Teamed vs Oyster, two approaches to global EOR compared

1. Step 1

   Bring your Oyster invoice

   Share your current Oyster invoice. Teamed unbundles it line by line: gross salary, statutory at cost, platform fee, any FX element. You see exactly what the switch means in numbers before anything moves.

2. Step 2

   Map the operational plan

   Teamed builds the cutover plan per country or per employee cohort: notice-period alignment, payroll-calendar sync, benefits continuity, employee communications. Nothing moves until the plan is agreed.

3. Step 3

   Issue new contracts

   New compliant employment contracts issue under Teamed. Employees receive their new payslip structure before the first pay cycle, with FX shown against mid-market. No re-onboarding overhead.

4. Step 4

   Close the Oyster relationship

   Teamed manages the Oyster termination timeline and keeps you out of a double-billing period. Most EOR contracts are month-to-month or carry a notice period. Teamed maps the calendar and manages the exit.

Frequently asked questions

• Is Teamed cheaper than Oyster?+

  Teamed is flat at $599 per employee per month with no annual commitment. Oyster publishes a range of approximately $599 to $699 (verified 2026-06-15 at oysterhr.com/pricing). The headline can match at the lower end of the Oyster range. The more meaningful comparison is the FX element: Teamed absorbs FX at zero markup and shows the mid-market reference on every invoice line. Oyster publishes a pricing range but does not separately itemise FX markup on salary conversions. On a $190,000 salary, a 2% unitemised FX element is $3,800 per year per employee. The total cost depends on where in the Oyster range you land and what FX sits within it.
• Does Teamed own a German entity, unlike Oyster?+

  Yes. Teamed operates through its own German entity, which means your German employee's contract is issued by a Teamed GmbH rather than a local partner. Oyster covers Germany via local partners rather than an owned entity (verified 2026-06-15 at oysterhr.com). The entity structure matters in Germany because Works Council law (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) and strict termination protection under the Kuendigungsschutzgesetz create advisory requirements that go beyond standard CSM support. Teamed's real HR and legal experts with German employment-law credentials handle Betriebsrat questions and KSchG terminations directly. G2 ranks Teamed #1 EOR for service, four years running.
• What is the difference between a dedicated CSM and a real HR or legal expert?+

  A customer success manager (CSM) manages the account relationship and coordinates responses across the service. A real HR or legal expert with jurisdiction-specific employment law credentials is the person who can advise directly on a contested termination, a Works Council consultation, or a compliance question in a jurisdiction you have never operated in. Oyster's CSMs are consistently praised on G2 for responsiveness and account management. Teamed's model is different: direct access to real HR and legal experts on all plans, with no AI bot wall and no routing through a CSM for employment-law questions. For straightforward hiring situations, a good CSM often covers everything you need. For hard employment-law moments, the distinction matters.
• Is Oyster HR a B-Corp?+

  Yes. Oyster is a certified B-Corp, which means it has met the B Lab verification standards for social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. Teamed is not a B-Corp. If your procurement team requires a certified B-Corp supplier, Oyster clears that screen and Teamed does not. That is a concrete reason to choose Oyster that Teamed cannot match, and it is worth naming directly.
• When should I set up my own entity instead of using an EOR?+

  The crossover point depends on headcount and salary mix in each country. As a rough guide, EOR stays more cost-effective than running your own entity below roughly 10 to 15 full-time employees in most European markets. Above that, the cumulative per-seat EOR fee approaches the fixed cost of a registered entity, a local director where needed, bookkeeping, and annual filings. Teamed models this crossover explicitly and flags the month your own entity gets cheaper. That modelling is a standard part of the advisory relationship, not an upsell. Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) can set up the entity in 100+ markets on the same system with no re-onboarding of existing EOR employees.
• How do Teamed and Oyster compare on support quality?+

  Teamed is rated 4.8 on G2 and has held the #1 EOR for service position four years running. Oyster is rated 4.4 across approximately 1,470 G2 reviews. Oyster's dedicated CSMs are a genuine differentiator: G2 reviewers consistently praise the onboarding experience and CSM responsiveness. Teamed's difference is the advisory model: direct access to real HR and legal experts on all plans, with no AI bot wall and no routing through a CSM for employment-law questions. Both are good options. The question is which model fits your team. If you need fast onboarding and a strong account relationship, Oyster's CSMs deliver. If you need real employment-law expertise on call, Teamed's advisory model is the fit.
• Can I switch from Oyster to Teamed?+

  Yes. Most EOR contracts are month-to-month or carry a 30 to 90-day notice period. Bring your current Oyster contract to Teamed and the team maps the cutover plan: contract timing, payroll-calendar alignment, benefits continuity and employee communications. The operational switch typically takes four to six weeks. Teamed runs phased cutovers, one country or one cohort at a time, to contain the overlap period. Employees do not re-onboard and their employment history stays intact.

• Teamed vs Oyster, which EOR is better for a company hiring across Europe?+

  For a rapidly growing company hiring across Europe, the three deciding questions are FX cost certainty, access to real employment-law expertise per jurisdiction, and the path to your own entities as you scale. Teamed absorbs FX at zero markup (rate shown against mid-market on every invoice), gives real HR and legal experts on all plans with direct access, owns its German entity, and models the crossover to your own entity proactively via Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO). Oyster has strong automated onboarding, dedicated CSMs praised consistently on G2, a published pricing range (~$599 to $699), and is a certified B-Corp. Oyster leads the onboarding column and suits procurement teams that screen on B-Corp status. For a company that prioritises zero-markup FX, direct employment-law expert access and lifecycle planning, Teamed is the stronger fit. For a company that wants fast automated onboarding and a values-certified supplier, Oyster leads.
• Is Oyster HR a good employer of record?+

  Oyster is a capable EOR with a 4.4 rating on G2 across approximately 1,470 reviews. Its strengths are automated onboarding, dedicated customer success managers, a published pricing range (~$599 to $699), and B-Corp certification. It covers 180+ countries through a partner-led model. Its limitations are advisory depth on hard employment-law questions (where CSMs escalate rather than handle directly), a lighter managed path to your own entity, and a partner-led model in markets like Germany where owned-entity accountability matters most. It is a good fit for a team that wants fast, clean onboarding, a strong account relationship, and a values-certified supplier. It is a less obvious fit when you need direct employment-law expertise on call or are actively planning your own entity.