Teamed vs Stripe Atlas
Teamed vs Stripe Atlas, an honest comparison
These are not competing tools. Stripe Atlas incorporates your startup (US Delaware C-Corp, $500 one-time). Teamed employs your people in countries where you don't have an entity ($599 per employee per month). Most fast-growing companies use both. The question is which to use first, and what each covers.
Trusted by fast-growing international teams
- $599
- Teamed flat at $599 per employee per month. FX absorbed at zero markup on the fee.
- 4.8
- Rated 4.8 on G2 for service. Real HR and legal experts on every plan, no bot wall.
- 180+
- Countries covered via Teamed's mixed owned and partner network. No entity needed in each market.
Teamed vs Stripe Atlas: which do you need for international hiring?
These are not competing tools. Stripe Atlas incorporates your startup (US Delaware C-Corp, $500 one-time). Teamed employs your people in countries where you don't have an entity ($599 per employee per month). Most fast-growing companies use both. The question is which to use first, and what each covers.
At a glance
Teamed
Rated 4.8 on G2
Best for: fast-growing companies that need to hire people in countries where they don't have a legal entity. Teamed handles employment compliance, payroll, and benefits in 180+ countries while you direct the work.
Stripe Atlas
Formation tool, not rated as an EOR
Best for: startup founders who need a US Delaware C-Corp for venture fundraising, or any founder who wants a self-serve company-formation tool to establish a legal entity quickly.
Shared by both: fast setup · built for growing startups · works well alongside each other in a global hiring stack
| Where it matters | Who leads | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Employment compliance and payroll in-country | Teamed | Teamed handles payroll, income tax, statutory contributions, and employment contracts. Stripe Atlas is a formation tool: it does not provide employment compliance after the entity exists. |
| Speed to first international hire | Teamed | Teamed can onboard an employee in days with no entity setup in the target country. Stripe Atlas forms a US entity in days, but hiring anywhere outside that jurisdiction still needs local compliance or an EOR. |
| Human support and HR expertise | Teamed | Teamed provides real HR and legal experts on every plan, no AI bot wall. Stripe Atlas is a self-serve formation tool with documentation and legal templates, not an ongoing HR or legal advisory service. |
| Coverage (countries where you can hire) | Teamed | Teamed covers 180+ countries via its mixed entity and partner network. Stripe Atlas supports formation in a small number of jurisdictions, primarily the US Delaware C-Corp. |
| US startup formation and VC fundraising setup | Stripe Atlas | Stripe Atlas is purpose-built for this: Delaware C-Corp, EIN, Stripe account, legal templates, for $500 one-time. Teamed does not form entities; it employs people through existing or partnered entities. |
| One-time setup cost for a US legal entity | Stripe Atlas | Stripe Atlas charges $500 one-time for US incorporation. Teamed charges $599 per employee per month, an ongoing fee that covers employment compliance rather than entity ownership. |
| Long-term cost as headcount grows in one country | Draw | At a small headcount, EOR is usually the lower total cost. As headcount grows, the per-seat EOR fee can exceed entity costs. Teamed models the crossover and helps you graduate via GEMO. |
| Path to your own managed entity | Draw | Stripe Atlas forms a US entity today. Teamed's GEMO sets up and manages your own entity in 90+ countries when the economics favour it, on the same system with no employee re-onboarding. |
Teamed on G2
Who Teamed is for
Teamed is for fast-growing companies with people in countries where they don't have a legal entity. If you want to hire compliantly without spending months on entity setup, without managing payroll and tax filings yourself, and without guessing what local employment law requires, Teamed handles it. You keep the focus on the work; Teamed holds the legal-employer obligations in each market.
Not the right fit if
- Need a US Delaware C-Corp to raise from US VCs?. Stripe Atlas is the fastest path to that entity. It's not an EOR and it won't help you hire internationally, but it's exactly right for getting your US corporate structure in place.
- Hiring exclusively in the US with your own US entity already in place?. You're past the EOR question for domestic US hiring. Look at US payroll providers such as Gusto or Rippling. If you scale internationally, Teamed covers those markets.
Find your pick in 20 seconds
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Need a US Delaware C-Corp to raise VC funding | Stripe Atlas | Purpose-built and $500 one-time. The fastest path from idea to US incorporated startup. |
| Want to hire someone in Germany, Spain, Brazil or another country without an entity | Teamed | Teamed is the legal employer in-country, handles payroll and compliance, and you hire in days. |
| US-incorporated startup adding international team members for the first time | Teamed | Your Stripe Atlas Delaware C-Corp covers your US structure; Teamed covers everyone outside that jurisdiction. |
| Planning to own your own entities in multiple countries eventually | Teamed, then GEMO | Teamed starts the hire compliantly now, models the crossover, then helps you set up and manage your own entity via GEMO when the economics make sense. |
What is the Teamed vs Stripe Atlas comparison?
Stripe Atlas is a company-formation service. It incorporates your startup as a US Delaware C-Corp, assigns an EIN, sets up a Stripe account, and provides a basic legal-document pack, all for a one-time $500 fee. It is purpose-built for founders who want a US legal entity to raise from US venture capital. What it does not provide is employment compliance, payroll, or benefits for the people you hire, in the United States or elsewhere.
Teamed is an Employer of Record. It legally employs your people in a country through its own entity or a vetted local partner, runs payroll, remits income tax and statutory contributions, and holds the obligations of the local employer while you direct the work. You can hire compliantly in a market before you own a legal entity there, at $599 per employee per month with FX absorbed at zero markup on the fee. The two tools serve different moments in a company's life: Stripe Atlas for your corporate structure, Teamed for the people you hire internationally.
What each product actually does
The single most important distinction before comparing Teamed and Stripe Atlas: they solve different problems. Stripe Atlas forms your company. Teamed employs your people. A founder who uses Stripe Atlas to set up a US Delaware C-Corp still needs an entirely separate solution for every international hire made outside that entity's jurisdiction. That solution is an EOR like Teamed, or their own local entities with local payroll providers. Most fast-growing companies end up using Atlas for their corporate structure and Teamed for the international headcount they build alongside it.
| Detail | Teamed | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Core function | Employer of Record: legally employs your people in countries where you have no entity, handles payroll, compliance, and benefits. | Company-formation service: incorporates your US Delaware C-Corp, assigns an EIN, and sets up a Stripe account. |
| Ongoing service? | Yes. Teamed runs payroll, manages employment law, and supports your employees month to month for as long as you hire through it. | No. Stripe Atlas is a one-time formation service. After your entity is formed, you manage compliance yourself or hire providers who do. |
| Who is the legal employer? | Teamed (or its in-country entity or partner) is the legal employer. You direct the work. | Your newly formed entity is the legal employer. You own and operate it. |
| What happens after setup? | Teamed runs every payroll cycle, remits income tax and statutory contributions, and handles employment events including onboarding, contract changes, and terminations. | You manage all ongoing compliance, payroll filings, and employment obligations yourself, or contract providers to do it. |
The key distinction
Stripe Atlas gives you the entity. An EOR like Teamed gives you the employment infrastructure to hire compliantly, either through that entity or in markets where you have no entity at all. You may need both.
Speed and complexity, getting to your first international hire
If you need to hire someone in Germany next month and your only entity is a US Delaware C-Corp, Stripe Atlas does not help. You either set up a German GmbH (months of work, local counsel, ongoing compliance) or you use an EOR. With Teamed, you can onboard a German employee in days: Teamed is the legal employer, handles the contract, runs payroll, and manages German employment law on your behalf. The formation question and the hiring question are separate, and only the hiring question is time-sensitive when a candidate is waiting.
| Detail | Teamed | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first hire in a new country | Days. Teamed onboards the employee, issues the contract, and has payroll running without entity setup in the target country. | Stripe Atlas forms your US entity in days. Hiring in any country outside that entity still needs local compliance setup or an EOR. |
| Who manages the process | Teamed handles the employment-law side: contracts, payroll, statutory filings, onboarding. You make the hire decision. | You manage the process once your entity is formed. Stripe Atlas provides legal templates; ongoing compliance is your responsibility. |
| What you need to know locally | Nothing required upfront. Teamed brings real HR and legal expertise per country, including notice periods, statutory benefits, and protected-class rules. | Once your entity is live, you need local employment-law knowledge, a payroll provider, and an accountant for each country you hire in. |
The time cost of the entity route
Setting up a German GmbH typically takes two to four months of elapsed time, requires local notary and court filings, and creates ongoing annual compliance obligations. If you need to hire in Germany next month, an EOR is the only practical path.
Cost, what you actually pay
The $500 Stripe Atlas fee and the $599 per-employee Teamed monthly fee are not comparable costs: they cover entirely different things over entirely different timelines. Stripe Atlas is a one-time charge to form a legal entity. Teamed is an ongoing charge per employee that includes employment compliance, payroll processing, HR support, and the managed relationship with local authorities. The right comparison is: what does it cost to hire compliantly in a country via an EOR versus what it costs to own and run your own entity there, staffed and compliant, per month?
| Detail | Teamed | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Fee structure | $599 per employee per month (or £479 GBP), flat. FX absorbed at zero markup. | $500 one-time for US Delaware C-Corp. Formation fees for other jurisdictions vary. |
| What the fee covers | Employment compliance, payroll processing, income tax and statutory remittances, benefits administration, and HR and legal support per country. | Entity registration, EIN assignment, Stripe account setup, and legal-document templates. Not ongoing compliance or employment management. |
| Ongoing cost with the entity route | No ongoing overhead for compliance: Teamed handles it within the $599 fee. | After formation, you pay separately for a local payroll provider, employment-law counsel, an accountant, and annual filings. These costs are real and recurring. |
| At scale, which structure is the better value? | EOR cost scales with headcount. Above a threshold in one country, owning your own entity can become the better value. Teamed models that crossover and helps you graduate. | Entity costs are mostly fixed once you are in compliance. At a high enough headcount in one country, the owned entity can compare well against per-seat EOR fees. |
A rough cost guide
Running a self-managed German GmbH adds compliance overhead of roughly €2,000 to €4,000 per month at a small team size (local payroll, HR admin, accountant, legal counsel on retainer), before the employment costs themselves. At one or two employees, EOR almost always carries the lower total cost.
Human support, who you call when something goes wrong
Stripe Atlas is a self-serve tool. It is good at being a self-serve tool. It provides legal templates, documentation, and a knowledge base. What it does not provide is a real person who knows employment law in the country where your employee is having a problem. When a German employee raises a Betriebsrat question, or a Spanish hire has a payroll discrepancy, or a Brazilian employee is absent on protected medical leave, you need employment-law expertise, fast. That is what Teamed provides on every plan, as standard.
| Detail | Teamed | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Who you call | Real HR and legal experts on all Teamed plans. No AI bot wall, no shared queue for compliance questions. | Stripe Atlas provides documentation and self-serve tooling. It is not designed to answer employment-law questions in the countries where you hire. |
| Escalation path | A real HR or legal expert who knows the country handles the escalation with local counsel where needed, and you get a plain-English summary of the options. | Your own local counsel or HR team handles it. Atlas forms the entity; you arrange the support. |
| G2 rating | Teamed rated 4.8 on G2 for employment and EOR service. | Stripe Atlas is a company-formation tool and does not appear in the EOR or HR service rating categories. |
Why this matters at the moment it matters
A contested termination in Spain, a tax query in Brazil, or a works-council issue in Germany: you want a real employment-law expert in the local jurisdiction. Teamed provides that as standard. A formation tool cannot.
Path to your own managed entity
Stripe Atlas gets you to a US entity in days. That is its job, and it does it well. What it does not model is when owning an entity in Germany, Spain, or Brazil becomes the better value than paying a per-employee EOR fee, or how to make that transition without re-onboarding your employees. Teamed does both. Via Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO), Teamed sets up and manages your own entity in 90+ countries when the economics favour it, on the same system your employees and HR team already use, with no re-onboarding. Because Teamed earns from managing your entity as well as from the EOR fee, its crossover advice is not tied to keeping you on EOR.
| Detail | Teamed | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| US entity formation | Teamed does not form entities. GEMO sets up and manages entities in 90+ countries, but you need a separate formation route (such as Stripe Atlas) for the US. | Stripe Atlas forms your US Delaware C-Corp in days, with EIN and Stripe account. It is the fastest path to a US legal entity. |
| Entity formation in non-US markets | GEMO sets up and manages your own entity in 90+ countries. Teamed models when the entity becomes the better value and flags it proactively. | Stripe Atlas supports formation in a small number of jurisdictions beyond the US. It does not manage ongoing compliance after formation. |
| Crossover modelling | Teamed monitors headcount per country and flags the month your own entity becomes the better structure. No financial incentive to keep you on EOR. | Stripe Atlas does not model EOR crossover. It is a formation tool, not an ongoing advisory service. |
| Employee continuity on transition | GEMO transfers employees to the new entity on the same system with no re-onboarding. Contracts and payroll history carry over. | Entity formation is the start of the journey; employment continuity on transition is managed by you or your legal and HR advisors. |
The lifecycle view
The best path for most fast-growing companies: Stripe Atlas for the US entity (fundraising and stock), Teamed for international EOR as you hire globally, GEMO when the economics of owning your own entities improve country by country. These tools are designed to work across that arc.
Why the comparison 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 the comparison worth running.
What each stakeholder evaluates
| Criterion | Legal | Finance | People Ops | Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You need to hire internationally and have no entity in the target country | Without a local entity, you cannot legally employ someone in most countries. An EOR like Teamed acts as the legal employer in-country. Stripe Atlas forms your US entity, but that entity does not create legal employment rights in Germany, Spain, or Brazil. | At one or two employees in a country, EOR is almost always the lower total cost. Setting up and running your own entity adds fixed compliance overhead (payroll provider, accountant, local counsel, filings) that rarely makes sense below five to ten employees in one market. Teamed models the crossover and flags it when the economics shift. | Your employee expects a compliant local contract, a payslip in local currency, and statutory benefits. Teamed provides all of that as a standard part of the EOR service. A bare entity with no payroll provider does not. | Teamed is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 aligned, with accreditation in progress. Data residency and employment records are held per applicable data-protection rules in each country. With your own entity, you arrange data handling and compliance yourself. |
| You need a US Delaware C-Corp to raise from US VCs | This is Stripe Atlas's purpose. A US Delaware C-Corp is the standard structure for US venture capital investment. Stripe Atlas incorporates it, assigns an EIN, and provides the basic legal docs. Teamed does not form entities. | $500 one-time for Stripe Atlas versus months of legal fees via a traditional formation route. For this specific need, Stripe Atlas is clearly the faster and lower-cost path. | Once your US entity is in place, you still need payroll and employment-law compliance for every person you hire inside it. For US-based hires, a US payroll provider such as Gusto or Rippling handles that. For international hires, you need an EOR like Teamed. | Stripe Atlas establishes your corporate structure. Ongoing data-protection compliance for employees, including GDPR for EU hires, is your responsibility to set up separately. |
| You are scaling internationally and thinking about your own entities | EOR is a bridge, not a destination. Teamed models the crossover (the headcount at which owning your own entity in a country costs less than per-seat EOR) and helps you set up and manage your own entity via GEMO. Ask for the crossover model before you sign. | A rough guide: below five employees in one country, EOR is usually the better total cost. Above ten, the fixed costs of a compliant local entity start to look attractive against per-seat EOR fees. Teamed flags the month the economics shift and can manage the transition with no employee re-onboarding. | GEMO transitions employees to the new entity on the same system. No re-onboarding, no gap in payroll, no change to the employee experience. | Owning your own entity gives you full control over data residency and employment contracts in that country. Teamed manages the entity and the ongoing compliance via GEMO, so you own the structure without taking on the compliance work yourself. |
How Teamed covers international hiring after your Stripe Atlas formation
Stripe Atlas gives you the corporate structure. Teamed handles the employment infrastructure you need to hire across borders. These four steps run in parallel or in sequence depending on where your growth takes you.
Step 1
Form your US entity with Stripe Atlas
If you need a US Delaware C-Corp for fundraising, Stripe Atlas does that in days. Once formed, you have your US legal entity, your EIN, and a Stripe account. That covers your US corporate structure.
Step 2
Hire internationally through Teamed
For every hire outside your entity's jurisdiction, you tell Teamed the country, the role, and the salary. Teamed issues a locally compliant employment contract, sets up payroll, and handles all statutory filings. The employee is legally employed within days.
Step 3
Watch the crossover, per country
As your headcount grows in any one country, Teamed monitors the economics. When your own entity becomes the better structure, Teamed tells you, models the numbers, and can help you set it up and run it via GEMO.
Step 4
Graduate employees to your own entity via GEMO
Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up your owned entity in 90+ countries and transfers employees over on the same system. No re-onboarding, no payroll gap, no disruption to the employee experience.
Dyke Yaxley · UK chartered accountancy
Two South Africa hires. Audit capacity doubled. Zero entity setup.
- Audit capacity in 2024
- +100%
- Compliance issues across the engagement
- 0
- South Africa hires, both retained
- 2
- Entity setup required
- None
Challenge
Dyke Yaxley, a UK chartered accountancy with over a century of history, was turning down audit work in 2024. Local UK talent supply for qualified auditors had not kept pace with demand. Setting up a South African entity to hire locally felt out of scope for a firm whose brand rests on compliance discipline.
Approach
Dyke Yaxley used Teamed to hire two qualified audit professionals in South Africa via EOR. Teamed handled South African employment law end-to-end: compliant contract, local payroll, statutory tax remittances, and onboarding logistics. No entity setup, no South African legal counsel on retainer, no permanent-establishment exposure.
Result
Both hires exceeded expectations on technical work, client satisfaction, and cultural fit. Audit capacity doubled in 2024. Zero compliance issues across the engagement. Dyke Yaxley went from declining audit work to confidently taking on more clients.
Interactive tool
Model the crossover: when does your own entity beat EOR?
At what headcount in a given country does owning a local entity become the better value than a per-seat EOR fee? The crossover calculator maps it per country. Teamed builds this model for every client before the conversation, not after.
Decision checklist
- Use Stripe Atlas if you need a US Delaware C-Corp to raise from US VCs. That is what it is built for, and it does it quickly at $500 one-time.
- Use Teamed if you want to hire someone in a country where you have no legal entity, and you want to do it in days rather than months.
- Use both if you are a US-incorporated startup hiring internationally: Stripe Atlas for the corporate structure, Teamed for the employment compliance outside that entity.
- Ask Teamed for a crossover model if you are building headcount in any one country. It will tell you when your own entity becomes the better structure, and it can manage that transition for you via GEMO.
- Check whether Stripe Atlas supports formation in the specific country where you want to hire. It primarily supports the US Delaware C-Corp. For most non-US markets, entity formation is a separate local process, and EOR is the faster alternative.
- Do not confuse entity ownership with employment compliance. Owning a local entity means you also need a local payroll provider, employment-law counsel, and ongoing statutory filings. Teamed covers all of that within the EOR model.
Honest take
When Stripe Atlas is the better choice
- Choose Stripe Atlas if your primary need is a US Delaware C-Corp for venture fundraising. It is purpose-built for this, it costs $500 one-time, and it delivers in days. Teamed does not form entities.
- Choose Stripe Atlas if you are a non-US founder who wants to access the US startup ecosystem and raise from US venture capital. The Delaware C-Corp formation, EIN, and Stripe account setup make Stripe Atlas the fastest path to that structure.
- Consider Stripe Atlas alongside Teamed if you are building a company from the start and know you want to own your corporate entity. Atlas handles the US formation; Teamed handles everyone you hire internationally while you build toward owning your own local entities via GEMO.
Teamed is the right choice for employment compliance in markets where you have no entity. Stripe Atlas is the right choice for forming a US entity for fundraising. These tools serve different jobs, and the honest answer is often that you need both.
Questions to ask any EOR before you sign
- 1Which countries do I actually need to hire in right now, and do I own legal entities in any of them?
- 2Am I forming a US company to raise VC funding, or do I need to employ people in non-US markets where I have no entity?
- 3If I set up my own entity in a country, who manages ongoing payroll, tax filings, and employment compliance for me?
- 4At what headcount in one country does owning an entity become the better value than paying a per-employee EOR fee?
- 5Who handles a contested termination or a tax-authority question in my target country, and what does that support cost?
- 6What happens to my employees if I move from an EOR to my own entity in a country, and do they need to re-onboard?
- 7What deposit or pre-funding does the EOR require, and what are the exit terms if I move to a different structure?
Frequently asked questions
Is Stripe Atlas an Employer of Record (EOR)?
No. Stripe Atlas is a company-formation service. It incorporates your US Delaware C-Corp, assigns an EIN, sets up a Stripe account, and provides legal templates. It does not run payroll, manage employment law, provide HR support, or act as the legal employer in any jurisdiction. An EOR like Teamed does all of those things.Can I use Stripe Atlas to hire someone in Germany or Spain?
No. Stripe Atlas forms your US entity. To legally employ someone in Germany or Spain, you need either a local entity in that country or an EOR like Teamed that acts as the legal employer in-country. Setting up a local entity takes months; Teamed can onboard a compliant employee in days.Do I need Stripe Atlas if I am using Teamed?
Not necessarily. Stripe Atlas and Teamed solve different problems. You need Stripe Atlas if you want a US Delaware C-Corp, typically to raise US venture capital. You need Teamed if you want to hire people in countries where you have no legal entity. A US-incorporated startup hiring internationally often uses both: Stripe Atlas for the corporate structure, Teamed for the employment compliance outside the US.How much does Teamed cost compared to Stripe Atlas?
Stripe Atlas charges $500 one-time for US Delaware C-Corp formation. Teamed charges $599 per employee per month for ongoing EOR services: employment compliance, payroll, benefits, and HR support. These are not comparable costs: one is a one-time company-formation fee, the other is the monthly cost of having someone employed compliantly in a foreign market. Teamed also absorbs FX at zero markup on the fee and shows the applied rate on every invoice.When should I switch from EOR to my own entity?
As a rough guide, EOR is usually the lower total cost at fewer than five employees in a single country. Above ten, the fixed costs of a compliant local entity (payroll provider, accountant, local employment counsel, annual filings) start to compare favourably against per-seat EOR fees. The exact crossover is country-specific. Teamed models it per country, flags it proactively, and can help you set up and manage your own entity via Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) in 90+ countries when the time comes, on the same system with no employee re-onboarding.Does Teamed work for startups that have already used Stripe Atlas?
Yes. Stripe Atlas handles your US corporate formation. Teamed handles international employment. Many of our clients are Stripe-native startups that set up their US entity through Stripe Atlas and then used Teamed to add team members in Germany, Spain, Brazil, or wherever their first international hires were. The two tools serve different jobs and work well alongside each other.
Common questions
Teamed vs Stripe Atlas, which should I use for international hiring?
Stripe Atlas forms your US Delaware C-Corp ($500 one-time) for fundraising. It does not handle employment compliance, payroll, or HR in any country. Teamed is an Employer of Record: it legally employs your people in 180+ countries, runs payroll, and provides real HR and legal experts on every plan, at $599 per employee per month with FX absorbed at zero markup. If you want to hire someone in Germany, Spain, or Brazil, you need Teamed (or a local entity with a payroll provider). If you need a US entity for VC fundraising, you need Stripe Atlas. Most growing startups use both.Can Stripe Atlas replace an EOR for international employment?
No. Stripe Atlas is a company-formation tool, not an Employer of Record. It incorporates your US entity. To legally employ someone in a country where you have no entity, you need an EOR like Teamed, which acts as the legal employer in-country, runs local payroll, remits income tax and statutory contributions, and provides HR and legal expertise per country. Stripe Atlas formation does not create legal employment rights in Germany, Spain, Brazil, or any other jurisdiction outside the entities it forms.
For the buying committee
Share with your team
Send this page to legal, finance, or HR for review. They will see the same statutory data and source citations you did.
Need to hire internationally right now?
Tell a Teamed expert which country and role. They will send back a compliant employment structure, a cost estimate, and a timeline, no commitment.
The honest path
Want the Stripe Atlas comparison run on your numbers?
Tell us your headcount and where you're hiring. A real HR or legal expert sends back a like-for-like breakdown with the FX shown against mid-market. No demo, no deck.
