Businesses around the world are increasingly building geographically dispersed teams. Building a global workforce fosters growth opportunities, but with payroll, compliance, and benefits packages factored in, it presents an equal measure of challenges.
Employers of record (EORs) such as Deel and its alternatives address these issues by providing a comprehensive platform to efficiently hire, pay, and manage international employees and contractors.
EORs handle the complexities that come with navigating local labor laws, payroll regulations, and tax compliance for a business’ overseas employees. Such platforms also streamline onboarding, offboarding, and ongoing management, ensuring your business remains compliant and your team receives accurate and timely payments.
What is an employer of record?
An employer of record (EOR) like Deel or Multiplier is a company that helps international businesses hire, engage, and pay its employees in national or regional jurisdictions other than its own. This service allows businesses to hire employees globally without setting up local offices or establishing legal entities in each country.
Deel and its alternatives such as Multiplier, Oyster HR, and Velocity Global provide a host of advantages over businesses setting up local entities in the country that they’re hiring from.
Let’s see what they are.
Advantages of using an EOR like Deel or Multiplier
Perhaps the greatest advantage of using EORs is saving cost and time when expanding your workforce globally. Setting up local legal entities may take months and thousands of dollars. EORs, on the other hand, let you hire and onboard employees without spending time and for a fraction of the cost per employee.
Another distinct advantage is the business’ ability to expand and adjust its workforce swiftly when testing new waters, such as entering a new market or setting up operations in a foreign geography.
Apart from that, EORs provide several associated services, such as those listed below:
Compliance support: EORs exist to ensure businesses remains compliant with all relevant local employment laws and regulations. In-country experts and specialized assistance make sure HR teams are kept updating on compliance-related aspects in every country they operate in.
Global payroll: Certain EORs like Deel and Multiplier offer a user-friendly platform for consolidating and administering payroll for an entire global workforce. This eliminates the need for multiple providers and vendors, simplifying global payroll management.
Contractor management: EORs simplify hiring and managing independent contractors worldwide. The platform aids in proper worker classification, reducing the administrative burden associated with contractor management.
ESOP and benefits management: EORs often offers a solution for offering locally compliant benefits and ESOP distribution to employees. This streamlines the process and eliminates complexities associated with managing international equity grants and country-specific benefits regulations.
Global HR: A centralized HR solution helps manage all employee data in a single platform, regardless of the employees’ geographical location. This simplifies HR tasks like onboarding, offboarding, and managing employee leave.
Immigration support: Immigration experts can assist your company with navigating the complexities of obtaining work visas for international employees.
Businesses seek efficient solutions for compliance, payroll management, and other HR functions when managing international teams. While Deel is a popular option, it may not cater to every business’ specific needs. The following sections will explore some of the best alternatives to Deel and how they can address your unique requirements.
The 10 best LetsDeel alternatives: EOR solutions
Here’s a list of popular alternatives to Deel:
1. Multiplier
Multiplier is an employer of record (EOR) and global payroll platform that helps businesses manage international teams. Through Multiplier, you can handle onboarding, payroll, taxes, compliance, benefits, and contracts for international employees, contractors, and freelancers in over 150 countries.
Multiplier offers
Employer of record (EOR) services: Multiplier acts as the legal employer for your international employees, so you don’t need to set up local entities.
Global payroll: The platform simplifies payroll processing for global teams—you can pay your international employees in their preferred currency and process taxes and other withholdings in compliance with local labor laws.
Compliance: Multiplier ensures complete adherence to local labor laws and tax regulations.
Benefits: Offer competitive benefits packages with support for onboarding and managing coverage.
Contracts: Generate fully compliant employment contracts for international employees.
Multiplier caters to businesses of all sizes, with features like
Multilingual contracts: Generate contracts in different languages to comply with local regulations.
Leave management: Track and manage employee leave and customize leave policies.
Multiple payment methods: Pay employees in their local currency through a single dashboard.
In-country experts: Multiplier’s on-ground experts and round-the-clock support helps HR and Finance teams stay on top of compliance and regulations in every country they have employees in.
Multiplier aims to simplify global workforce management. Businesses can focus on growth while they leave several core HR and compliance functions to Multiplier. Plus, the simple pricing model for their EOR service and customised solutions ensures businesses can create sustainable plans for scaling up their overseas efforts.
2. Oyster HR
Oyster simplifies managing a remote workforce by providing a comprehensive platform for hiring, managing, and paying remote employees compliantly in over 180 countries. Let’s delve into its capabilities:
Global payroll: Ensure on-time payments and navigate local regulations with Oyster’s global payroll solution. Pay your employees in their preferred currency.
Effortless contractor management: Oyster’s user-friendly platform streamlines contractor hiring and management. Benefit from automated tax forms, localized payments, and features that ensure a smooth onboarding experience.
Competitive benefits packages: Oyster can help you design competitive packages that include health insurance, expense reimbursement, and equity.
Compliance: With Oyster’s guidance, you can stay compliant with local labor laws and regulations. They address concerns like GDPR and SOC 2 compliance and offer expert advice on intellectual property protection.
User-friendly platform: Their platform includes a helpful chatbot that answers questions and connects you with a sales representative when needed.
While Oyster integrates with some HRIS and software applications, it might not connect seamlessly with every system. Additionally, they don’t currently offer co-employment or partial HR outsourcing.
3. Rippling
Rippling is gaining traction as a powerful tool for managing remote workforces. This all-in-one platform integrates HR, IT, and finance functions, simplifying administrative tasks such as onboarding, payroll, and benefits administration. By streamlining these processes, Rippling can significantly boost productivity and free up time for HR teams.
Here’s what Rippling offers:
Unified platform: Manage HR, IT, and finance through a single platform.
Automation: Automate tasks like onboarding, payroll, and benefits administration, freeing up your team’s time.
User-friendly interface: Navigate Rippling’s intuitive interface with ease to manage complex processes efficiently.
Third-party integrations: Connect Rippling with your existing HRIS and application tracking software to expand its functionality.
Security: Rippling employs robust security measures to protect your sensitive employee data.
Global Capabilities: Process payroll internationally and ensure compliance with local regulations.
Customization: Design workflows that fit your specific operational needs.
While powerful, Rippling might not be for everyone. Here’s what to consider:
Complexity: The extensive features might overwhelm smaller HR teams seeking a simpler solution.
Integration challenges: Integrating Rippling with niche software platforms might be challenging.
Learning Curve: Rippling’s comprehensive functionality might require a learning curve for some users.
4. Globalization Partners
Globalization Partners (G-P) simplifies global expansion for businesses by allowing them to hire employees in over 180 countries without setting up local branches.
Key benefits:
Quick international expansion: G-P eliminates the complexities of establishing local entities, enabling businesses to hire and onboard international talent quickly.
Compliance & payroll management: G-P handles payroll, taxes, and ensures adherence to local employment laws, giving businesses peace of mind.
While G-P offers a robust solution for businesses of all sizes, their services are particularly suited for enterprises, with features like:
M&A integration: G-P streamlines data consolidation during mergers and acquisitions.
HCM integrations: Seamless data flow between G-P’s platform and third-party HR applications is facilitated through API access and pre-built integrations.
Add-on services: G-P offers additional services like visa support, background checks, and equity management.
However, G-P’s services might be more expensive for small- and medium-sized businesses. For instance, the platform offers limited contract customization options, potentially a hurdle for businesses with specific requirements. Moreover, the feature set and pricing cater more towards medium to large enterprises with established global expansion plans.
5. Plane
Plane is a cloud-based platform lets you hire, onboard, pay, and manage remote employees and contractors across 100+ countries.
Key features:
Global payroll: Streamline payroll for international teams, ensuring compliance and on-time payments.
Employer of record (EOR): Get expert guidance and support to hire globally without spending on setup fees.
Compliance: Navigate complex local labor laws and tax regulations.
Benefits: Offer competitive benefits packages with guided onboarding.
Contracts: Create, update, and store compliant contracts for international employees and contractors.
Expense management: Simplify expense processing, reimbursements, and approvals for your global team.
Plane’s scalable platform adapts to your company’s size, making it suitable for startups and growing businesses. Additionally, Plane offers valuable tools to help you navigate global hiring, such as Hire Calculator, which estimates costs associated with hiring new team members, and remote compensation data, which lets you access benchmarks for setting competitive salaries for remote employees.
6. Skuad
Skuad is another Deel alternative that is designed to streamline global workforce management for businesses. It simplifies tasks like hiring, onboarding, payroll, and legal compliance for a distributed workforce across continents.
Key features:
Global hiring: Access a talented pool of professionals from more than a hundred countries.
Seamless onboarding: Onboard employees and contractors efficiently with standardized forms, invoices, and documents.
Simplified payroll: Manage payroll across borders with ease. Skuad offers bulk payments in over 100 currencies.
Centralized management: Manage your entire global workforce, including contractors and full-time employees, with a single platform.
Skuad enterprise: Large businesses can access custom solutions and pricing.
Skuad provides a user-friendly interface with dashboards for managing your entire global team. Their dedicated customer support ensures a smooth experience for both employers and employees.
7. Remote
Another popular alternative to Deel, Remote is a strong competitor in the global HR space. It provides a one-stop shop for businesses managing remote teams to handle hiring, payroll, compliance, and benefits across several countries.
- Comprehensive EOR services: Remote provides services such as onboarding, payroll management, tax compliance, and benefits administration tailored to local laws and norms.
- Contractor management: The platform helps with contractor onboarding, invoicing, and payment in local currencies.
- Data security: Remote emphasizes strict data security measures and the protection of intellectual property.
Remote has a user-friendly platform for onboarding, managing payroll, and generating reports. Their “Remote IP Guard” feature adds another layer of security for businesses concerned about protecting intellectual property.
8. Papaya Global
Papaya Global, also known as PapayaOS is a platform designed to streamline global workforce management. It offers solutions for international payroll, payments, and compliance features like many Letsdeel alternatives such as Multiplier and Skuad.
Key features:
Global hiring and onboarding: Streamline onboarding for new employees in over 160 countries with compliance ensured.
Payroll management: Manage payroll across borders with features like AI automation, flexible cycles, and reporting.
Secure payments: Manage payments with support for multiple currencies and integration options.
Contractor management: Simplify onboarding, contract management, payments, and compliance for international contractors.
Business intelligence & data: Gain insights into workforce distribution, payroll, and payment data with robust reporting.
Papaya Global also offers real-time guidance and legal assistance with compliance services tailored to each country.
9. Gusto
Many businesses rely on Gusto for its user-friendly approach to payroll and HR. Their focus on automation makes managing employees and contractors a breeze.
Here’s what Gusto brings to the table:
Payroll operations: Gusto boasts a user-friendly platform that simplifies payroll for both employees and contractors. They also take care of the complexities of taxes, freeing up HR teams to focus on other tasks.
Global employment: While not a full employer of record (EOR) yet, Gusto allows international payments for contractors in over 120 countries.
Growing with you: Gusto scales with your business. Adding or removing features and users is a breeze, ensuring you only pay for what you need.
Gusto integrates seamlessly with several popular accounting and time-tracking you might be using. And employees can access paystubs and other HR information on the go with Gusto’s mobile app.
10. Velocity Global
Velocity Global empowers businesses to hire, pay, and manage international teams, like many of Deel’s alternatives. Here’s why Velocity Global stands out:
Technology-driven solutions: A cloud-based platform streamlines global workforce management, reducing administrative burdens and boosting efficiency.
Local expertise: Benefit from Velocity Global’s in-depth knowledge of each country’s employment practices and cultural norms. This ensures your practices align with local standards.
Cost-effective for large businesses: Focus on core operations and growth by avoiding the high costs associated with setting up and managing international offices. However, their services might be expensive for startups or small businesses.
Simplified global payroll: Manage complex global payroll efficiently. They handle various currencies and tax systems, guaranteeing timely and accurate employee payments.
If you have a limited number of international employees, the platform’s functionalities might be overwhelming. Standard EOR solutions might not fully address unique employment needs. If customization is crucial, Velocity Global might not be the best fit.
Which Deel alternative should you choose?
When considering which EOR to choose, it’s essential to evaluate your specific business needs, budget, and the features offered by each platform.
Alternatives such as Multiplier, Remote, Papaya Global, and Gusto provide varying degrees of payroll management, compliance support, and employee benefits administration. Remote is known for its global reach and ease of use; Papaya Global excels in automating payroll processes across multiple countries; and Gusto offers robust solutions tailored for small to medium-sized businesses in the U.S.
Ultimately, the best choice will depend on factors such as the size of your workforce, the complexity of your payroll requirements, and the level of customer support you desire.
However, Multiplier stands out for being a comprehensive EOR solution. You can onboard employees from more than 150 nations, run a global payroll effortlessly, and provide competitive and locally compliant benefits to your international workforce. What’s more, with Multiplier, you can operate knowing that experts will take care of everything related to compliance in the countries you operate in.
Binita Gajjar
Content Marketing Lead
Binita is a Content Marketing Lead at Multiplier
