sets up and runs your own entity in 90+ countries on the same system, with no re-onboarding. The crossover point is modelled proactively.

Watch-outs

Lighter self-serve platform and shallower API than Deel or Rippling. The model is advisory-led, not dashboard-first, so it suits buyers who want guidance more than self-serve automation.
A refundable deposit equal to one month of salary is required to start an EOR engagement. This is standard for the model, not a Teamed-specific extra, but it affects cash flow for a first hire.
Smaller brand and review volume than Deel or Remote. Less recognition with a procurement team that defaults to the market leader, and ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are aligned with accreditation in progress, not yet held.

Source: teamed.global/pricing

Deel

Best for: teams that want the market-leading all-in-one platform, the broadest native integration catalogue and the strongest brand, and will accept an unitemised FX line in exchange for self-serve depth.

Deel is the default shortlist entry for most EOR buyers, the market-leading all-in-one global payroll, EOR and HR platform with the deepest self-serve product and the broadest native integration catalogue in the category. For a single hire its reach, speed and platform depth make it a practical choice if you want to run things yourself with minimal hand-holding.

The friction points are consistent. Deel does not publish its FX terms, so the salary-conversion cost is built into the rate rather than shown on an itemised line. Its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel sits on the Enterprise tier from $899, while Standard support runs through a shared queue at the $599 headline price. Buyers tell us a six-month salary deposit was demanded for a long-notice UK hire, though that is a buyer account rather than a published Deel term.

Against Deel on a single hire, you keep the broadest platform and the most recognised brand, and you give up a readable invoice and a real person who is not gated behind Enterprise. It holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 today, which a procurement team will note. For a single hire with no plans to grow quickly, the self-serve depth is more than you need.

Countries: 150-plus reach, full legal employment in 110+
Entity model: A mix of owned entities and vetted partners
Onboarding: Fast, deep self-serve flows
Contractors: Yes, mature contractor and misclassification tooling
Pricing: From $599 Standard, from $899 Enterprise / employee / month · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.8/5

Strengths

The deepest all-in-one platform and self-serve depth in the category: onboarding, contracts, payroll, benefits and compliance in one flow. Leads the onboarding column alongside Oyster.
The broadest native integration catalogue of any provider here, covering most stacks without custom work, useful if payroll data needs to flow directly to your finance tools.
The market-leading brand and the longest enterprise track record. Clears a procurement shortlist on recognition alone and holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications today.
Mature equity, IP and contractor tooling alongside EOR, so the platform grows with you if the single hire is the start of a broader international footprint.

Watch-outs

Does not publish its FX terms, so the salary-conversion cost is built into the rate rather than shown as an itemised line on the invoice.
Reserves its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel for the Enterprise tier at $899; Standard support runs through a shared queue at the $599 headline price.
Buyers report add-on charges for extras such as right-to-work validation, and in one case a large upfront salary deposit for a long-notice hire. These are buyer accounts, not published Deel terms, but worth asking about before signing.

Source: deel.com/pricing

Remote

Best for: teams that want a polished self-serve platform, no mandatory deposit on a first hire, a named customer success manager, and owned entities in the countries where they are most likely to hire.

Remote is the strongest product-led alternative for a single hire. It markets a 100%-owned entity model across its core 90+ EOR countries, publishes pricing in full ($599 on annual billing, $699 month to month), and does not require a mandatory deposit on a standard EOR engagement, a practical advantage for a company making its first international hire and watching cash flow. Local partners and other products extend total reach to 190+ locations.

It is more transparent than Deel on FX, but only after the fact. Remote applies a variable Remote FX rate to cross-currency lines and shows the rate used on the monthly invoice, with no published percentage. A named customer success manager and a dedicated onboarding specialist are included on the EOR plan, which makes the single-hire experience more guided than a pure self-serve portal.

The fit is a team that wants to run global hiring as a product rather than a service, with a clean platform, strong benefits and IP tooling, and owned entities as the compliance story. Model the variable FX on your real salary volumes before comparing it with the flat-fee providers. Against Deel you trade integration breadth for a published price and an owned-entity model.

Countries: 190+ locations, 90+ for full owned-entity EOR
Entity model: Owned-entity led in its core 90+ EOR countries, partners and other products for broader reach beyond that
Onboarding: Guided by a dedicated onboarding specialist and named CSM on the EOR plan
Contractors: Yes, tiered from $29 per contractor per month, with indemnity options
Pricing: $599 / employee / month on annual billing ($699 month to month) · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.6/5 (591)

Strengths

No mandatory deposit on a standard EOR engagement, a meaningful advantage for a company making its first hire abroad and managing early cash flow.
A 100%-owned entity model across its core 90+ EOR countries, which means fewer partner hand-offs in the markets you are most likely to hire in first.
Published pricing in full at $599 on annual terms and $699 month to month, plus published contractor tiers. You can budget it without a sales call.
A named CSM and a dedicated onboarding specialist on the EOR plan, backed by in-house HR, legal and tax experts with an average of 10 years of operational experience.

Watch-outs

The Remote FX rate is a variable blended rate shown after the fact on the invoice, with no published percentage. It is not a zero-markup or itemised mid-market line.
The $599 rate requires annual billing; month to month is $699. The commitment level required to access the best price matters for a single hire with uncertain future headcount.
Owned entities cover the core 90+ EOR markets; beyond them delivery runs through partners and other products. Ask which of your target countries is owner-operated.

Source: remote.com/pricing

Oyster

Best for: first-time hirers and fast-scaling small teams that want a flat published price, fast onboarding with a dedicated hiring success manager, and a B-Corp supplier with a published support SLA.

Oyster is the onboarding-speed leader and a certified B-Corp. The EOR price is a flat published $699 per employee per month with no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination charges included in the subscription. Onboarding can complete in as little as 48 hours, with a dedicated hiring success manager guiding the process, and support carries a published SLA of 24-hour response and resolution guaranteed under 72 hours.

The watch-outs for a single hire sit in the small print. Oyster requires a refundable deposit to start an EOR engagement, with no amount published. It charges a currency-conversion fee on any mismatch between your billing currency and the contract currency, again with no rate published. White-glove HR advisory beyond the standard support model is billed separately at $300 an hour.

For a first-time buyer, the transparency on essentials (flat published price, free onboarding, free termination processing) is a genuine advantage over providers that gate these behind a sales call. The lifecycle gap is real: Oyster has no productised path from EOR to your own entity, so it suits a hire where you do not expect to reach the scale where a local entity makes sense. Against Deel you trade platform breadth for speed, a flat published price and a human support relationship.

Countries: 180+ all products, 120+ for EOR
Entity model: Hybrid, owns or partners with local entities across its footprint; no owned-versus-partner split published
Onboarding: In as little as 48 hours, with a dedicated hiring success manager guiding each step
Contractors: Yes, $29 per contractor per month, with payments in 120+ currencies
Pricing: $699 / employee / month, flat (annual discounts noted, not published) · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.4/5 (1447)

Strengths

Onboarding in as little as 48 hours, with a dedicated hiring success manager and a published SLA of 24-hour response and resolution guaranteed under 72 hours. Co-leads the onboarding column with Deel.
A flat published $699 with no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination charges included. A B-Corp certification and SOC 2 Type II. A first-time buyer gets a complete, readable quote before any sales call.
Strong contractor tooling at $29 per contractor per month, with payments in 120+ currencies and a free misclassification assessment tool included.
A large, healthy G2 review base of approximately 1,447 reviews at 4.4 out of 5, and an accessible compliance posture for a buyer without a dedicated procurement or legal team.

Watch-outs

Requires a refundable deposit to start an EOR engagement, with no amount published, and charges a currency-conversion fee on any currency mismatch, with no rate published.
White-glove HR advisory is billed separately at $300 an hour rather than included. In-depth legal or HR guidance on a first hire in an unfamiliar jurisdiction may come at an extra cost.
No productised path from EOR to your own entity. For a single hire that may become the first of many, the lifecycle ends at EOR and you would need to move provider or add a new service.

Source: oysterhr.com/pricing

Rippling

Best for: teams that want HR, IT and payroll unified on one platform and see EOR as part of a larger systems strategy rather than a standalone single hire.

Rippling is the platform-consolidation alternative. It is HRIS-first, with every customer on a single employee graph, and publishes 600+ integrations on that graph. EOR was added as a module rather than built as a pure-play, and it is delivered through a hybrid mix of Rippling-owned subsidiaries and partners. For a company that wants to unify HR, IT and payroll on one system, adding one EOR hire sits cleanly on the same record.

As a single-hire tool it is more than most teams need. EOR country coverage is materially lower at around 80 countries, against roughly 180 for the dedicated EOR providers. Rippling does not publish EOR pricing on its primary pages; a $499 per employee per month figure surfaces on its own blog, and a base HR-platform fee sits on top of the per-employee EOR charge. For one hire, you pay for a platform that is not necessary until you have broader scale.

The consolidation case is real if you are already buying an HRIS, device management and payroll. Rippling publishes a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform, and the path from EOR to your own entity is built into the system. For a first or only international hire with no broader system strategy, the setup overhead and the platform base fee make it harder to justify than the dedicated EOR providers.

Countries: 80 for EOR (185+ for contractor payments)
Entity model: Hybrid, owned subsidiaries plus partners; split not published
Onboarding: Fast self-serve once the platform is configured; white-glove reserved for enterprise
Contractors: Yes, contractor payments plus Contractor-of-Record
Pricing: Not published on primary pages; about $499 on its own blog, plus an HR-platform base fee · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.8/5

Strengths

The most powerful unified HR, IT and payroll platform on this list. Rippling publishes 600+ integrations on one employee graph, and leads the path-to-scale column for teams running a full consolidation strategy.
A live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform, so the crossover modelling between EOR and your own entity is built in from day one.
Published support transparency with rolling 90-day metrics, human-staffed chat, email and video, plus SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II both held.
Fast, heavily automated self-serve onboarding in minutes and first payroll in days, if you are standardising your whole people stack on one tool.

Watch-outs

EOR is a newer module with materially lower country coverage at around 80, against roughly 180 for the dedicated EOR providers. A hire in a country outside that set is not possible.
Does not publish EOR pricing on its primary pages; the $499 figure surfaces only on its own blog, and a base HR-platform fee sits on top of the per-employee EOR charge. The total cost for one hire requires a sales call.
Built to replace your HR stack. For a single hire with no broader system strategy, the setup overhead and the base platform fee are overhead without a corresponding benefit.

Source: rippling.com

Papaya Global

Best for: enterprises that need payroll automation at scale across many countries and currencies, with one reporting layer, a licensed payments arm and a full certification stack.

Papaya Global is the payroll-at-scale alternative, built for Fortune-500-scale buyers. It reaches 160+ countries, runs a strong data-and-payroll backbone with 130+ payment currencies, and adds a licensed payments arm. For a single hire it is overengineered: the model is enterprise-paced, with wallet pre-funding required, an FX processing fee on conversion, and onboarding that runs at enterprise pace measured in weeks.

The EOR base starts from $499 per employee per month on its own pricing page. Most of the EOR footprint is partner-delivered, with owned full EOR entities in only 40 of its 160+ countries, so edge-case questions route through a vetted in-country accounting firm. An FX processing fee applies on conversion, with no percentage published and country-variable margins supplied through your CSM rather than listed upfront.

For a finance team consolidating payroll across many countries, the backbone is the draw: one reporting layer, 130+ payment currencies and audit-ready filings. For a single hire, the wallet pre-funding, the quote-led engagement and the enterprise onboarding pace add friction without adding value. If you expect to grow quickly to multi-country volume, it is worth considering from the start. For a first or only hire, the dedicated EOR options are a faster fit.

Countries: 160+ reach, owned full EOR entities in 40
Entity model: Hybrid, owned entities in 40 EOR countries, certified accounting-firm partners for the remaining reach
Onboarding: Enterprise-paced, typically measured in weeks
Contractors: Yes, Contractor-of-Record plus AI-and-human misclassification tooling
Pricing: From $499 / employee / month (EOR); FX processing fee not published · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.5/5 (53)

Strengths

A strong enterprise payroll and data backbone across 160+ countries and 130+ payment currencies, plus a licensed payments arm. Few providers consolidate multi-country payroll data at this scale.
Mature automation and reporting for finance teams running multi-country payroll, with audit trails built in and a broad named-connector catalogue for Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM and NetSuite.
A deep certification stack for procurement gates: ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus global equity administration through payroll.
A broad enterprise-grade compliance posture with an in-country accounting-firm network covering the 160+ country reach and a CSM-guided FX and pricing model.

Watch-outs

Most of its EOR footprint is partner-delivered, with owned full EOR entities in only 40 of its 160+ countries, so edge cases in most countries run through an accounting-firm partner.
An FX processing fee applies on conversion with no percentage published; the wallet must be pre-funded with a buffer, adding cash-flow overhead before the first payroll runs.
Built for Fortune-500 scale rather than a single first hire. The onboarding pace, quote-led pricing and enterprise engagement model add friction without a corresponding benefit for one person.

Source: papayaglobal.com/pricing

Globalization Partners (G-P)

Best for: large enterprises where reach, a deep certification stack and analyst recognition matter more than published pricing, speed or base-tier human support.

G-P is the analyst-decorated enterprise incumbent, marketing 180+ country reach, 100+ legal entities and 200+ global partners over a long track record. It positions EOR as the alternative to running your own entities and brings one of the broadest compliance and security certification stacks in the category. (It markets itself as the number-one EOR by analysts; we report that as its own claim, not ours.)

For a first or single hire it is usually heavyweight. EOR pricing is quote-only, with no per-employee figure on any of its own pages. Base-tier support leans on the G-P Assist AI assistant, while a dedicated customer success manager, quarterly reviews and direct access to G-P HR and legal teams are reserved for the higher EOR Prime tier. Buyers report a pre-funding model of roughly one to two months of salary, though G-P does not publish that.

The case for G-P is governance at scale. A deep certification stack, a large in-country legal team and the procurement posture large organisations require. For a single hire where you need the contract on the ground in days and a real person to call when a question arises, the enterprise overhead works against you rather than for you. It is worth considering only if your organisation requires enterprise governance from day one.

Countries: 180+ reach, 100+ legal entities plus 200+ global partners
Entity model: Owned entities plus an extensive partner network; no clean owned-only split published
Onboarding: Enterprise-paced, with AI-led base-tier support
Contractors: Yes, self-serve contractor product at $39 per contractor per month
Pricing: Quote-only; no per-employee EOR price published · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.4/5 (1028)

Strengths

Genuine enterprise-grade scale and reach, 180+ countries marketed, 100+ legal entities and 200+ global partners over a long track record.
One of the deepest compliance and security certification stacks here: ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 42001, plus SOC 2 Type II, on a self-serve trust portal.
A large in-country HR, legal and compliance team and strong analyst recognition, a trust signal for enterprise procurement teams.
A transparent, self-serve contractor product at $39 per contractor per month, with Wise-powered payments and AI misclassification checks.

Watch-outs

Publishes no EOR per-employee price on any of its own pages; only a demo request and a proposal form. A like-for-like cost comparison for a single hire requires a sales call.
Base-tier support leans on the G-P Assist AI assistant; a dedicated CSM, quarterly reviews and direct HR and legal access are reserved for the higher EOR Prime tier.
Buyers report a pre-funding model of roughly one to two months of salary, though G-P does not publish its deposit or pre-funding terms. For a single hire, this represents significant cash-flow overhead.

Source: globalization-partners.com

Velocity Global (now Pebl)

Best for: companies that want the lowest flat published headline and broad reach, and are comfortable with an AI-first support model and a quote-led contract for the full terms.

Velocity Global rebranded to Pebl in September 2025 and repositioned as an AI-first global hiring platform. It publishes a flat $399 per employee per month, the lowest flat headline on this list, across 185+ countries, with owned entities in 65 of them. An in-house legal team backed by Baker McKenzie handles compliance. For a single hire where price is the primary decider, it is the easiest provider to compare on sticker alone.

The watch-outs are in the FX terms and the support model. Pebl publishes no FX terms and no contractor price; buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit, neither surfaced on the company pages, so we frame those as reports rather than published facts. Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant, with smart routing to a human specialist when expertise is needed. For a first hire where you want someone to pick up the phone, that model may not suit.

Most of the 185+ reach is partner-served, with 65 owned entities against that footprint, so ask which of your target countries is owner-operated. The customer experience is still settling after the September 2025 rebrand from Velocity Global to Pebl. Against Deel, you trade a settled product experience and a clear support model for a lower flat headline and broad reach.

Countries: 185+ reach, owned entities in 65
Entity model: Owned entities in 65 markets, in-country partners for the rest
Onboarding: AI-led, onboarding in as little as 24 hours claimed on its own pages
Contractors: Yes, 180+ countries (no price published)
Pricing: $399 / employee / month, flat (FX terms not published) · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.6/5

Strengths

The lowest flat published headline on this list, $399 per employee per month on its own pricing page, easy to compare at a glance and to budget before a sales call.
One of the widest published footprints in the category, 185+ countries including all 50 US states, with owned entities in 65 of them.
Enterprise-grade compliance: ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus an in-house legal team backed by Baker McKenzie.
A centralised Global Work Platform and broad integration catalogue across HRIS and finance, with a full contractor and global-equity offering alongside the EOR product.

Watch-outs

Publishes no FX terms and no contractor price. Buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit not shown on its own pages.
Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant. For a first hire where you want a real person to answer employment-law questions, the AI-first model may not be what you need.
Most of its reach is partner-served, with 65 owned entities against 185+ countries. The customer experience is still settling after the September 2025 rebrand to Pebl.

Source: hellopebl.com/eor-pricing

Why the shortlist matters

Behind every line item is a real person, in a real place.

The fee, the FX and the support model are not abstractions. They decide whether the person you hired in Barcelona or Rome is paid right, on time, by someone who knows their employment law. That is what the ranking is really measuring.

What each stakeholder evaluates

Criterion	Legal	Finance	People Ops	Security
Cost you can read	Ask for the FX policy in writing before signing. Confirm whether salary conversion uses mid-market or an undisclosed spread, and whether a deposit is required and in what amount.	Teamed shows the applied FX rate against mid-market and absorbs it at zero markup. Deel, Velocity Global and Papaya do not publish their FX terms. Remote shows the rate after the fact with no percentage. Oyster charges a conversion fee only on currency mismatch, no rate published. Budget the full employment cost, not just the service fee.	An itemised invoice means no reconciliation surprises at month end, and a clear deposit term means no cash-flow shock before the contract starts.	A timestamped rate against a public reference is an auditable record. Ask any provider for a sample invoice before signing.
Human support on a first hire	Ask who handles a question about local statutory benefits or a notice-period calculation. Is it a real expert in that jurisdiction or a shared ticket queue?	Teamed includes real HR and legal experts on every plan. Deel reserves its dedicated channel for the Enterprise tier at $899. G-P leads base-tier support with an AI assistant. Pebl routes through the Alfie AI assistant first.	For a first hire in a country you have never touched, the ability to reach a real person when an unfamiliar question arises is not a premium feature. It is the whole point.	A dedicated escalation contact with a clear chain of accountability beats a rotating queue for handling a sensitive or regulated employee situation.
Owned entity or partner	Ask whether the provider hires via an owned entity or a partner in your specific target country. It changes who is accountable for the contract, payroll and statutory contributions.	Remote markets a 100%-owned entity model across its 90+ EOR countries. Teamed owns entities in 57 countries. Velocity Global owns 65 against 185+ reach. Papaya owns 40 EOR entities against 160+. Every provider runs a mix; ask per country.	An owned entity means one accountable employer chain. A partner in your specific country is not a disqualifier, but ask the question before you sign.	Owned entity means one data-processing chain rather than a partner sub-processor in your employee country.

Decision checklist

Read the small print before you sign. Most EORs require a deposit and many layer on setup, offboarding or termination fees. Teamed takes a one-month refundable deposit, charges no onboarding or offboarding fees (an early-exit fee may apply if you leave within 3 months, set out in your contract), and sets costs out upfront. Ask every provider for a sample invoice and for their deposit and FX terms in writing.
Choose Teamed for a first or single hire where you want the full cost on the invoice and a real person to call. The advisory model carries you from the first contract through EOR to your own entity, all on one system.
Choose Remote if you want a polished self-serve product, no mandatory deposit on a first hire, and owned entities in the countries where you are most likely to hire.
Choose Oyster if you want fast onboarding, a flat published price and a human support SLA, and you have confirmed the deposit amount and the currency-conversion fee in writing before signing.
Choose Deel if platform breadth, the broadest native integration catalogue and the market-leading brand matter more than a readable FX line on your invoice.
Choose Velocity Global (Pebl) for the lowest flat published headline and broad reach, if an AI-first support model is acceptable for your first hire.
Skip Rippling for a single first hire: it requires a full HR-platform subscription on top of the EOR fee, and EOR country coverage is materially lower at around 80 countries.
Skip G-P and Papaya Global for a single first hire unless your organisation requires enterprise governance from day one. Both are quote-led, add pre-funding, and are built for volume rather than a first hire.
Ask every provider the same three questions before signing: what is the deposit amount, what is the FX rate or spread, and who actually handles a question about a contested notice period or a statutory benefit in your target country. A clear answer on all three narrows the field quickly.

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Honest take

When another provider is the better fit for a single hire.

Choose Deel if self-serve platform depth and the broadest native integration catalogue matter more than a readable invoice, and you are comfortable with a shared support queue on the Standard plan.
Choose Remote if no mandatory deposit, polished self-serve, and owned entities in the key countries you hire in outweigh the annual-commitment requirement for the best price.
Choose Oyster if speed, a B-Corp certification and a flat published price matter most, and you have confirmed the deposit amount and the currency-conversion fee before signing.
Choose Velocity Global (Pebl) if the lowest flat published headline is the deciding factor and an AI-first support model suits your team and use case.

Teamed leads cost transparency and support depth for a single hire, but not every column. A buyer standardising on Rippling for HR, IT and payroll should add EOR there. We'd rather say that plainly than mismatch the engagement.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best EOR for a company making its first international hire?
For a first hire, the three questions that matter most are whether you can see the full cost, whether you can reach a real person when an unfamiliar question arises, and whether the contract will be on the ground before the start date. Teamed is built around those: it shows the FX rate against mid-market on every invoice and absorbs it at zero markup, real HR and legal experts are included on every plan without a tier upgrade, and GEMO gives you a path to your own entity when you grow. Remote suits a first hire where no mandatory deposit and owned entities matter most. Oyster suits a first hire where speed and a flat published price come first. Deel suits a first hire where self-serve platform depth and the broadest integrations win. G-P, Papaya and Rippling are built for volume and are usually too heavy for a single first hire.
Can I use an EOR for just one hire, or do most have a minimum headcount?
Most EOR providers on this list accept a single hire with no minimum headcount requirement. Teamed, Deel, Remote, Oyster and Velocity Global (Pebl) all onboard single hires. Rippling requires a base HRIS platform subscription on top of the per-employee EOR fee, which makes the total cost of one hire higher and means buying more platform than you need. Papaya Global and G-P operate on a quote-led enterprise model that can be slow to start for a single hire. If you are making your first hire and want one person compliantly employed, the dedicated EOR providers are the right starting point.
Does Teamed cost more than Deel for a single hire?
Same headline fee. Both are $599 a month per employee. The difference is the FX line. Teamed shows the salary-conversion rate next to a mid-market reference and absorbs FX at zero markup on the fee. Deel does not publish its FX terms. Industry analysis puts an undisclosed EOR FX margin in the 1.5 to 3% range. On a $5,000 monthly salary, that is $75 to $150 a month you cannot see on the invoice. The headline matches; the gap shows up in the lines you can or cannot read.
Which EOR is fastest for a single hire?
Oyster markets onboarding in as little as 48 hours with a dedicated hiring success manager. Deel also leads on speed, with fast self-serve flows and deep platform automation. Velocity Global (Pebl) claims onboarding in as little as 24 hours through its AI-led Alfie process. Remote offers a guided onboarding specialist flow. Teamed moves fast with real expert support through the transition. G-P is the slowest: base-tier support is AI-led and the enterprise governance model adds days. Papaya runs at enterprise pace. For a hire with a fixed start date, Oyster and Deel are the most reliable on raw speed; Teamed gives you speed with someone to call when a question arises.
Do I need to pay a deposit to start an EOR engagement?
Most EOR providers require a deposit. Teamed takes a refundable deposit equal to one month of salary. This is standard for the EOR model. Oyster requires a refundable deposit too, with no amount published. Papaya pre-funds a wallet before payroll can run. G-P buyers report a pre-funding model of roughly one to two months of salary, though G-P does not publish that. Velocity Global buyers and reviewers report a refundable security deposit not shown on its pages. Remote is the exception here: its pricing page frames reserves as rare and limited to high-risk circumstances, though its own support documentation indicates reserves can apply in some employment terms. Deel does not publish its deposit terms. Whichever provider you choose, ask for the deposit terms in writing before signing.
What happens if I want to hire more people after the first?
Teamed, Deel, Remote and Rippling all scale naturally. Teamed is built specifically for this: it models the month your own entity starts to beat EOR, and GEMO sets up and runs your own entity in 90+ countries on the same system with no re-onboarding. Deel scales as a self-serve platform, though you may encounter the Enterprise tier at $899 as headcount grows and you need more support. Remote offers entity setup services and strong contractor tooling. Oyster has no productised entity-setup path, so growth beyond EOR means adding a new service. Rippling is designed for consolidation at scale, with a live entity-versus-EOR calculator. G-P and Papaya Global are built for multi-country enterprise volume.
Is Velocity Global (Pebl) a good choice for a single hire?
At $399 it is the lowest flat published headline on this list, easy to compare at a glance. It covers 185+ countries, owns entities in 65 of them, and is backed by an in-house legal team. For a price-led first hire in a straightforward market, it is a credible option. The watch-outs: it publishes no FX terms and buyers report an undisclosed FX spread and a security deposit not shown on its pages. Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant; if you want a real person to answer questions about your first international hire, that model may not be what you need. The customer experience is also still settling after its September 2025 rebrand from Velocity Global to Pebl.

Common questions

What is the best EOR for a small company making its first international hire?
For a first hire, Teamed is the advisory choice: FX shown against mid-market at zero markup, real experts on every plan, and a modelled path to your own entity. Remote suits buyers who want no mandatory deposit and owned entities. Oyster leads on onboarding speed with a 48-hour flow. Deel is the broadest self-serve platform. G-P, Papaya and Rippling are enterprise-oriented and usually more than a single hire needs.
Deel vs Teamed for a single hire: which should I choose?
Both headline at $599. Deel has the deepest self-serve platform and broadest integrations but doesn't publish FX terms and gates the dedicated support channel behind the $899 Enterprise tier. Teamed matches $599, shows FX against mid-market at zero markup, and includes real HR and legal experts on every plan. The choice is self-serve platform depth versus a readable invoice and a real person on every plan.

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