What is the real cost of an EOR, beyond the headline fee?

The headline fee is only the first layer. Most providers embed an FX spread of roughly 1.5 to 3% of salary in conversions, unlabelled on the invoice. Many require a deposit. Some add per-employee admin charges. To compare honestly, ask every provider for their FX policy, deposit terms and add-on charges in writing before you sign.

Should I choose an EOR that owns entities or one that uses partners?

All EOR providers use a mix of owned entities and partners. Remote and G-P are the most owned-entity-led. Teamed owns entities in 57 markets, backed by DLA Piper as global counsel. Papaya owns only 40 EOR entities. Ask per country: is this country served by an owned entity or a partner? That changes accountability, response time and whether a partner margin is in the cost.

How do I compare EOR support quality before I sign?

Ask a jurisdiction-specific question during the sales process and time the response. Check whether real support is gated behind a higher plan: Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated channel, G-P gates a dedicated CSM at EOR Prime. Oyster publishes a 24-hour response SLA on all plans. Teamed gives real HR and legal experts on every plan, no tier to unlock.

When does EOR stop making sense and what happens next?

EOR makes sense while the management fee is less than the fixed cost of your own entity. At roughly five to ten employees in a country, that often flips. Most providers don't model this. Teamed does, and offers Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) for entity setup in 100+ countries. Ask any shortlisted provider: do you model the crossover point?

How current is this comparison and how was it scored?

Every figure is verified against each provider's own pricing page and G2, last checked 26 June 2026, with security re-checked 22 July 2026. Eight providers scored 1 to 5 on six criteria. No overall winner. Reviewed quarterly, pricing monthly.

How to choose an EOR · 2026

How to choose an EOR in 2026

Q: What is an Employer of Record (EOR) and how does it work?

An EOR legally employs your workers abroad through its own local entity, issues the contract, runs payroll, remits taxes and statutory contributions, and carries the employer obligations while you direct the work. You pay a monthly management fee plus the actual employment costs passed through at cost.

Start with your countries, not your shortlist. Then price the full stack: management fee, salary-conversion FX and deposit. We scored eight EOR providers on a published six-axis rubric. No overall winner. Teamed leads on the service model and employment intelligence and on the path to your own entity. It contests pricing transparency with Remote and compliance and entity depth with G-P. Deel and Rippling lead on platform, and the certified providers lead on security. Read the write-ups.

Talk to an expert

Rated 4.8 on G2 for service

8
EOR providers scored on one published rubric: 6
buying axes that move the needle, no overall winner: Zero
FX markup on the Teamed fee, shown on every invoice

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 your priorities.

Last reviewed 22 July 2026By Tom Price-Daniel, Co-founder, Teamed

How do you choose the right EOR provider in 2026?

What is how to choose an EOR?

An Employer of Record (EOR) legally employs your workers abroad through its own local entity, issues the contract, runs payroll, remits taxes and statutory contributions, and carries the employer obligations while you direct the work. You need no entity of your own in that country to hire compliantly.

Choosing the right one is where most buyers go wrong. The headline fee is rarely the whole cost. Most salary conversions go through an undisclosed FX spread of roughly 1.5 to 3% that never appears as a line item on the invoice. Real legal and HR expertise on a hard question is often gated behind an enterprise support tier. Certifications a procurement review will ask for are held by some providers and still in progress at others. And the provider that handles your first hire may not model when your own entity starts to beat EOR on cost. This guide scores eight providers on six buying axes: pricing transparency, compliance and entity depth, platform and self-serve, security and certifications, the service model and employment intelligence, and the path to your own entity.

Methodology

How we scored this comparison

Each provider is scored 1 to 5 on six criteria. 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.

Pricing transparency: Whether the all-in cost of an EOR hire (the fee, the deposit, onboarding, and offboarding or termination) is stated up front and predictable. Scored on clarity, not on price level: a flat published fee you can read beats a lower base with unstated setup, notice and exit terms. The FX rate on salary conversions is one clause of that test, not the whole frame.
Compliance and entity depth: Depth and legal robustness of in-country coverage: whether the provider owns an entity in your target country or delivers through a vetted local partner, whether real HR and legal experts are available for the hard edge cases from a contested termination to a tax-residency split, and how fast a human responds. Broad-network providers lead on raw breadth; owned-entity depth backed by specialist legal counsel leads where the question gets hard.
Platform and self-serve: Dashboard depth, integrations and API surface, and speed to first payroll for teams that want to run hiring themselves without a dedicated ops person in the loop for routine tasks.
Security and certifications: ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II held today: the certifications a procurement or security review asks to see, checked against each provider on 22 July 2026.
Service model and employment intelligence: Ongoing human employment expertise plus AI assistance across the lifecycle (for Teamed, the Ted layer): whether real HR and legal experts own the hard moments directly, rather than an enterprise support tier or an AI assistant, and how well the system flags employment-law changes and the crossover point before they reach you.
Path to your own entity: Whether the provider moves you from contractor to EOR to your own legal entity on one system, flags the month your own entity starts to beat EOR on cost, and can set up the entity through a service like Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO), with no re-onboarding at the transition.

How we gathered evidence

The six axes are pricing transparency, compliance and entity depth, platform and self-serve, security and certifications, service model and employment intelligence, and the path to your own entity. Pricing came from each provider's own pricing page, last checked on 26 June 2026. Where a provider does not publish pricing, or only on its own blog, we say so. Security reflects each provider's current published ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II status, re-checked 22 July 2026. Owned-entity or partner status comes from each provider's own pages. Where G2 blocked an automated read, the rating carries a caveat. Teamed's claims come from teamed.global.

Considered & excluded

We scored eight providers a fast-growing company evaluating EOR for the first time, or moving away from an existing provider, would realistically shortlist across a range of priorities.

Multiplier, Native Teams: Capable, but represent the lower-price and single-segment end of the market; the eight scored cover the range buyers encounter most often.
Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad), Atlas, RemoFirst: Thinner public track records and smaller G2 footprints than the eight scored.

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	Pricing transparency	Compliance and entity depth	Platform and self-serve	Security and certifications	Service model and employment intelligence	Path to your own entity
Teamed(us)	Leads	Leads			Leads	Leads
Deel			Leads	Leads
Remote
Oyster
Papaya Global
Globalization Partners (G-P)
Rippling
Pebl (formerly Velocity Global)

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 with an international footprint that want cost transparency on every invoice, a real HR or legal expert on every plan, and one partner from first contractor through EOR to their own entity.

Teamed is the advisory EOR, built for fast-growing companies with an international footprint. The wedge is honesty: it shows the applied FX rate against a mid-market reference on every invoice and absorbs it at zero markup on the fee, and it models the month your own entity starts to beat EOR on cost. Neither fact appears on a Deel or Remote invoice.

Real HR and legal experts with country-specific employment-law depth handle the hard moments directly, a contested termination or a first exit in a jurisdiction you have never touched before. Teamed owns entities in 57 countries, backs them with DLA Piper as global counsel and vetted in-country partners, so the hard local edge cases are handled in-house. Access is on every plan, with no AI bot wall and no support tier to unlock. 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 is the advisory partner you choose for your global team, from your first contractor through EOR to your own legal entity. Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and runs your own entity in 100+ countries on the same system, with no re-onboarding.

Countries: 187+ (owned entities in 57 markets, plus vetted partners)
Entity model: Owned entities in 57 markets, vetted partners elsewhere; separately sets up your own client entity via Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) in 100+
Onboarding: As little as 24 hours to first payroll
Contractors: Yes, with misclassification cover (Guard / Protect)
Pricing: $599 USD / £479 GBP / employee / month, flat, FX absorbed at zero markup · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.8/5

Strengths

Tells you the truth about cost. The applied FX rate sits next to the mid-market reference on every invoice, absorbed at zero markup on the fee, and Teamed models the month your own entity beats EOR. No other provider on this list does both.
Real HR and legal experts on every plan, with country-specific employment-law depth on edge cases, backed by DLA Piper as global counsel, no AI bot wall and no enterprise tier to unlock. Rated 4.8 on G2 for service.
One partner from first contractor through EOR to your own entity, on one system, with no re-onboarding. GEMO sets up and runs your own entity in 100+ countries. Built to plug into your stack, not replace it.
Proactive advisory, not just payroll processing. The Ted layer flags employment-law changes and models the point where your own entity makes more financial sense than EOR, so there is no incentive to keep you on a model that no longer fits.

Watch-outs

Lighter self-serve platform and shallower API than Deel or Rippling. The model is advisory, not dashboard-first, so it concedes the platform column here.
Smaller brand and review base than Deel or Remote. Less recognition with a procurement team that wants the market leader, and ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are aligned with accreditation in progress, not yet held the way the certified providers hold them, so it concedes the security column for now.
The advisory model earns its weight across multiple countries or a growing headcount. One hire in one country with no plans to scale may suit a lighter self-serve platform better.

Source: teamed.global/pricing

Deel

Best for: teams that want the broadest all-in-one platform and the deepest integration catalogue in the category, and will trade a visible FX line for that breadth and brand recognition.

Deel is the market-leading all-in-one global payroll, EOR and HR platform. It has the deepest self-serve product, one of the broadest native integration catalogues in the category, and the strongest brand recognition. For most buyers it is the default shortlist entry before any other provider is considered, and it leads the platform column here alongside Rippling.

The reasons companies look past it are consistent. Deel does not publish its FX terms, so the salary-conversion cost is built into the rate rather than shown on the invoice. Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel. Buyers also report add-on charges for items other providers include, though we frame those as buyer accounts rather than published Deel terms.

Against Deel you keep the broadest platform and the longest enterprise track record, and you give up a visible invoice and a real person not gated behind Enterprise. Deel holds current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, near the top of the security column, which a procurement team will note. The fit is a team that wants a self-serve platform above all else.

Countries: 150-plus reach, full legal employment in 110+
Entity model: A mix of owned entities and vetted partners
Onboarding: Fast, deep self-serve
Contractors: Yes, mature contractor and misclassification tooling
Pricing: From $599 / employee / month, a starting rate · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.8/5

Strengths

The deepest all-in-one platform and self-serve depth in the category, the bar the rest are measured against. Leads the platform column on this rubric alongside Rippling.
One of the broadest native integration catalogues of any provider here, covering most stacks without custom work.
The market-leading brand and the longest enterprise track record, clearing a procurement shortlist on recognition alone.
Holds current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, near the top of the security column, plus mature equity, IP and contractor tooling alongside EOR.

Watch-outs

Does not publish its FX terms, so the salary-conversion cost is built into the rate rather than shown on the invoice.
Does not publish which plan includes its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel; confirm what your rate includes before signing.
Buyers report add-on charges and, in one case, a large upfront salary deposit for a long-notice hire, though these are buyer accounts rather than published Deel terms.

Source: deel.com/pricing

Remote

Best for: teams that want a polished self-serve platform, strong benefits and IP protection, and owned entities across the core countries where they hire most.

Remote is the strongest product-led option on this list. It markets a 100%-owned entity network across its 90+ EOR countries, runs a polished self-serve platform with a dedicated CSM and onboarding specialist on the EOR plan, and publishes its pricing in full. Local partners and other products extend total reach to 190+ locations, so the owned-entity story applies to the EOR core, not the whole map.

On FX, Remote is more transparent than Deel, but only after the fact. It applies a variable Remote FX rate to cross-currency lines and shows the rate on the monthly invoice, with no published percentage. The $599 headline requires annual billing; $699 month to month. Buyers report a support experience that can run to a multi-day SLA on the standard plan, and one regulated buyer chose Remote over Teamed specifically because it owns its entities outright.

The fit is a team that wants to run global hiring as a product rather than a service, with a strong benefits and IP story. Against Deel you trade integration breadth for owned entities and a published, readable base price. Against Teamed you trade zero FX markup and real expert access on every plan for Remote's polished self-serve experience.

Countries: 190+ locations, 90+ for full owned-entity EOR
Entity model: Owned-entity led in its core EOR countries, partners and other products beyond
Onboarding: Dedicated onboarding specialist plus a named CSM on the EOR plan
Contractors: Yes, tiered, with indemnity options up to $100,000
Pricing: $599/mo on annual billing ($699 month to month) · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.6/5 (591)

Strengths

A polished, well-designed self-serve platform with strong benefits administration, IP-protection tooling, and a dedicated onboarding specialist plus named CSM on the EOR plan.
A 100%-owned entity network across its core 90+ EOR countries, with fewer partner hand-offs in the markets you are most likely to hire in.
Pricing published in full: $599 on annual terms, $699 month to month. You can budget it without a sales call.
Mature contractor tiers, equity administration and IP-protection product alongside EOR. It holds current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications, so it sits at the top of the security column.

Watch-outs

The $599 rate requires annual billing; month to month is $699, so the comparable price depends on the commitment you can make.
The Remote FX rate is variable, shown on the invoice after the fact with no published percentage, not a zero-markup or itemised mid-market line.
Owned entities cover the core 90+ EOR markets; beyond them delivery runs through partners and other products, so ask which of your countries are owned.

Source: remote.com/pricing

Oyster

Best for: smaller and fast-scaling teams that want automation, a flat published price, a published support SLA and a B-Corp supplier, with strong contractor tooling alongside.

Oyster is the automation-first option and a certified B-Corp. Onboarding is fast and clean, support is human and expert-led with a published SLA (24-hour response, resolution guaranteed under 72 hours), and the EOR price is a flat published $699 per employee per month. It earns a strong service-model score because it is the only provider here that publishes a response SLA. Most do not.

The watch-outs are in the fine print. Oyster requires a refundable deposit to start an EOR engagement, with no amount published, and charges a currency-conversion fee on any currency mismatch, again with no rate published. White-glove HR advisory is billed separately at $300 an hour rather than included. There is no productised path from EOR to your own entity.

For a first-time EOR buyer or a fast-scaling team, the predictable price, the published SLA and the B-Corp certification can tip the choice. Against Deel you trade platform breadth for speed and a human support relationship. Against Teamed you trade zero FX markup and the entity growth path for a lower base fee and a stronger onboarding experience.

Countries: 180+ all products, 120+ for EOR
Entity model: Hybrid, owns or partners with local entities; no published split
Onboarding: Fast, automated, with a dedicated hiring success manager
Contractors: Yes, $29/contractor/month, strong tooling
Pricing: $699 / employee / month, flat (annual discounts noted, not published) · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.4/5 (1447)

Strengths

Human, expert-led support with a published SLA: 24-hour response and resolution guaranteed under 72 hours. The only provider here to publish a response SLA, a strong signal on the service-model axis.
A certified B-Corp with a flat published EOR price of $699 and no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination fees. Procurement teams that screen on values get an easy yes.
Strong contractor tooling at $29 per contractor per month, with payments in 120+ currencies, a free misclassification test and country-specific IP agreements.
A large social-proof base on G2 (roughly 1,447 reviews) plus SOC 2 Type II, though its ISO 27001 status is less clearly published, which places it in the middle of the security column.

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, and there is no productised path from EOR to your own entity.
Most of its EOR map runs through partners, with no owned-versus-partner split published, so ask about the chain in your specific countries.

Source: oysterhr.com/pricing

Papaya Global

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

Papaya Global is the payroll-at-scale option, built for Fortune-500 buyers. It reaches 180+ countries through a mix of its own entities (40 full EOR) and certified accounting-firm partners, runs a strong data-and-payroll backbone with 130+ payment currencies, and adds a licensed payments arm. The platform is payments infrastructure as much as HR software.

The EOR base starts from $499 per employee per month on its own pricing page. An FX processing fee applies on conversion, with no percentage published and country-variable margins supplied through your CSM, and the wallet must be pre-funded with a buffer. Most of the EOR footprint is partner-delivered: owned entities in only 40 of its 180+ countries, so edge-case questions route through a vetted in-country accounting firm.

For a finance team consolidating payroll across many countries, the backbone is the draw: one reporting layer, 130+ payment currencies and audit-ready filings. Price the full stack before comparing the headline. Against Deel you trade self-serve simplicity for finance-grade payroll consolidation. Against Teamed you trade advisory depth and cost transparency for enterprise payroll scale.

Countries: 180+ reach, owned full EOR entities in 40
Entity model: Hybrid, owned entities in 40 EOR countries, certified accounting-firm partners elsewhere
Onboarding: Weeks, enterprise-paced
Contractors: Yes, COR/AOR plus AI-assisted classification
Pricing: From $499 / employee / month (EOR); FX processing fee not published · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.5/5 (55)

Strengths

A strong enterprise payroll and data backbone across 180+ 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 rather than assembled.
A broad named-connector catalogue for enterprise stacks (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, NetSuite) and a self-serve integration and mapping layer.
A deep certification stack that anchors the security column: ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus global equity administration through payroll.

Watch-outs

Most of its EOR footprint is partner-delivered: owned full EOR entities in only 40 of its 180+ countries, so edge cases run through an accounting-firm partner.
An FX processing fee applies on conversion with no percentage published and country-variable margins supplied via your CSM, and the wallet must be pre-funded with a buffer.
Built for Fortune-500 scale rather than smaller fast-growing teams, with a thin G2 review base of about 55 reviews and a higher-end EOR price quoted on request.

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 or speed to hire.

G-P is the analyst-decorated enterprise incumbent, marketing 180+ country coverage, with owned entities numbering closer to 125 and 200+ global partners, over a long track record in the category. It positions EOR as the alternative to running your own entities and brings one of the broadest compliance and security certification stacks here. The deep owned-entity footprint is why it contests the compliance and entity depth column.

For a fast-growing company 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 CSM, quarterly reviews and direct access to G-P's HR and legal teams are reserved for the higher EOR Prime tier. Buyers report a pre-funding model of roughly one to two months' salary, though G-P does not disclose that publicly.

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. Against Deel you trade published pricing, speed and base-tier human support for enterprise breadth and analyst recognition. Against Teamed you trade advisory transparency and zero FX for global reach and procurement credentials.

Countries: 180+ coverage, owned entities closer to 125 plus 200+ partners
Entity model: Owned-entity led with a large partner network; owned entities number closer to 125, no clean owned-only split published
Onboarding: Enterprise governance, AI-led base support
Contractors: Yes, self-serve contractor product at $39/contractor/month
Pricing: Quote-only; no per-employee EOR price published · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.4/5 (1028)

Strengths

Genuine enterprise-grade scale and reach: 180+ country coverage marketed, owned entities numbering closer to 125 and 200+ global partners over a long track record.
One of the deepest compliance and security certification stacks here, anchoring the security column: 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 buyers.
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 Request a proposal, so a like-for-like comparison 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' salary, though G-P does not disclose deposit or pre-funding terms publicly.

Source: globalization-partners.com

Rippling

Best for: teams that want HR, IT and payroll on one platform and treat EOR as part of a bigger unified system rather than a standalone hiring tool.

Rippling is the alternative if you want to run HR, IT and payroll on one unified system. It is HRIS-first, with every customer on a single employee graph, and arguably the most powerful consolidated platform here. Rippling publishes 600+ integrations on that graph. EOR was added as a module rather than built as a pure-play, and is delivered through a hybrid mix of Rippling-owned subsidiaries and partners.

EOR is the newer part of the product, and its country coverage is materially lower than the rest: 80 countries against the 150-plus to 190+ reach of the dedicated EOR providers on this list. It does not publish EOR pricing on its primary pages; a $499 per employee per month figure surfaces on its own blog. Buyers report an undisclosed security deposit and, in one case, that an EOR hire hit a statutory employment cap with no foreign-direct-employment path beyond it.

The consolidation thesis is the draw. If you are buying an HRIS, device management and payroll anyway, EOR rides the same employee record. Rippling publishes a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator, so the crossover is visible. Get the all-in monthly number in writing: platform base plus EOR fee. Against Deel you trade EOR maturity and country coverage for a unified people-and-IT system.

Countries: 80 for EOR (185+ for contractor payments)
Entity model: Hybrid, owned subsidiaries plus partners; split not published
Onboarding: Fast, heavy self-serve; 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 2026-07-22
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 it leads the platform column on this rubric alongside Deel.
Fast, heavily automated self-serve: onboarding in minutes and payday in days, if you are standardising your whole people stack on one tool.
Published support transparency (live rolling 90-day metrics, human-staffed chat, email and video) plus one of the broadest certification sets here, including ISO 27001 and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II, which puts it at the top of the security column.
Entity-transition tooling: a distinct own-entity Global Payroll product plus a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform.

Watch-outs

EOR is less mature than the core product, and country coverage is materially lower at 80, against the 150-plus to 190+ reach of the dedicated EOR providers on this list.
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.
Built to replace your HR stack, which is more than a focused global hire needs, and buyers report an undisclosed security deposit plus a coverage gap when an EOR hire hit a statutory employment cap.

Source: rippling.com

Pebl (formerly Velocity Global)

Best for: companies that want a wide published footprint, a low flat headline and are comfortable with an AI-first support model after the September 2025 rebrand.

Velocity Global rebranded to Pebl in September 2025 and repositioned as an AI-first global hiring platform. Now Pebl, it has broad reach across 185+ countries, owned entities in 65 of them, a deep platform with a broad integration catalogue across HRIS and finance, and enterprise-grade compliance with an in-house legal team backed by Baker McKenzie.

On its own pricing page it publishes a single flat $399 per employee per month, branded its lowest standard pricing ever, with no published FX terms and no contractor price. Most of the reach is partner-served: 65 owned entities against 185+ countries. Buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit, though neither appears on company pages, so we frame them as reports.

Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant, smart-routing to a human specialist when expertise is needed. The product experience is still settling after the rebrand. Against Deel you trade a settled product experience and base-tier human-first support for a low flat headline and broad reach. Against Teamed you trade zero FX markup and advisory depth for the lowest published standard price on this list.

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
Contractors: Yes, 180+ countries (no price published)
Pricing: $399 / employee / month, flat (FX terms not published) · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.6/5

Strengths

One of the widest published footprints in the category: 185+ countries including all 50 US states, with owned entities in 65.
The lowest flat published headline on this list at $399 per employee per month, easy to compare at a glance.
A deep platform and integration ecosystem, with a broad published integration catalogue across HRIS and finance and a centralised Global Work Platform.
Enterprise-grade compliance that anchors the security column: ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus an in-house legal team backed by Baker McKenzie.

Watch-outs

Publishes no FX terms and no contractor price, and buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit not shown on its pages.
Most of its reach is partner-served: 65 owned entities against 185+ countries, so ask which of your countries are owned.
Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant, and the customer experience is still settling after the September 2025 rebrand from Velocity Global 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
FX transparency	Ask for the FX policy in writing. Confirm whether salary conversion uses mid-market or a blended rate, and whether any percentage or basis-point spread is disclosed.	Deel, Rippling, Pebl and G-P do not publish FX terms. Remote shows the applied rate on the invoice after the fact, with no published percentage. Oyster charges a currency-conversion fee with no rate published. Teamed shows the applied rate against mid-market and absorbs FX at zero markup on the fee.	An itemised invoice avoids per-country reconciliation work and gives employees context on their net-to-gross.	A timestamped rate against a public reference is an auditable record for FX exposure.
Human support access	Ask who handles a contested termination: a real employment-law expert, or an AI assistant and a ticket queue.	Check whether real support is gated behind a higher plan. Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel; G-P reserves human relationship management for EOR Prime. Oyster publishes a 24-hour response SLA on all plans. Teamed gives real HR and legal experts on every plan.	You want a real person when it matters. Teamed is rated 4.8 on G2 for service, with expert access on every plan and no AI bot wall.	A dedicated contact and clear escalation path beat a rotating queue for incident handling.
Entity ownership in your countries	Ask whether the EOR owns the entity that signs the employment contract in each of your countries, or whether a local partner does.	An owned entity removes a partner margin layer in that country. Remote owns entities in 90+ EOR markets. G-P owns entities numbering closer to 125. Teamed owns entities in 57 markets. Papaya owns only 40 EOR entities. Rippling covers only 80 countries for EOR.	Owned entity means one accountable employer for the contract, payroll and statutory contributions, with no partner in the chain.	Owned entity means one data-processing chain rather than a partner sub-processor.
Security and certifications	Ask for the current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II reports and their dates, and confirm the scope covers the EOR product, not just a parent platform.	Deel, Remote, Rippling, G-P, Papaya and Pebl hold current certifications. Oyster holds SOC 2 Type II with a less clearly published ISO 27001 status. Teamed is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 aligned with accreditation in progress, so ask for current reports and dates.	A certification your security team can read shortens the review, whoever the provider is.	ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II in hand today is the bar most procurement and security reviews screen on; an in-progress posture needs a compensating-controls conversation.

Decision checklist

Start with your countries, not the shortlist. Map each country to a provider and ask: is this an owned entity or a local partner? That question changes the accountability chain, the response time on a hard question, and whether there is a partner margin in the cost.
Price the full stack, not the headline. The management fee is only the first layer. Ask every provider: what is your FX policy on salary conversions, is there a deposit or pre-funding requirement, and are there any per-employee admin charges? Get the answers in writing before you compare.
Choose on the service model and employment intelligence if ongoing human expertise matters more than platform breadth or price. Teamed leads this column: real HR and legal experts on every plan, with the Ted layer flagging employment-law changes and the crossover point early. Teamed is rated 4.8 on G2.
Ask who handles a contested termination. A real HR or legal expert who knows your jurisdiction, or an AI assistant and a ticket queue? The answer tells you more about the provider than any pricing page.
Check what is gated behind a higher plan. Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated support channel; confirm what your rate includes. G-P gates a dedicated CSM and direct HR and legal access at EOR Prime. If you are on Standard, confirm what you actually get.
Check security and certifications if your procurement review needs them. Deel, Remote, Rippling, G-P, Papaya and Pebl hold current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications. Teamed is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 aligned with accreditation in progress, so if you need the certificate in hand today, weigh that and ask each provider for current reports and dates.
Read the MSA before you sign. Look for minimum-term clauses, notice periods, deposit refund terms, and what happens if you want to move employees off the platform. A contract that is hard to exit is a structural risk, not a preference issue.
Match the tool to your stack. If you have an existing HRIS or payroll platform, ask what the integration looks like. Teamed and Remote integrate with the main HRIS platforms; Rippling aims to replace them. Know which model you want before you evaluate.
Model the crossover. Most EOR providers will not tell you when your own entity becomes cheaper. At roughly five to ten employees in a single country, the annual cost of EOR often exceeds the cost of running your own local entity. Ask the provider to run the numbers or use a crossover calculator.
Ask about the actual job title. Some providers will not put a senior title on an EOR contract for compliance-risk reasons, pushing to an alternative title that does not match the role. Confirm the exact job title that will appear on the employment contract.
Think about the path forward from day one. An EOR that can move you from contractor to EOR to your own entity on one system, with no re-onboarding, is worth more than a cheap first hire. Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) lets Teamed do this in 100+ countries. Ask every shortlisted provider the same question.

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Honest take

When another provider on this list is the better choice.

Choose Deel if platform breadth, the deepest integrations and self-serve depth matter more than a visible FX line or a real expert on every plan.
Choose Remote if a polished self-serve product, a 100%-owned entity network in your core countries, and a mature benefits and IP story matter most.
Choose Oyster if fast automated onboarding, a published SLA and a flat published price are the deciders, and you have checked the deposit and currency-conversion fee.
Choose Rippling if you want HR, IT and payroll on one platform and can absorb a base platform fee on top of EOR.
Choose G-P or Papaya Global if you are a large enterprise where reach, certifications and analyst recognition matter more than published pricing or speed.
Choose a certified provider such as Deel, Remote, Rippling, G-P, Papaya or Pebl if your procurement review needs ISO 27001 or SOC 2 in hand today.

Teamed leads the service model and employment intelligence and the path to your own entity, and contests pricing transparency with Remote and compliance and entity depth with G-P. It concedes the platform column to Deel and Rippling and security to the certified providers. A buyer with different priorities should pick differently. We'd rather lose the deal than mismatch the engagement.

Frequently asked questions

What is an Employer of Record (EOR) and how does it work?
An EOR legally employs your workers in a foreign country on your behalf. It issues the local employment contract, runs payroll, remits income tax and statutory contributions, and carries the employer obligations in that jurisdiction while you direct the day-to-day work. You do not need your own entity in that country. The EOR provides the entity, takes on the compliance liability, and bills you a monthly management fee plus the actual employment costs (salary, employer taxes and benefits) passed through at cost.
What is the real cost of an EOR, beyond the headline fee?
The headline management fee is only the first layer. Most providers also embed an FX spread in salary conversions. Industry analysis puts undisclosed EOR FX at roughly 1.5 to 3% of the employee's salary, which is never itemised on the invoice at most providers. Many require a refundable deposit or pre-funding. Some add per-employee charges for admin items other providers include. To price it honestly, ask every provider: what is your FX policy, is there a deposit or pre-funding requirement, and what add-on charges apply? Get the answers in writing, then model the total on your actual salary volumes.
Should I choose an EOR that owns entities or one that uses partners?
All EOR providers, Teamed included, use a mix. What differs is the share, and which of your specific countries fall on each side. An owned entity means the EOR is the legal employer itself; a partner means a local accounting or payroll firm is in the chain. Owned is generally lower-risk on accountability and response time. Remote markets a 100%-owned entity network across its 90+ EOR countries. G-P owns entities numbering closer to 125. Teamed owns entities in 57 markets and backs them with DLA Piper as global counsel. Papaya owns only 40 EOR entities across its 180+ reach. Ask the question per country, not per brand: is my country owned or partner-served?
How do I compare EOR support quality before I sign?
Ask a jurisdiction-specific compliance question during the sales process and time the response. A provider that takes two business days on a hypothetical question will take two business days on a live payroll or termination case. Check what is gated behind a higher plan: Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated support channel; G-P reserves a dedicated CSM and direct HR and legal access for EOR Prime. Oyster publishes a 24-hour response SLA on all plans. Teamed gives real HR and legal experts on every plan with no enterprise tier to unlock. The question to ask any provider: if my employee faces a contested termination in a country I have never hired in before, who handles it and how fast?
When does EOR stop making sense and what happens next?
EOR makes sense while the cost of the management fee is lower than the fixed cost of your own local entity: legal setup, accounting, HR administration and benefits. At roughly five to ten employees in a single country, that calculation often flips, though it varies by country and employment costs. Most EOR providers will not tell you when this point is coming; their economics depend on you staying. Teamed models the crossover proactively and offers Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) to set up and run your own entity in 100+ countries on the same system, with no re-onboarding. Remote offers a Global Entity Setup service. Rippling has a distinct Global Payroll product alongside EOR. If lifecycle matters to you, ask the provider at evaluation: do you model the crossover point, and what does the transition look like?
How current is this comparison and how was it scored?
Every competitor figure is verified against each provider's own pricing page and G2, last checked on 26 June 2026, with security certifications re-checked on 22 July 2026. Each of the eight providers is scored 1 to 5 on six criteria: pricing transparency, compliance and entity depth, platform and self-serve, security and certifications, service model and employment intelligence, and the path to your own entity. There is no weighted total and no overall winner. Where a provider does not publish pricing, or only on its own blog, we say so. Where G2 blocked an automated read, the rating carries a caveat. We review the page quarterly and re-verify pricing monthly.

Common questions

How do I choose an EOR for my company?
Start with your countries: ask whether each is served by an owned entity or a local partner. Then price the full stack: management fee, FX spread and deposits. Check whether real support is gated behind a higher plan and whether ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are held today. Ask whether the provider models the crossover point. Teamed leads the service model and employment intelligence and the entity path. Deel and Rippling lead platform. The certified providers lead security. G-P and Papaya suit enterprise procurement.
What is the best EOR for a startup hiring internationally for the first time?
For a startup, the deciders are a compliant contract, a forecastable cost and fast local-law answers. Teamed fits: FX shown against mid-market at zero markup, real experts on every plan, a crossover model for when your own entity makes sense. Remote suits self-serve buyers with owned entities. Oyster offers fast onboarding and a flat price. Deel suits platform breadth. G-P, Papaya and Pebl are enterprise-oriented.

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