What is the most important question to ask an EOR provider?

The FX question. Most buyers miss the salary-conversion cost. Ask what the FX rate is and where it appears on the invoice. Unattributed EOR FX margins run roughly 1.5 to 3% of salary (industry analysis). Teamed absorbs at zero markup and shows the applied rate against mid-market on every invoice. Deel does not publish its terms.

How do I know if an EOR owns an entity in my country?

Ask directly: is this country owned or partner-served? Every EOR uses both. Remote leads with 90+ owned EOR countries, G-P runs 100+ legal entities, Teamed owns 57 including Germany, the UK and the US, Papaya only 40 out of 160+. An owned entity means the provider is the direct legal employer with one accountable chain.

Should I ask an EOR provider about what happens when I outgrow EOR?

Yes. EOR is efficient up to roughly 10 to 20 employees per country, then your own entity often wins on cost. Ask if the provider models the crossover proactively and can set up your entity on the same system. Teamed does via GEMO in 90+ countries. Rippling has a live entity-versus-EOR calculator.

What fees should I ask about beyond the headline EOR rate?

Beyond the headline fee, ask about: salary deposit (standard for the model), onboarding and offboarding fees, early-exit or minimum-term fees, FX conversion margins, currency-conversion fees on payroll, new-country setup charges and contract-amendment fees. Teamed requires a one-month refundable deposit, no onboarding or offboarding fees, and sets costs in the MSA.

Is a human support contact included, or do I need an Enterprise plan?

It varies. Deel gates its dedicated channel to the $899 Enterprise tier. G-P's base uses an AI assistant; a CSM and direct HR and legal access are on EOR Prime. Teamed includes real experts on every plan, no tiering. Oyster publishes a 24-hour SLA with a hiring success manager included, advisory extra at $300 an hour. Remote includes a dedicated onboarding specialist and named CSM.

How was this comparison scored and how current is it?

Every competitor figure is from the Teamed competitor fact-cache, verified 26 June 2026 against each provider pricing page and G2. Eight providers scored 1 to 5 on five criteria, no overall winner. Reviewed quarterly, pricing monthly.

Questions to ask an EOR provider · 2026

The five questions to ask any EOR provider in 2026

Five questions reveal whether the invoice will match the marketing page: What is your FX rate? Who handles edge cases on my plan? Do you own an entity in my country? How fast to first payroll? What happens when I outgrow EOR? We scored eight providers against each question.

Talk to an expert

Rated 4.8 on G2 for service

8
EOR providers scored on five buyer questions: 5
Questions that expose real cost and service gaps: $599
Teamed flat fee, FX absorbed at zero markup

Disclosure

This guide was produced by Teamed, one of the eight providers scored below on the same rubric as the rest. We don't crown an overall winner and we don't claim to be the cheapest. Where another provider answers a question better than we do, we say so.

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

What questions should you ask an EOR provider before you sign?

What is questions to ask an EOR provider?

An employer of record (EOR) legally employs your overseas staff through its own entities or local partners, runs payroll, remits tax and social contributions, and carries the employer obligations while you direct the day-to-day work. The questions you ask before signing determine whether the monthly invoice matches the marketing page, and whether the provider can handle the situation when it gets difficult.

Most buyers compare EOR providers on the headline fee alone. That figure is the starting point, not the total cost. The gaps show up in the applied FX rate that may or may not appear on your invoice, in whether a real HR or legal expert picks up when you have a contested termination, in whether the provider owns an entity in your country or routes through a partner, in how fast a new hire actually reaches first payroll, and in what happens when your headcount reaches the point where setting up your own entity becomes cheaper than EOR. The five questions below pull those gaps into the open before you sign.

Methodology

How we scored this comparison

Each provider is scored 1 to 5 on the five questions buyers consistently forget to ask before they sign. 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.

FX and invoice clarity: Does the provider show the applied FX rate on salary conversions, and where does it sit on the invoice? A provider that absorbs FX at zero markup and itemises it against a mid-market reference answers this question clearly. One that builds an undisclosed margin into the conversion rate does not. Industry analysis puts unattributed EOR FX margins in the 1.5 to 3% range on salary.
Expert access on every plan: Who handles a Betriebsrat consultation, a KSchG termination or a difficult cross-border situation on the plan you can actually afford? Real HR and legal experts with country-specific depth, included on every plan with no AI bot wall, score higher than providers that gate human access to a premium tier or route base-tier queries through an AI assistant.
Owned entity or partner?: Is the provider the direct legal employer in your country, or do they route through a local partner? An owned entity means one accountable chain for the contract, payroll and statutory contributions. Every EOR runs a mix, but the share and which countries fall on each side matters. Ask per country, not per brand.
Onboarding and speed: How fast can a new hire reach first payroll, and how well does the product support a team adding people quickly? Speed and the quality of guided onboarding matter for fast-growing companies that cannot afford to wait weeks to close a hire.
Lifecycle beyond EOR: What happens when your headcount in a country reaches the point where your own legal entity becomes cheaper than EOR? Providers that model the crossover proactively, offer a managed entity-setup product on the same system, and move you across with no re-onboarding score higher than those that leave the question unanswered.

How we gathered evidence

Every competitor figure is read from the Teamed competitor fact-cache, last verified on 26 June 2026 against each provider's own pricing page and G2. FX terms, support tiers and entity-ownership status are sourced from each provider's primary pages or documented as unpublished where no page confirms them. Where G2 blocked an automated read, the rating carries a note. We review the page quarterly and re-verify pricing monthly.

Considered & excluded

We scored the eight providers a fast-growing company with an international footprint would realistically shortlist when asking these five questions.

Multiplier, Native Teams: Capable, but the eight scored above cover the key price, platform and enterprise segments without overlap.
Skuad, Atlas, Remofirst, Omnipresent: Thinner public track record or narrower positioning 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	FX and invoice clarity	Expert access on every plan	Owned entity or partner?	Onboarding and speed	Lifecycle beyond EOR
Teamed(us)	Leads	Leads			Leads
Deel
Remote			Leads
Oyster				Leads
Rippling
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 with an international footprint that want a readable invoice, a real HR or legal expert on every plan, an EOR that plugs into their existing HRIS, and a modelled path to their own entity.

Teamed answers the FX question directly. The applied conversion rate sits next to the mid-market reference on every invoice, and Teamed absorbs it at zero markup on the fee. That is the honesty pillar in practice: you can see what the salary conversion actually cost, rather than finding an undisclosed margin built into the rate. Both Teamed and Deel share a $599 headline; the difference is whether you can read the FX line below it.

On the expert-access question, Teamed includes real HR and legal experts on every plan with no support tiering and no AI bot wall. A Betriebsrat consultation, a KSchG termination in Germany, a difficult cross-border exit, each routes to a real expert with country-specific employment-law depth, not a shared queue. Teamed owns a German entity directly, so German staff are employed through it rather than a partner. Rated 4.8 on G2 for service.

On the lifecycle question, Teamed models the month your own entity starts to beat EOR and offers GEMO, Global Entity and Employment Operations, which sets up and runs your own legal entity in 90+ countries on the same system with no re-onboarding. 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.

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

Strengths

Answers the FX question on every invoice: applied rate shown against the mid-market reference, absorbed at zero markup. You can read the salary conversion line without a call to your account manager.
Real HR and legal experts included on every plan, no tiering, no AI bot wall. Country-specific depth on edge cases including German Betriebsrat and KSchG terminations, with direct expert access as standard. Rated 4.8 on G2 for service.
GEMO sets up and runs your own legal entity in 90+ countries on the same system as EOR, with proactive per-country crossover modelling and no re-onboarding. The only provider here that tells you when EOR no longer fits.
Owns entities in 57 countries, including all major hiring markets. Plugs into the HRIS you already run rather than trying to replace it.

Watch-outs

Lighter self-serve platform and shallower API surface than Deel or Rippling. The model is advisory, not dashboard-first.
Smaller brand recognition than Deel or Remote, and ISO 27001 and SOC 2 accreditation is in progress, not yet held the way Deel holds them.
A one-month refundable salary deposit is required to start an EOR engagement, standard for the model. An early-exit fee may apply if you leave within three months, set out in the contract.

Source: teamed.global/pricing

Deel

Best for: teams that want the broadest all-in-one platform and the deepest self-serve product in the category, and are comfortable without a readable FX line on the invoice.

Deel is the market-leading all-in-one global employment platform, with the deepest self-serve product and the broadest native integration catalogue in the category. For the onboarding-speed question it scores highest: fast, polished self-serve flows get a new hire to first payroll quickly. It's the default shortlist entry for most buyers before anyone else is considered, and for good reason.

On the FX question, Deel does not publish its FX terms. The salary-conversion cost is built into the conversion rate rather than shown as a line item, so you cannot read the margin from your invoice alone. On the expert-access question, a dedicated Slack or Teams support channel sits on the Enterprise tier from $899; Standard support runs through a shared queue. Buyers report occasional add-on charges and, in one case, a large upfront salary deposit for a long-notice hire, though we frame those as buyer reports rather than published Deel terms.

Almost every EOR enquiry one of our referral partners sees is from someone moving away from Deel. That says more about Deel's scale than a single failing. Against any alternative, you keep the broadest platform and the longest enterprise track record, and you trade a readable invoice and a dedicated support contact at the Standard tier. Deel holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 today, which clears most procurement gates quickly.

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

Strengths

The deepest all-in-one self-serve platform and the broadest native integration catalogue in the category. The bar everyone else is measured against.
Fast, polished onboarding flows that get a new hire to first payroll quickly, without needing an expert alongside you.
The market-leading brand and the longer enterprise track record. Clears a procurement shortlist on recognition alone.
Holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications today, plus mature equity, IP and contractor tooling alongside EOR.

Watch-outs

Does not publish its FX terms. The salary-conversion cost is built into the conversion rate rather than shown on the invoice.
A dedicated Slack or Teams support channel is reserved for the Enterprise tier from $899; Standard support runs through a shared queue.
Buyers report add-on charges and, in one case, a large upfront salary deposit for a long-notice hire. These are buyer reports rather than published Deel terms.

Source: deel.com/pricing

Remote

Best for: teams that want a polished self-serve product, owned entities in the countries they hire most, full published pricing at both billing terms, and a strong benefits and IP product.

Remote answers the entity-ownership question most clearly of any provider here. It markets a 100%-owned entity network across its core 90+ EOR countries, and publishes pricing in full: $599 on annual billing, $699 month to month. For the onboarding-speed question it also scores well, with a dedicated onboarding specialist and a named CSM standard on the EOR plan, alongside in-house HR, legal and tax experts.

On the FX question, Remote is more transparent than Deel but still falls short of a zero-markup line. It applies a variable Remote FX rate to cross-currency salary lines and shows the rate used on the monthly invoice after the fact, with no published percentage. The $599 headline requires annual billing; month to month is $699. The lifecycle question is weaker than for Teamed or Rippling, with no proactive crossover modelling to a managed owned entity.

The fit is a team that wants to run global hiring as a product rather than a service. Benefits administration and IP protection are mature in-product, and the self-serve flows hold up as headcount scales. A regulated buyer that specifically needs owned entities in its core hiring markets will find Remote the strongest answer on that column. Against Deel you trade integration breadth for owned entities and a published base price.

Countries: 190+ locations; 90+ EOR countries with owned entities
Entity model: Owned-entity-led in its core 90+ EOR countries; local partners and other products extend total reach
Onboarding: Dedicated onboarding specialist and named CSM included on the EOR plan
Contractors: Yes, tiered contractor product with indemnity options
Pricing: $599 per month on annual billing ($699 month to month) · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.6/5 (591)

Strengths

A 100%-owned entity network across its core 90+ EOR countries, meaning fewer partner hand-offs in the markets you are most likely to hire in.
Published pricing in full: $599 on annual billing, $699 month to month, with no gated demo required to run a like-for-like comparison.
A polished, well-designed self-serve platform with strong benefits administration and IP-protection tooling handled in-product.
A dedicated onboarding specialist and named CSM on every EOR plan, backed by in-house HR, legal and tax experts.

Watch-outs

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

Source: remote.com/pricing

Oyster

Best for: smaller and fast-scaling teams that want the fastest guided onboarding, a published flat price, a B-Corp supplier, and strong contractor tooling alongside EOR.

Oyster leads the onboarding-speed column. It publishes a 24-hour response SLA and guarantees resolution within 72 hours, includes a dedicated hiring success manager, and automates the onboarding flow so a small team can run it without a payroll specialist in-house. It is a certified B-Corp with a flat published EOR price of $699 per employee per month, no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination charges.

On the expert-access question, Oyster's human support model gives it an edge over purely self-serve platforms. The 24-hour SLA is published and enforceable. The boundary is advisory depth: white-glove HR advisory beyond the standard service is billed at $300 an hour rather than included. On the FX question, Oyster charges a currency-conversion fee on any currency mismatch with no rate published, and requires a refundable deposit with no amount disclosed upfront.

The lifecycle question is Oyster's weakest column. There is no productised path from EOR to your own entity, so it can become something you outgrow as headcount grows. The B-Corp certification and the published flat price carry weight with procurement teams that screen on values or want a forecastable first EOR bill. Against Deel you trade platform breadth and integration depth for speed, a published flat price and a human support relationship with a published SLA.

Countries: 180+ all products; 120+ for EOR
Entity model: A mix of owned entities and local partners; no published split
Onboarding: Fast, automated, with a dedicated hiring success manager and a published 24-hour SLA
Contractors: Yes, $29 per contractor per month, strong tooling with misclassification protection
Pricing: $699 per employee per month, flat (annual discounts available but not published) · verified 2026-06-26
G2: 4.4/5 (1447)

Strengths

Leads the onboarding column: 24-hour response SLA, resolution guaranteed within 72 hours, and a dedicated hiring success manager. The fastest guided onboarding on this list.
A certified B-Corp with a flat published EOR price of $699 and no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination charges disclosed in the standard tier.
Strong contractor tooling at $29 per contractor per month, payments in 120+ currencies, a free misclassification test and country-specific IP agreements.
A large G2 review base of roughly 1,447 reviews, plus SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance.

Watch-outs

Requires a refundable deposit with no amount published, and charges a currency-conversion fee on currency mismatches with no rate disclosed.
White-glove HR advisory beyond the standard service is billed at $300 an hour, not included, and there is no productised path from EOR to your own entity.
Most of the EOR map runs through partners with no owned-versus-partner split published. Ask about the delivery chain in your specific countries.

Source: oysterhr.com/pricing

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 HRIS-first answer. It publishes 600+ integrations across its unified HR, IT and payroll platform, and the EOR module runs on the same employee graph as every other Rippling product. For the lifecycle question, Rippling scores second only to Teamed: it offers a distinct Global Payroll product for companies running their own entities, and a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator so the crossover question is on the table from day one.

The EOR is a newer module, not the core product, and that shows in two of the five questions. Country coverage for EOR is 80 countries, materially lower than the roughly 180-country reach of the dedicated EOR providers here. EOR pricing is not published on primary pages; the $499 figure surfaces on its own blog, and a base HR-platform fee sits on top of the per-employee EOR charge. On the FX question there are no published terms, and on the expert-access question, white-glove support is reserved for enterprise tiers.

The consolidation thesis is the point. If you're buying an HRIS, device management and payroll anyway, the EOR module rides the same employee record. Get the all-in monthly number in writing, platform base plus EOR fee, before comparing with a pure-play EOR. Against Deel you trade EOR maturity and country coverage for a unified HR, IT and payroll system with one of the strongest lifecycle paths on this list.

Countries: 80 for EOR (185+ for contractor payments)
Entity model: A mix of owned subsidiaries and local partners; split not published
Onboarding: Fast, heavily automated self-serve; white-glove onboarding reserved for enterprise
Contractors: Yes, contractor payments plus Contractor-of-Record product
Pricing: Not published on primary pages; roughly $499 per employee per month 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 here. Rippling publishes 600+ integrations on one employee graph, the highest published integration count on this list.
A live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform, plus a distinct Global Payroll product for companies ready to run their own entities, making it the strongest lifecycle story after Teamed.
Fast, heavily automated self-serve within the Rippling ecosystem, with published support transparency metrics and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II both held.
An extensive integration catalogue covering HR, IT, payroll and finance stacks, making it the natural choice for teams standardising on one platform.

Watch-outs

EOR coverage is 80 countries, materially lower than the roughly 180-country reach of the dedicated EOR providers on this list.
EOR pricing is not published on primary pages; the $499 figure surfaces 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 international hire needs. Buyers report an undisclosed security deposit and a coverage gap when an EOR hire hit a statutory cap.

Source: rippling.com

Papaya Global

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

Papaya Global is the payroll-at-scale answer, built for Fortune-500-sized buyers. It covers 160+ countries, runs 130+ payment currencies through a licensed payments arm, and is designed to sit alongside an existing Workday, SAP or Oracle stack rather than replace it. For large finance teams consolidating multi-country payroll, the backbone is the draw: one reporting layer and audit-ready filings across many jurisdictions.

Against the five buyer questions, Papaya is mixed. On the entity-ownership question, it owns full EOR entities in 40 of its 160+ countries, with the rest partner-delivered through certified accounting firms. On the FX question, an FX processing fee applies on currency conversion with no percentage published and country-variable margins supplied through your CSM. On the expert-access question, the model is enterprise-paced and CSM-led rather than on-demand. EOR pricing starts from $499 on its own pricing page, but most buyers land on a custom quote.

The case for Papaya is at enterprise scale, where the payments infrastructure, compliance certifications and reporting depth justify the premium. A deep certification stack, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus an integration catalogue covering Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle and NetSuite. Against Deel you trade self-serve simplicity for enterprise payroll consolidation at scale.

Countries: 160+ reach; owned full EOR entities in 40
Entity model: A mix of owned entities in 40 EOR countries and certified accounting-firm partners elsewhere
Onboarding: Enterprise-paced, with CSM-led transition support
Contractors: Yes, Contractor-of-Record plus AI-assisted classification
Pricing: From $499 per employee per 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 at this scale.
Mature automation and reporting for finance teams running multi-country payroll, with audit trails built in and enterprise-grade data governance.
A broad named-connector catalogue covering Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM and NetSuite, plus a self-serve integration and mapping layer.
A deep certification stack: ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus global equity administration through payroll.

Watch-outs

Owns full EOR entities in only 40 of its 160+ countries; edge cases and most of the footprint run through accounting-firm partners.
An FX processing fee applies on currency conversion with no percentage published and country-variable margins supplied via your CSM.
Built for enterprise scale rather than fast-growing teams. Onboarding is weeks not days, and G2 review volume is thin at roughly 53 reviews.

Source: papayaglobal.com/pricing

Globalization Partners (G-P)

Best for: large enterprises where reach, a deep compliance and certification stack and analyst recognition matter more than published pricing or rapid onboarding.

G-P is the analyst-decorated enterprise incumbent. It markets 180+ country reach, 100+ legal entities and 200+ global partners over a long track record. On the entity-ownership question it scores well: 100+ in-house legal entities is one of the highest published figures in the category. G-P positions itself as the number-one EOR by analyst ranking; we report that as its own claim, not ours.

On the expert-access question, G-P's base tier routes day-to-day queries through the G-P Assist AI assistant. 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. On the FX question there are no published terms. On total cost, EOR pricing is quote-only with no per-employee figure on any primary page. 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.

The case for G-P is governance at scale. A deep certification stack including ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 42001, plus SOC 2 Type II, and a large in-country legal team. Procurement, security and legal reviews tend to move quickly because the platform is built to be reviewed. Against Deel you trade published pricing, speed and base-tier human support for enterprise breadth and analyst recognition.

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 governance pace; AI-led base-tier support, human escalation available
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: 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 that clears most enterprise procurement reviews quickly.
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 primary page, only a demo request and Request a proposal, so a like-for-like comparison requires a sales call.
Base-tier support routes through the G-P Assist AI assistant; a dedicated CSM, quarterly reviews and direct HR and legal access are reserved for the 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

Velocity Global (now Pebl)

Best for: companies that want broad reach, a simple flat headline and an AI-first support model, and are comfortable with a provider still settling after a major rebrand.

Velocity Global rebranded to Pebl in September 2025 and repositioned as an AI-first global hiring platform. It covers 185+ countries with owned entities in 65 of them. Its pricing page publishes a flat $399 per employee per month, one of the lowest standard headlines here. For the onboarding-speed question it scores well: AI-first onboarding in as little as 24 hours, with the Alfie assistant routing queries to human specialists when expertise is needed.

On the FX question, Pebl publishes no FX terms and no contractor price. Buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit not shown on the company pages; we frame those as reports rather than confirmed terms. On the expert-access question, day-to-day support is AI-first through Alfie with a human escalation path, so buyers who want a real expert as the first point of contact will experience a different model.

Most of the 185+ country reach is partner-served, with 65 owned entities. The customer experience is still settling after the September 2025 rebrand. Enterprise-grade compliance and certifications, ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, plus an in-house legal team backed by Baker McKenzie, give it procurement credibility. Against Deel you trade a settled product experience and base-tier human-first support for a low flat headline and broad reach.

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

Strengths

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

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 pages.
Most reach is partner-served: 65 owned entities against 185+ countries. 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 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
The FX question	Ask for the FX policy in writing before you sign. Confirm whether salary conversion uses the mid-market rate or an undisclosed margin, and ask to see an example invoice with the rate shown.	Teamed absorbs FX at zero markup and shows the applied rate against the mid-market reference on every invoice. Remote shows the rate after the fact with no percentage. Deel, Rippling, Papaya and Velocity Global publish no FX terms. Oyster charges a currency-conversion fee with no rate disclosed. Industry analysis puts unattributed EOR FX margins in the 1.5 to 3% range on salary.	An itemised FX line on every invoice means you can reconcile per-country payroll without a call to your account manager.	A timestamped rate against a public reference is an auditable record. An undisclosed margin is not.
The expert-access question	Ask who handles a contested termination or a Betriebsrat consultation: a real employment-law expert or an AI assistant and a ticket queue.	Check whether real expert access is gated behind a higher plan. Deel reserves its dedicated channel for the $899 Enterprise tier. G-P routes base-tier queries through an AI assistant and reserves a CSM for EOR Prime.	You want a real person when it matters. Teamed rates 4.8 on G2 for service with expert access on every plan. Oyster publishes a 24-hour SLA. Rippling and G-P reserve high-touch support for enterprise buyers.	A dedicated contact and a clear escalation path beat a rotating queue for incident handling.
The entity question	Ask whether the provider hires via an owned entity or a partner in each country you hire in. An owned entity means the provider is the direct legal employer, with one accountable chain.	An owned entity removes a partner margin layer in that country. Remote leads with 90+ owned EOR countries. G-P runs 100+ legal entities. Teamed owns 57, including all major markets. Papaya owns only 40 EOR entities out of 160+ reach.	An owned entity means the provider can answer country-specific questions directly, without routing through a third party.	Owned entity means one data-processing chain rather than a partner sub-processor for your employee data.

Decision checklist

Ask the FX question first. Get the FX policy in writing before anything else. If the provider cannot tell you the rate or show you where it appears on the invoice, budget for an undisclosed margin. Industry analysis puts unattributed EOR FX margins in the 1.5 to 3% range on salary.
Ask the expert question on your standard plan. Ask specifically: which person handles a Betriebsrat consultation or a contested termination on the plan you can afford? If the answer is an AI assistant or a shared queue, that is the real service level.
Ask the entity question per country, not per brand. Is the entity in your country owned or partner-served? Ask each provider directly for each country you plan to hire in, because the marketing page often gives the owned-entity story and the contract gives the partner reality.
Read the full fee schedule before you sign. Most EORs require a deposit and many layer on setup, offboarding, minimum-term or admin fees beyond the headline. Ask for a sample invoice and a full list of charges. Teamed requires a one-month refundable salary deposit and sets costs out in the MSA.
Ask the lifecycle question early. If your headcount is growing, ask what the crossover point is where your own entity becomes cheaper than EOR. Providers that model it proactively, Teamed with GEMO and Rippling with its live calculator, have an answer. The ones that do not may have an incentive to keep you on EOR longer than it fits.
Choose Teamed if cost clarity, a real expert on every plan and a modelled path to your own entity matter more than the deepest self-serve platform.
Choose Deel if you want the broadest all-in-one platform and self-serve depth, and you're comfortable without a readable FX line.
Choose Remote if a polished product, owned entities in your core countries and a published base price are the priorities.
Choose Oyster if you want the fastest guided onboarding, a published flat price and a B-Corp supplier.
Choose Rippling if you want HR, IT and payroll on one platform and can absorb a base platform fee on top of EOR.
Choose Papaya Global if enterprise payroll consolidation at scale is the priority.
Choose G-P if you are a large enterprise where reach, certifications and analyst recognition matter more than published pricing.
Choose Velocity Global (Pebl) if you want broad reach and a low flat headline, and an AI-first support model suits you.

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Honest take

When another provider is the better fit

Stay with Deel if platform breadth, the deepest native integrations and the market-leading brand outweigh a readable invoice.
Choose Remote if a polished self-serve product, strong benefits and owned entities in your core countries are the priorities.
Choose Oyster if fast automated onboarding, a published flat price and a B-Corp certification matter most.
Choose Rippling if you want your whole HR, IT and payroll stack unified on one platform.
Choose G-P or Papaya if you are a large enterprise where analyst recognition, owned-entity breadth or multi-country payroll consolidation are the real priorities.

Teamed leads FX transparency, expert access and the lifecycle path, not every column. A buyer whose priorities sit elsewhere should pick the provider that leads what they need. We would rather say that plainly than mismatch the engagement.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important question to ask an EOR provider?
The FX question. Most buyers compare EOR providers on the headline fee and miss the salary-conversion cost. Ask: what is your FX rate on salary conversions, and where does it appear on my invoice? If the provider cannot give you a number or an example invoice line, budget for an undisclosed margin. Industry analysis puts unattributed EOR FX margins in the 1.5 to 3% range on salary. Teamed absorbs FX at zero markup and shows the applied rate against the mid-market reference on every invoice. Deel does not publish its FX terms.
How do I know if an EOR owns an entity in my country?
Ask directly: is this specific country served by an entity you own, or by a local partner? Every EOR in this category, Teamed included, delivers through a mix of entities it owns and vetted local partners. What differs is the share. Remote markets a 100%-owned entity network across its core 90+ EOR countries. Teamed owns entities in 57 countries including Germany, France, Spain, the UK and the US. G-P runs 100+ legal entities. Papaya Global owns full EOR entities in only 40 countries out of 160+ reach. An owned entity means the provider is the direct legal employer, with one accountable chain for the contract, payroll and statutory contributions.
Should I ask an EOR provider about what happens when I outgrow EOR?
Yes, especially if your headcount is growing. EOR is typically efficient up to around 10 to 20 employees in a single country, depending on salary levels and local statutory costs. Beyond that, setting up your own entity often becomes cheaper. Ask whether the provider models that crossover proactively, and whether it can set up and run your own entity on the same system without re-onboarding. Teamed does both via GEMO, Global Entity and Employment Operations, in 90+ countries. Rippling gives you a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform.
What fees should I ask about beyond the headline EOR rate?
Read the MSA before you sign and ask for a full fee schedule. Beyond the headline fee, common EOR charges include a refundable salary deposit (standard for the model), onboarding and offboarding fees, minimum-term or early-exit fees, FX conversion margins on salary, currency-conversion fees on payroll, setup fees for new countries, and charges for contract amendments. Teamed requires a one-month refundable salary deposit, charges no onboarding or offboarding fees, and sets costs out in the MSA. An early-exit fee may apply if you leave within three months, set out in your contract.
Is a human support contact included, or do I need an Enterprise plan?
It depends on the provider. Deel includes 24/7 support on its Standard tier but reserves a dedicated Slack or Teams support channel for its Enterprise tier from $899. G-P's base tier routes queries through the G-P Assist AI assistant; a dedicated CSM and direct HR and legal access are on the EOR Prime tier. Teamed includes real HR and legal experts on every plan with no support tiering and no AI bot wall. Oyster publishes a 24-hour response SLA and includes a dedicated hiring success manager on the EOR plan, though white-glove advisory beyond the standard service is billed at $300 an hour. Remote includes a dedicated onboarding specialist and named CSM on the EOR plan.
How was this comparison scored and how current is it?
Every competitor figure is read from the Teamed competitor fact-cache, last verified on 26 June 2026 against each provider's own pricing page and G2. Each of the eight providers is scored 1 to 5 on five criteria, with no weighted total and no overall winner. Different providers lead different columns. Where a provider does not publish pricing, we say so. Where G2 blocked an automated read, the rating carries a note. We review the page quarterly and re-verify pricing monthly.

Common questions

What questions should I ask before signing with an EOR provider?
Five questions reveal the real picture. One: what is the FX rate and where does it sit on the invoice? Two: who handles edge cases on my standard plan? Three: is the entity in my country owned or partner-served? Four: how fast to first payroll? Five: how do you help when I outgrow EOR? Teamed leads on questions one, two and five. Remote leads on three. Oyster leads on four.
Which EOR provider is most transparent about pricing?
Teamed is the most transparent: flat $599, FX absorbed at zero markup, applied rate shown against mid-market on every invoice. Remote publishes its fee in full and shows the applied FX rate after the fact. Oyster publishes a flat $699 with no setup fees, though deposit and FX fee are undisclosed. Deel, Rippling, Papaya and Velocity Global publish no FX terms. G-P publishes no EOR price at all.

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