Is Skuad cheap? What is the real cost?

The $199 headline is the lowest on this page. But Skuad requires a security deposit (roughly one month of payroll) plus pre-funding before the first payday, per its help centre, and publishes no FX terms. Add the deposit, pre-funding and bolt-ons and the real cost is higher than the headline.

Why is Skuad now called Payoneer Workforce Management, and does it hold security certifications?

Payoneer acquired Skuad in 2024. The platform now operates as Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad), though skuad.io remains in active use. It confirms SOC 2; ISO 27001 is unconfirmed. Whether the Skuad brand is retained long term is not publicly confirmed.

How does Skuad compare with Teamed?

Skuad is platform-first at $199 (before deposit and pre-funding), with 70+ named connectors, Payoneer payment rails and confirmed SOC 2, but no entity-transition path. Teamed is advisory-first at $599, with FX shown against mid-market at zero markup, real HR and legal experts on every plan, and a path to your own entity via GEMO. Skuad wins on headline price; Teamed wins on cost clarity and the lifecycle.

How current is this comparison, and how was it scored?

Pricing and coverage verified against each provider's own pricing pages and G2, checked 18 June 2026. Security re-checked 22 July 2026. Seven providers scored 1 to 5 on six axes, Skuad as baseline, no overall winner. Reviewed quarterly, pricing monthly.

Skuad competitors & alternatives · 2026

The best Skuad alternatives in 2026

Q: What are the best alternatives to Skuad in 2026?

There's no single best. Teamed leads the service model and employment intelligence and the path to your own entity. It contests pricing transparency and coverage with Remote. Deel and Rippling lead the platform, the certified providers lead security. Multiplier gives a low base at $400. Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) gives broad reach at $399 flat.

There's no single winner. We scored seven Skuad alternatives on one published six-axis rubric. Teamed leads the service model and employment intelligence and the path to your own entity, and contests pricing transparency and coverage with Remote. Deel and Rippling lead the platform, and the certified providers lead security. The $199 Skuad headline is a floor, not the real cost. Pick the columns that matter to you.

Talk to an expert

Rated 4.8 on G2 for service

7
Skuad alternatives scored on one six-axis rubric: $599
Teamed fee, flat, FX absorbed at zero markup: 6
rubric axes, no overall winner

Disclosure

This guide was produced by Teamed, one of the alternatives 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 Skuad or another provider is the better fit.

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

What are the best alternatives to Skuad in 2026?

What is a Skuad alternative?

Skuad, now branded Payoneer Workforce Management following a 2024 acquisition by Payoneer, is an Employer of Record platform that lets you hire in 160+ countries without establishing your own entity. The provider issues the local contract, runs payroll, remits taxes and statutory contributions, and carries the legal-employer obligations while you direct the day-to-day work.

Companies look beyond Skuad for three reasons. The $199 headline is a floor: a security deposit, payroll pre-funding and bolt-on products push the real cost higher. The FX mechanism runs through Payoneer's payment rails with no rate or spread published, so the salary-conversion cost is opaque until you're invoiced. And some buyers want a structured path from EOR to their own entity, with an advisory partner who tells you when the model no longer fits, not just a platform. Every EOR here, Teamed included, delivers through a mix of entities it owns and vetted local partners; what differs is the share and which of your countries fall on each side.

Methodology

How we scored this comparison

Each alternative is scored 1 to 5 on six axes, with Skuad as the named incumbent baseline. There's no weighted total and no overall winner. Different providers lead different columns. Teamed is scored on exactly the same axes as the rest, leading two (the service model and employment intelligence, and the path to your own entity), contesting two (pricing transparency and coverage, both with Remote), and conceding two (platform to Deel and Rippling, security to the certified providers).

Pricing transparency: Whether the all-in cost of a 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.
Coverage and compliance depth: Depth and legal robustness of in-country coverage across the countries you hire in: the owned-entity versus partner structure behind each market, whether real HR and legal experts with country-specific employment-law credentials handle the hard edge cases, and how fast one of them responds at a contested exit or a complex termination. Broad-network providers lead on raw breadth; owned-entity depth plus experienced counsel leads where the edge cases live.
Platform and self-serve: Product surface, self-serve flows, integration and API depth, and speed to first payroll for teams that want to run hiring themselves.
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, 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 entity on one system, flags the crossover point, and can set up the entity through a service like Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO).

How we gathered evidence

The six axes are pricing transparency, coverage and compliance depth, platform and self-serve, security and certifications, service model and employment intelligence, and the path to your own entity. Every competitor pricing and coverage figure is verified against each provider's own pricing pages and G2, last checked on 18 June 2026 (Deel 7 July 2026). Security reflects each provider's current published ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II status, re-checked 22 July 2026: Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad) is confirmed SOC 2 with ISO 27001 still unconfirmed. Where a provider does not publish pricing or only surfaces it on its own blog, we say so. Teamed's claims come from teamed.global.

Considered & excluded

We scored the alternatives a company evaluating or leaving Skuad would realistically shortlist, from category leaders to directly competing price-range options.

Papaya Global, Globalization Partners: Enterprise-scale and quote-only pricing; less relevant to the mid-market buyer Skuad targets.
Native Teams, RemoFirst: Lower-price or single-segment positioning; Multiplier already covers the low-to-mid price range on this list. Omnipresent is no longer independent, having been acquired by Deel in 2025.

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	Coverage and compliance depth	Platform and self-serve	Security and certifications	Service model and employment intelligence	Path to your own entity
Teamed(us)	Leads	Leads			Leads	Leads
Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad)
Deel			Leads	Leads
Remote
Oyster
Multiplier
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 the truth about FX, a real person on every plan, an EOR that plugs into the tech stack they already run, and one partner from first contractor to their own entity.

Teamed is the advisory alternative for fast-growing companies with an international footprint. The wedge against Skuad is transparency. Teamed shows the applied FX rate against a mid-market reference on every invoice and absorbs it at zero markup on the fee. Skuad runs payments via Payoneer's rails and publishes no rate or spread.

Teamed contests the coverage column on depth, not raw breadth. It owns entities in 57 countries, backs them with DLA Piper as global counsel and vetted in-country partners, so real HR and legal experts handle the hard local edge cases in-house, a contested exit, a complex termination, an entry into a jurisdiction you have never touched before. On the service model and employment intelligence it leads, with that expert access included on every plan, no AI bot wall and no support tier to unlock.

Teamed isn't trying to be your HRIS. It plugs into the major platforms you already run and is the partner you choose for your global team, from your first contractor through EOR to your own legal entity. GEMO sets up and runs your own entity in 100+ countries on the same system, with no re-onboarding. Skuad's positioning is to avoid setting up an entity, with no advisory on the crossover.

Countries: 187+ countries covered through owned entities in 57 countries plus vetted partners
Entity model: Owned entities in 57 countries, vetted partners elsewhere; separately sets up your own client entity via GEMO in 100+ countries
Onboarding: As little as 24 to 48 hours to first payroll
Contractors: Yes, with misclassification cover (Guard and 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 and is absorbed at zero markup on the fee. Skuad runs via Payoneer rails with no rate published.
Real HR and legal experts on every plan, with country-specific employment-law depth on edge cases, no AI bot wall and no Enterprise tier required. 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.
Proactive advisory. Teamed models the point where your own entity makes more 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. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are aligned with accreditation in progress, not yet held the way several rivals on this list hold them. If your security review needs the certificate issued today, ask each provider for current reports and dates.
The advisory model earns its weight across multiple countries or a growing headcount. One hire in one country with no plans to grow may suit a lighter self-serve platform better.

Source: teamed.global/pricing

Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad)

Best for: price-sensitive teams that want a low published entry point, a two-tier contractor stack and Payoneer payment infrastructure across 160+ countries, and are comfortable with a deposit-plus-prefunding cash model.

Skuad is now Payoneer Workforce Management after Payoneer acquired it in 2024. It markets EOR and contractor management across 160+ countries under a single platform that combines payroll, compliance (Shield), recruitment and visa add-ons. The published EOR entry point of $199 per employee per month is the lowest headline on this page, and its contractor stack is genuinely competitive: a self-serve CMS from $19 and a full Agent of Record with misclassification cover from $99.

The platform carries 70+ named app and tool connectors across HRIS, accounting and time-tracking, and its in-house legal team handles compliance via the Shield product, covering legally-reviewed contracts and payroll-tax management in 160+ countries. Dedicated employer and employee success managers are bundled into EOR and AOR plans, and the company confirms SOC 2, though its ISO 27001 status is not published and remains unconfirmed.

The watch-outs are in the cost structure. A security deposit (reported as roughly one month of payroll) and payroll pre-funding apply before the first payday, per Skuad's own help centre. The real landed cost is higher than the headline. The FX mechanism runs through Payoneer's payment rails with no rate or spread published, so the salary-conversion cost is opaque until you're invoiced. And there is no structured path from EOR to your own entity: Skuad's positioning is explicitly to avoid setting up a foreign subsidiary, with no advisory on the crossover.

Countries: 160+ (owned/partner split not published)
Entity model: Claims owned entities with local legal expertise in 160+ countries, but the owned-versus-partner split is not disclosed
Onboarding: Self-serve dashboard with dedicated account managers on every plan
Contractors: Yes, CMS from $19 (self-serve) and AOR from $99 (misclassification cover)
Pricing: From $199 / employee / month; deposit and payroll pre-funding required · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.6/5

Strengths

The lowest published EOR entry point on this page at $199 per employee per month, with volume discounts available at higher headcounts.
A two-tier contractor stack: a cheap self-serve CMS at $19 and a full AOR with misclassification cover at $99, with payments in 70+ currencies via Payoneer.
An in-house legal team via Shield, 70+ named app and tool connectors, and a unified platform covering EOR, AOR, payroll, recruitment and visa management on one dashboard. Confirmed SOC 2.
Backed by a publicly-listed parent in Payoneer, with deep cross-border payment infrastructure and 70+ payout currencies embedded in the product.

Watch-outs

A security deposit of roughly one month of total payroll cost and monthly payroll pre-funding are required before the first payday, per Skuad's own help centre. Neither appears on the pricing or marketing pages.
No FX rate, spread or markup is published. The salary-conversion cost runs through Payoneer payment rails, so the true margin is not visible until you are invoiced.
No structured path from EOR to your own entity. The platform is positioned to avoid setting up a subsidiary, with no entity-transition advisory or migration product. ISO 27001 status remains unconfirmed on its own pages.

Source: skuad.io/pricing

Deel

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

Deel is 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. It leads the platform column on this rubric alongside Rippling. Compared with Skuad, the EOR base is three times the starting price from $599, but you get a more mature platform, a longer enterprise track record and a brand that clears a procurement shortlist on recognition alone.

The reasons teams look past Deel are consistent. It does not publish its FX terms, so the salary-conversion cost is built into the rate rather than shown. Deel does not publish which plan includes its dedicated Slack or Teams support channel. Buyers tell us the headline can climb once FX is factored in, and some report a large upfront salary deposit for long-notice hires, though those are buyer accounts rather than published Deel terms.

Against Skuad, Deel trades the low entry price for platform depth, integration breadth and enterprise credentials. It holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 today, near the top of the security column, and its contractor, equity and IP tooling is mature. If the broadest integration catalogue and the most recognised brand are the priority, Deel is the benchmark the rest are measured against.

Countries: 150-plus reach, full legal employment in 130+ countries
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.
The broadest native integration catalogue of any provider here, covering most stacks without custom work.
The market-leading brand and long enterprise track record, clearing a procurement shortlist on recognition alone.
Holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications today, 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.
Dedicated Slack or Teams support channel not published per plan; confirm what your rate includes.
Buyers report add-on charges and in some cases a large upfront salary deposit for long-notice hires, though these are buyer accounts rather than published Deel terms. Advisory depth on employment-law edge cases is lighter than the specialist providers.

Source: deel.com/pricing

Remote

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

Remote is the strongest product-led alternative on this page. It markets a 100%-owned entity network across its 90+ core EOR countries and runs a polished self-serve platform with a mature benefits and IP product. Local partners and other products extend total reach to 190+ locations. Against Skuad, Remote is three times the headline at $599 on annual billing, but you get full owned-entity accountability in your most likely hiring countries and a published, readable price.

Remote is more transparent than Skuad on FX, but only after the fact. A variable Remote FX rate applies to cross-currency lines and is shown on the monthly invoice with no published percentage. The $599 headline needs annual billing; month to month is $699. Buyers also tell us the suite can feel generic and that support can run to a multi-day SLA.

The fit is a team that wants to run global hiring as a product rather than a service. Benefits administration and IP protection are genuinely mature, and the self-serve flows hold up as headcount scales. It holds current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, near the top of the security column. Model the variable FX on your real salary volumes before comparing it with flat-fee providers.

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
Contractors: Yes, tiered, with indemnity options
Pricing: $599 / month 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 and IP-protection tooling handled in-product. It holds current ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, so it sits near the top of the security column.
A 100%-owned entity network across its core 90+ EOR countries, which means 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, plus published contractor tiers. You can budget it without a sales call.
A dedicated onboarding specialist and a named CSM on the EOR plan, backed by in-house HR, legal and tax experts.

Watch-outs

The $599 rate needs annual billing; month to month is $699, so the comparable price depends on the commitment you can make.
The Remote FX rate is a variable blended rate shown after the fact on the invoice, with no published percentage.
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 published flat price and a B-Corp supplier, with strong contractor tooling alongside.

Oyster is the automation-first alternative and a certified B-Corp. Onboarding is fast and clean, support is human and expert-led with a published SLA of 24-hour response and 72-hour resolution, and the EOR price is a flat published $699 per employee per month. Against Skuad's $199 headline, Oyster is more expensive but with a readable price and a human support promise that is itself a published commitment.

It is a credible early choice for a fast-growing team, and the human support model gives it a layer the pure self-serve platforms lack. 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.

Pricing is otherwise predictable, which suits a first-time EOR buyer, and the B-Corp certification carries weight with procurement teams that screen on values. It holds SOC 2 Type II, though its ISO 27001 status is less clearly published. It is lighter on the lifecycle, with no productised path to your own entity, so it can become something you outgrow.

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 per contractor per month, strong tooling
Pricing: $699 / employee / month, flat · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.4/5 (1447)

Strengths

Human, expert-led support with a published SLA: 24-hour response, 72-hour resolution guaranteed, plus a dedicated hiring success manager for onboarding.
A certified B-Corp with a flat published EOR price of $699 and no setup, onboarding, HR-expert-access or termination charges.
Strong contractor tooling at $29 per contractor per month, with payments in 120+ currencies and a free misclassification test.
A large G2 review base of roughly 1,447 reviews, plus SOC 2 Type II and a strong GDPR posture.

Watch-outs

Requires a refundable deposit 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

Multiplier

Best for: fast-scaling teams that want a modern, well-reviewed platform and a strong contractor product at a low published base, once the deposit and FX are confirmed in writing.

Multiplier is the closest price-range rival to Skuad on this list. It markets 150-plus countries through a mix of owned entities and partners, the platform is modern and well-reviewed at 4.7 on G2, and the EOR base starts from $400 per employee per month. Support is human and not tier-gated, with a CSM on every plan. Against Skuad's $199, Multiplier is twice the headline but with a more established product and a larger review base.

The watch-outs on cost are similar to Skuad's. Multiplier's own help centre states it requires a refundable deposit equal to the notice-period salary before signing, plus monthly payroll pre-funding, neither of which appears on its marketing pages. It promotes zero FX conversion margins but publishes no rate source or methodology, and its own help centre concedes invoice rates differ from the calculator estimate.

As a package the value is real: a modern platform, human support including a CSM on every plan, and a published low base with onboarding measured in hours. It holds a comprehensive certification set including SOC 2 and ISO 27001, near the top of the security column. Pin down the deposit and the FX line in writing before you sign.

Countries: 150-plus via owned entities plus partners
Entity model: Owned-entity positioning plus partners; no owned-versus-partner split published
Onboarding: Fast, hours, with a CSM on every plan
Contractors: Yes, dedicated Contractor-of-Record product
Pricing: From $400 / employee / month; deposit and pre-funding apply · verified 2026-07-22
G2: 4.7/5

Strengths

A modern, well-reviewed platform (4.7 on G2) with human support and a dedicated CSM on every plan, not gated behind a premium tier.
A published EOR base from $400 per employee per month with no named setup or termination fees.
A strong contractor and global-payroll product with misclassification indemnification and payments in 120+ currencies.
A published certification stack on its security page, covering SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS and GDPR, near the top of the security column, plus 100+ in-house legal and tax experts.

Watch-outs

Its own help centre requires a refundable deposit equal to the notice-period salary before signing, plus monthly payroll pre-funding, neither surfaced on its marketing pages.
Promotes zero FX conversion margins but publishes no rate source or methodology, and its own help centre concedes invoice rates differ from the calculator.
A lighter path to your own entity and a higher share of partner-served countries than the most owned-entity-led providers, with no split published.

Source: usemultiplier.com/pricing

Rippling

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

Rippling is HRIS-first, with 600+ integrations published on a single employee graph that connects HR, IT, finance and payroll. EOR was added as a module rather than built from the ground up as a pure-play. Against Skuad's all-in-one EOR focus, Rippling is a broader platform play where EOR rides the same employee record as device management, payroll and benefits. It leads the platform column on this rubric alongside Deel.

EOR is the newer part of the Rippling product, and its country coverage is materially lower than the dedicated EOR providers at 80 countries against roughly 180 for Skuad and the rest. Rippling does not publish EOR pricing on its primary pages; a $499 per employee per month figure surfaces on its own blog, with an HR-platform base fee on top. Buyers also report an undisclosed security deposit.

The consolidation thesis is the point. If you are buying an HRIS, device management and payroll anyway, EOR rides the same employee record and Rippling does publish a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator. It holds SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II, one of the broadest certification sets here, near the top of the security column. Get the all-in monthly number in writing before comparing it against Skuad's headline.

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. It leads the platform column on this rubric alongside Deel.
Fast, heavily automated self-serve onboarding and a live entity-versus-EOR cost calculator on the same platform.
Published support transparency, live rolling 90-day metrics and human-staffed chat, email and video.
SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II both held, near the top of the security column, plus a distinct Global Payroll product for teams moving to their own entity.

Watch-outs

EOR country coverage is materially lower at 80 countries, against roughly 180 for the dedicated EOR providers on this list.
Does not publish EOR pricing on primary pages; the $499 figure surfaces only on its own blog, and a base HR-platform fee sits on top.
Built to replace your HR stack, which is more than a focused global hire needs, and buyers report an undisclosed security deposit.

Source: rippling.com

Pebl (formerly Velocity Global)

Best for: companies that want broad reach and a simple 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. It has broad reach across 185+ countries with owned entities in 65 of them, and a published flat price of $399 per employee per month. Against Skuad's $199, Pebl is twice the headline but with disclosed flat pricing, a larger owned-entity footprint and an enterprise-grade compliance posture backed by Baker McKenzie.

Most of the reach beyond the 65 owned-entity markets is partner-served. Buyers and reviewers report an undisclosed FX spread and a refundable security deposit, though neither appears on the company pages. Day-to-day support is AI-first through the Alfie assistant, which smart-routes to a human specialist when expertise is needed, so on the service-model axis it leads the AI-forward group alongside Deel and Rippling but still trails Teamed's advisory depth.

The platform is deep: a broad integration catalogue across HRIS and finance, a centralised Global Work Platform, and a full contractor and global-equity offering. It holds ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type 2, near the top of the security column. Against Skuad you get a more transparent flat price and a larger owned-entity footprint, at twice the starting headline, with a brand still finding its footing post-rebrand.

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
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.
A simple flat headline of $399 per employee per month on its own pricing page, easy to compare at a glance.
A deep platform and integration catalogue across HRIS and finance, with a centralised Global Work Platform and equity offering.
Holds ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR, near the top of the security column, 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 Alfie, 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
Cost you can read	Ask for the FX policy in writing before you sign. Confirm whether salary conversion uses mid-market or an undisclosed spread. Skuad, Deel and Multiplier do not publish theirs.	The $199 Skuad headline is a floor: add the deposit, pre-funding and any add-ons and the real monthly outlay is higher. Teamed shows the applied rate against mid-market and absorbs it at zero markup. Remote shows the rate applied on the invoice, with no published percentage. Oyster charges a currency-conversion fee with no rate published.	An itemised invoice avoids per-country reconciliation work and payslip disputes with employees.	A timestamped rate against a public reference is an auditable record for finance and payroll audits.
Owned entity or partner	Ask whether the provider hires via an owned entity or a partner in each country you hire in. Skuad does not publish its owned-versus-partner split.	An owned entity removes a partner margin layer in that country. Remote and Teamed are the most specific about their owned-entity depth. Skuad, Multiplier and Oyster do not publish a split. Rippling's EOR footprint at 80 countries is materially smaller than the rest.	Real HR and legal experts on local cases beat a generalist queue when something goes wrong.	An owned entity means one data-processing chain rather than a partner sub-processor.
Human support vs self-serve platform	Ask who handles a contested termination or a complex exit. Is it a real employment-law expert, an AI assistant, or a ticket queue?	Check whether advisory support is on every plan or gated behind a higher tier. Skuad bundles dedicated account managers; Rippling and Deel reserve higher-touch support for enterprise tiers.	You want a real person when it matters, not a routing queue. Teamed is rated 4.8 on G2 for service, with expert access on every plan. Oyster publishes a 24-hour response SLA.	A dedicated contact and clear escalation beat a rotating queue for incident handling.

Decision checklist

Read the small print before you sign. Most EORs require a deposit and many layer on pre-funding requirements. Skuad requires both, per its own help centre. 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 the costs out up front.
Check the real cost structure. The $199 Skuad headline is a floor, not the landed cost. Add the deposit, the pre-funding cash call and any bolt-on products such as Shield or AOR. Then run the same exercise on the FX column for any cross-currency salary corridor.
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, no AI bot wall and no support tier to unlock. Rated 4.8 on G2 for service.
Choose on pricing transparency if a salary invoice you can read matters. Teamed and Remote lead here with published, itemised terms; Teamed absorbs FX at zero markup against the mid-market reference, while Remote discloses a variable spread. Skuad, Deel and Multiplier do not publish their FX terms.
Choose on coverage and compliance depth if owned-entity structure and real per-jurisdiction expertise matter. Teamed contests this column with Remote, owning entities in 57 countries backed by DLA Piper as global counsel and vetted partners. Pebl also owns entities across a meaningful share of its footprint.
Choose on the path to your own entity if you plan to graduate off EOR. Teamed leads this column, modelling the crossover proactively and setting up your own entity via Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) in 100+ markets. Skuad has no comparable offer.
Choose on security and certifications if your procurement review needs ISO 27001 or SOC 2 in hand today. Deel, Remote, Rippling, Multiplier and Pebl hold current certifications, and Oyster and Skuad hold SOC 2. Teamed is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 aligned with accreditation in progress, so it concedes this column for now.
Choose Deel if platform breadth, the deepest integration catalogue and the market-leading brand outweigh a visible FX line.
Choose Remote if a polished self-serve product, strong benefits and owned entities matter most, and annual billing is fine.
Choose Oyster if you want fast, automated onboarding, a published flat price and a human support SLA, and you have checked the deposit and currency-conversion fee.
Choose Multiplier if you want a modern platform and a low published base at $400, and you will pin down the deposit, pre-funding and FX before signing.
Choose Rippling if you want HR, IT and payroll on one platform and can absorb a base platform fee on top of EOR, and a smaller EOR country set is acceptable.
Choose Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) for broad reach at a flat $399 if an AI-first support model suits you, and you have asked about the FX spread and deposit.
Ask every provider the edge-case questions buyers wish they had asked earlier. Will the actual job title go on the contract, even a senior one? Can they run a shadow payroll if someone splits time across countries? Is contractor misclassification cover on by default or an opt-in add-on?

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Honest take

When Skuad, or another provider here, is the better choice.

Stay with Skuad if the $199 entry price is a genuine constraint, the deposit and pre-funding cash calls are manageable, and you don't need a structured entity-transition path.
Choose Multiplier if you want a platform in a similar price range to Skuad with a more mature product and a published CSM model.
Choose Deel if platform breadth, the deepest integrations and self-serve depth matter more than a visible invoice.
Choose Remote if product polish and owned entities in your target countries matter most.
Choose Rippling if you want your whole HR, IT and payroll stack on one platform.
Choose a certified provider such as Deel, Remote, Rippling, Multiplier, Pebl or Oyster 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 and coverage, not every column. A buyer with different priorities should pick differently. We'd rather be honest about the fit than win the wrong deal.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best alternatives to Skuad in 2026?
There's no single best. It depends on your priority. Teamed leads the service model and employment intelligence, with real HR and legal experts on every plan, and the move from EOR to your own entity. It contests pricing transparency and coverage with Remote. Deel and Rippling lead the platform, and the certified providers lead security. Multiplier gives you a low published base at $400. Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) gives broad reach at $399 flat. The most useful question for any of them: can you reach a real HR or legal expert when you want, and can you see the FX rate on your invoice?
Is Skuad cheap? What is the real cost?
The $199 headline is the lowest on this page. But Skuad's own help centre confirms a security deposit of roughly one month of total payroll cost and monthly payroll pre-funding before the first payday. Add the deposit, the pre-funding cash call and any bolt-on products (Shield compliance, AOR vs the basic CMS tier) and the real monthly outlay is higher. The FX mechanism runs through Payoneer's payment rails with no rate or spread published, so the salary-conversion cost is opaque until you're invoiced. If a readable, predictable cost is the goal, verify those lines before signing.
Why is Skuad now called Payoneer Workforce Management, and does it hold security certifications?
Payoneer acquired Skuad in 2024. The platform now operates as Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad), though the skuad.io domain and brand name remain in active use. The acquisition gives Skuad access to Payoneer's cross-border payment infrastructure and 70+ payout currencies. On security, Skuad confirms SOC 2; its ISO 27001 status is not published and remains unconfirmed. Whether the Skuad brand is retained long term is not publicly confirmed; the product and URLs may shift as the integration continues.
How does Skuad compare with Teamed?
Skuad and Teamed are both EOR and contractor platforms, but the model differs. Skuad is platform-first and price-led at $199 per employee per month (before deposit and pre-funding), with 70+ named app connectors and Payoneer payment rails, confirmed SOC 2, and no advisory path to your own entity. Teamed is advisory-first at $599 per employee per month, with the applied FX rate shown against mid-market and absorbed at zero markup on the fee, real HR and legal experts on every plan with no AI bot wall, and a path from EOR to your own entity via GEMO. Skuad wins on headline price. Teamed wins on cost clarity, human advisory and the full lifecycle.
How current is this comparison, and how was it scored?
Every competitor pricing and coverage figure is verified against each provider's own pricing pages and G2, last checked on 18 June 2026. Security certifications were re-checked on 22 July 2026. Each provider is scored 1 to 5 on six axes, with Skuad as the named baseline. There is no weighted total and no overall winner. Where a provider does not publish pricing, or only surfaces it on its own blog, we say so. We review the page quarterly and re-verify pricing monthly.

Common questions

What is the best alternative to Skuad for a company hiring internationally?
It depends on your priority. Teamed is the advisory alternative: FX shown against mid-market at zero markup, real HR and legal experts on every plan, and one system from contractor to EOR to your own entity. Remote is product-led with owned entities in 90+ core markets. Deel has the broadest platform and integrations. Multiplier offers a low base if you check the deposit and FX. Rippling unifies HR, IT and payroll. Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) gives broad reach at $399 flat.
Skuad vs Deel vs Teamed: which should I choose?
All three hire compliantly worldwide. Skuad headlines from $199 but requires deposit, pre-funding, confirms SOC 2 and publishes no FX terms. Deel starts from $599 / employee / month; broadest platform, holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2, no FX published. Teamed is $599 flat, shows FX against mid-market at zero markup, includes real HR and legal experts on every plan, and gives you a path to your own entity. Choose on low entry price vs platform breadth and certifications vs cost clarity with human advisory.

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