• Best for data analytics and monitoring: Papaya Global
  • Best for fast international payroll: Plane
  • Best for employee onboarding and offboarding: Rippling
  • Best for reporting: Blue Marble
  • Best for EOR services: Remote
  • Best for employee relocation services: Deel

Managing human resource and payroll tasks can be complicated and time-consuming for businesses, especially ones that employ workers on a global scale. Oyster’s software solutions for HR and global payroll have become a popular choice for these organizations, as they offer a way to streamline international workforce management processes.

Still, alternative software solutions to Oyster HR are available, with different features that may be more aligned with your organization’s unique needs. In this article, we will explore the top competitors and alternatives to Oyster HR software, analyzing their features, pricing, pros and cons to help you make an informed decision on the best tool for your business.

Featured Global Payroll Software

Top Oyster HR competitors and alternatives: Comparison table

Payroll for international employeesPayroll for international contractorsBuilt-in time tracking toolsGlobal onboarding featuresStarting price per month
Oyster HRYesYesYesYes$29 per contractor
Papaya GlobalYesYesYesYes$25/employee/mo.*
PlaneYesYesNoYes$19 per employee
RipplingYesYesYesYes$8 per user
Blue MarbleYesYesYesYesCustom quote
RemoteYesYesYesYes$29 per contractor
DeelYesYesYesYes$49 per contractor

*Starting price for businesses with 101+ global employees. Price decreases to $20/employee with 501+ employees and $15/employee with 1,001+ employees.

Top Oyster HR competitors

The following software providers offer comparable solutions to Oyster’s products. Take a look at the options below for a breakdown of their features, pros, cons and prices.

Papaya Global: Best for data analytics and monitoring

papaya global logo
Image: Papaya Global

Papaya Global is a global professional employer organization and provider of integrated global systems for payroll and HR processes. The company’s software uses automated technology to help businesses pay and manage their team members across 160+ countries.

Papaya Global’s standout software features include its real-time reporting and analytics tools, which enable organizational leaders to reach insights and make informed decisions through their payroll and HR data. In addition, each of the software plans comes with strong AI-based automation tools to streamline payroll and compliance processes.

Features

  • 160+ countries supported.
  • Automated direct payments in local currency.
  • Third party tax payments.
  • Customized user permissions and approval chains.
  • Reporting for payroll, HR, payments, billing and admin data.
  • EOR & payroll contract management and compliance management for GDPR requests and with SOC2 requirements.

Pros

  • The solution provides a BI analytics suite and people reports on key datasets like payroll costs and HR workforce data and comes with data monitoring, so organizations can identify important trends in real-time.
  • The software comes with Papaya Personal, a self-service platform for employees, workers and contractors that is available in multiple languages and accessible both on desktop and on mobile devices.
  • The HRIS system offers a high level of customization, so users can personalize their tools according to the business’s unique HR and organizational needs.

Cons

  • Papaya Global does not own EOR subsidiaries or legal entities in the countries it services.
  • The solution lacks HR features commonly offered in other HR and team management solutions, like performance monitoring and training features.

Pricing

Papaya Global provides its software through seven plans:

  • Global Payroll: Starts at $25/employee/month for businesses with 101+ employees, $20/employee/month with 501+ employees, or $15/employee/month with 1,001+ employees.
  • EOR: Starts at $650/employee/month.
  • Contractor Payments & Management: Starts at $30/contractor/month.

Customers can also contact the company sales team or go online to get a customized price quote based on their business needs.

Read our full review of Papaya Global for more details.

Plane: Best for fast international payroll

The Plane logo.
Image: Plane

Plane is another software provider that acts as an employer of record for the businesses that use it. (Note that Plane is a recent name change for the company previously known as Pilot. We’re working on getting updated brand and logo information for Plane ASAP.)

Plane’s software enables employers to pay international contractors in 240+ countries and acts as an employer of record for organizations that hire and pay employees in 100+ countries. The solution provides features for processes including payroll, benefits administration, expense management and localized contracts.

This provider takes the cake for fast international payroll processes, as its payroll platform allows businesses to submit automated payments to domestic and international contractors and employees in as little as 1-2 business days. With local currency payments and bank transfers in 70+ countries with no currency markups, international contractors can have payments deposited directly into their bank accounts.

Features

  • Contractor payments in 240+ countries, employee payments in 100+ countries and multi-state W2 payroll.
  • Guided hiring and onboarding workflow.
  • W-8, W-9 tax form collection and 1099 filing.
  • Expense reimbursements.
  • Locally compliant contracts.
  • Health insurance and other benefits available.

Pros

  • Self-service features for employees are available through the contractor self-service platform, which allows users to submit expense reports and view payments.
  • Allows businesses with global contractors to make built-in payments without requiring transaction fees or exchange rate markups.
  • Through the built-in expense management features, organizations can approve expenses submitted by global employees and quickly process expense reimbursements.

Cons

  • Several advanced features and services are only available through the Plus plan.
  • Pricing for the International Employees Plus plan is determined based on the price tier, with all countries aside from Canada costing more.

Pricing

Plane’s services are provided through the following pricing plans:

  • Contractors plan priced at $39 per contractor per month.
  • US Employees plan priced at $19 per employee per month.
  • International Employees plan starting at $499 per employee per month for Tier A (Canada included) or $549 per employee/month for Tier B (100+ other countries included).
  • Employees Plus plan starting at  $459 per employee.

Rippling: Best for employee onboarding and offboarding

The Rippling logo.
Image: Rippling

Rippling offers an all-in-one HR Cloud software that helps businesses run their global workforces, regardless of the location of their teams. The global HR platform makes it easy for organizations to manage their workers through each stage of their employment lifecycle, from onboarding through to offboarding.

Rippling provides global payroll services for employees and contractors with a 100% accuracy guarantee, and lets employers generate worldwide employee data reports in a single centralized system. Organizations can start setting up international teams with the software, as the system streamlines training for employees and contractors. Businesses can even develop custom workflows for their teams thanks to Rippling’s automation technology.

Features

  • Time and attendance tool for workers to clock in and out.
  • Learning management to streamline employee training.
  • Talent management and tools for onboarding and offboarding.
  • Professional employer organization services for accessing health insurance, HR support, automated state unemployment tax registration and more.
  • Pulse employee surveys to analyze worker feedback.
  • Headcount planning for global teams.

Pros

  • Automates global compliance processes to comply with local laws.
  • The built-in time and attendance tool automatically calculates payroll for worked hours, including overtime.
  • Workers can easily be onboarded, offboarded and have their employment changes managed through the Rippling HR system.
  • The software supports many integrations with popular third-party HR, IT and finance systems.

Cons

  • Comes with a steep learning curve for users who are unfamiliar with the technology.
  • Rippling does not offer a free trial of its software.

Pricing

Pricing for Rippling software starts at $8 per month per user. Customers can choose the services they want and receive a custom quote.

Read our full review of Rippling for more details.

Blue Marble: Best for reporting

The Blue Marble logo.
Image: Blue Marble

Blue Marble Payroll supports international payroll processes in 135+ countries and provides services that help businesses expand their operations globally. Through the cloud-based global payroll platform WebGlobe, users can manage their international payroll operations and access monthly aggregated reporting on cost data among all countries and currencies. The solution allows organizations to run reports on aggregated employee and payroll data, too, so they can reach valuable insights.

Blue Marble also provides users with customized monthly reporting, equipping them with access to international payroll data and helping them maintain compliance in their operations. The customized reporting gives businesses a consolidated view of their payroll costs across all countries, in one location. Furthermore, the payroll software can be integrated with features for accounting, taxes, finance and HR processes.

Features

  • Global payroll compliance guaranteed.
  • Multinational payroll calendar.
  • Treasury management and currency conversion services.
  • Advanced controls.
  • Aggregated reporting for international payroll.

Pros

  • Blue Marble Payroll’s platform is a full-service outsourcing solution for global payroll management with a global network of payroll service partners, simplifying payroll processes for businesses.
  • Global payroll compliance is guaranteed through Blue Marble Payroll’s dedicated compliance resources and advanced technology, so users can avoid risk of fines, fees and penalties.
  • Standardizes data provided by disparate firms worldwide, for easy aggregated international payroll reporting.
  • Uses a network of carefully vetted global consultants to help with various tasks, including registering companies abroad, providing local benefits, automating time keeping, calculating foreign accruals, recruiting and onboarding global talent, establishing banking abroad, managing employee performance and other global HRIS processes.

Cons

  • Blue Marble does charge exchange rates, however the treasury management and currency conversion services can give users access to lower rates.
  • Blue Marble does not offer a free trial of its software.

Pricing

Blue Marble is not transparent about its pricing, instead offering shoppers a customized quote based on individual requirements.

Remote: Best for EOR services

Remote logo.
Image: Remote.com

Remote provides global payroll for distributed teams and acts as an employer of record for businesses. This means that employers can use Remote to source workers internationally, and Remote will hire the employees on the organization’s behalf, as well as manage payments for contractors.

Remote’s software includes features and capabilities to help businesses manage their global payroll, compliance operations, taxes and benefits processes through its platform. Organizations can choose between hiring international employees through Remote, or using the software to manage and pay international contractors.

Features

  • Employer of record services for payroll administration and contractor management.
  • Country-specific benefits packages.
  • Compliance with local tax and labor laws.
  • 24/7 support from Remote’s network of local HR, legal and finance experts.
  • International employee and contractor onboarding services.
  • Expense management.

Pros

  • As an employer of record, Remote assumes employer liability, handles all tax payments and enables businesses to avoid corporation taxes where they don’t have local entities.
  • Provides hiring features including the ability for businesses to generate customized employment contracts.
  • In addition to payroll and tax processes, Remote provides expense management and time off management features for teams to help streamline operations.

Cons

  • The Remote Enterprise option is the only package that provides access to a dedicated support team. Otherwise, customer support is only accessible via email.
  • Remote’s software lacks time tracking capabilities.

Pricing

Remote’s services are provided through the following pricing plans:

  • Employer of Record plan, starting at $599 per month per employee charged annually, or $699 per month per employee charged monthly.
  • Contractor Management plan starting at $29 per month per contractor.

Businesses can contact the company for Global Payroll plan quotes, or to receive custom pricing for the Remote Enterprise plan.

Deel: Best for employee relocation services

The Deel logo.
Image: Deel

Deel calls itself the future of global HR, providing features to help users hire and pay local employees and international workers. Thanks to Deel’s worldwide infrastructure, employers can source talent worldwide by hiring contractors and EOR employees globally without opening legal entities.

Deel provides payroll and HR services for contractors, EOR and employees. Its worldwide infrastructure has 100+ entities and provides visa support, making it possible to build, onboard and pay teams of global workers. Additionally, with built-in compliance, automated contractor invoicing, tax support and 15+ global payment options, businesses can streamline their global team management in one unified system.

Features

  • Hire and pay contractors compliantly in 150+ countries, EOR employees through Deel owned entities in 90+ countries, or direct employees in 90 countries.
  • Localized agreements for milestone, hourly or fixed work structures.
  • Government declarations.
  • Document collection and management.
  • People directories, profiles and organizational charts.
  • Customized permissions.

Pros

  • Deel HR is customizable to fit with the payroll and HR management needs for every worker to ensure compliance within their country.
  • Lets users manage their equity, working visas and equipment.
  • Provides faster onboarding and offers users a holistic view of data regarding employer costs, headcount and churn.
  • Enables businesses to pay contractors, EORs and direct employees through its automatic payroll features, and offers payment through 15+ global payment options.

Cons

  • Certain features, like contractor misclassification protection and government declarations, are only available on higher-tier plans.
  • The dedicated CSM is not offered to small businesses and is only available to enterprises.

Pricing

Deel’s services are provided through a handful of pricing plans, including these:

  • EOR plan starting at $599 per month.
  • Contractors plan starting at $49 per month.
  • Global Payroll plan, which requires a custom quote.

Is Oyster HR worth it?

Oyster HR offers international payroll and HR services for global contractors in 180+ countries and full-time employees in 130+ countries through its software. Oyster HR can act as a global employer of record for businesses, allowing them to compliantly hire, onboard, pay and manage full-time global employees. Alternatively, businesses can use the employee management solution to compliantly source, manage and set up payments for international contractors.

Oyster HR’s wide global support isn’t the only reason businesses use it for their international workforces. The software solution simplifies international business operations and offers users peace of mind through its global employment guidance tools.

SEE: Use our buyer’s guide to review the best solutions for international payroll.

These features allow businesses to make smart decisions when hiring internationally. For instance, organizations can use the Time Zone Crossover Calculator to optimize talent sourcing locations for their needs. They can also instantly calculate all employment costs for their workers worldwide using Oyster’s Global Employment Cost Calculator, so they can stay within their workforce hiring budgets.

Oyster HR provides plenty of features to help businesses ensure compliance with their global employment and payroll processes, making it a beneficial end-to-end employee management option for hiring, paying and managing international workers.

Oyster HR pros and cons

If you’re still on the fence about Oyster HR, consider the following pros and cons of its software, as well as the price of Oyster’s solutions.

Oyster HR pros

  • Oyster HR supports integrations with many popular ERP, ATS, expense management and HRIS tools, including third-party programs like QuickBooks Online, Oracle NetSuite and Xero.
  • Employers can use Oyster’s Employee Misclassification Analyzer to determine their risk of employee misclassification when hiring internationally.
  • Oyster HR can process invoices and pay contractors in 120+ currencies, or process payroll for full-time employees as an EOR in 130+ countries.
  • Oyster HR users can hire confidently with the Contractor vs Full-Time Employee Analyzer tool, which allows them to assess potential risks and costs associated with each option.

Oyster HR cons

  • Oyster HR lacks some features that are commonly found among global payroll solutions, including advanced analytics, offboarding and employee training management.
  • Oyster HR does not offer salary guidelines tailored to specific roles.
  • Small businesses may find the pricing for full-time employees to be high compared to its competitors.

Oyster HR pricing

Oyster HR’s services are provided through three pricing options:

  • Contractor plan starting at $29 per contractor per month.
  • Employee plan starting at $499 per employee per month billed annually, or $599 per employee per month billed monthly.
  • Scale plan, which is priced through custom rates based on the buyer’s needs.

Do you need an alternative to Oyster?

While Oyster HR is a popular payroll and HR solution, there are several reasons why organizations may wish to explore an alternative product. Oyster HR can be beneficial for various global payroll needs, but it lacks some HR functionalities that businesses may require, such as employee performance management tools.

Regarding payroll, Oyster HR does not offer advanced analytics or robust reporting. This means it may not be suitable for users that require features to help them identify trends or patterns in employee compensation or financing. Finally, some small businesses may find Oyster HR’s pricing too high for their limited budget, especially those looking to hire full-time global employees.

Oyster HR will be suitable for many businesses’ payroll and HR requirements. Still, its limitations may make it necessary for others to consider alternative products that offer more comprehensive features for tasks like time tracking, employee performance management and in-depth analytics. Therefore, some global teams may need to seek additional options to meet their payroll needs. Fortunately, our payroll services comparison tool can help organizations determine which payroll and HR features are necessary for their ideal software system.

Methodology

This is a technical review using compiled literature researched from relevant databases. The information provided within this article is gathered from vendor websites or based on an aggregate of user feedback.

Subscribe to the Daily Tech Insider Newsletter

Stay up to date on the latest in technology with Daily Tech Insider. We bring you news on industry-leading companies, products, and people, as well as highlighted articles, downloads, and top resources. You’ll receive primers on hot tech topics that will help you stay ahead of the game. Delivered Weekdays

Subscribe to the Daily Tech Insider Newsletter

Stay up to date on the latest in technology with Daily Tech Insider. We bring you news on industry-leading companies, products, and people, as well as highlighted articles, downloads, and top resources. You’ll receive primers on hot tech topics that will help you stay ahead of the game. Delivered Weekdays