If you’re reading this, you’re probably exploring ways to expand your team internationally or streamline your global hiring process. You’ve heard about Employer of Record (EOR) services and are considering Oyster HR and Remofirst as potential solutions for your business needs.
But you’re also probably uncertain about:
- How Oyster HR and Remofirst compare in terms of features, pricing, and global reach
- Which platform offers better compliance management and risk mitigation across multiple countries
- The user experience and ease of implementation for each service
- Whether Oyster HR or Remofirst is the right fit for your specific business size and industry
- The potential drawbacks or limitations of using either platform as your EOR
If that sounds familiar, this comprehensive comparison will provide the insights you need to make an informed decision. This detailed analysis could save you significant time in research and help you avoid potentially costly mistakes in your global expansion journey.
The key to choosing between Oyster HR and Remofirst lies in understanding their unique strengths and how they align with your specific business needs:
TLDR: Advanced Features vs Cost-Effective Solutions
- Oyster HR: Best for companies needing a robust platform for global hiring and payroll, offering extensive features at a higher price point. Check out what Oyster HR has to offer
- Remofirst: Best-suited for startups and small to medium-sized businesses looking for a simpler and more affordable EOR solution. Grow your business with Remofirst
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Overview of Oyster HR and Remofirst (the essentials you need to know)
- Key features and benefits of each platform (what sets them apart)
- Pricing structures and value propositions (is the investment worth it?)
- User experiences and platform interfaces (because ease of use matters)
- Security and compliance measures (crucial for global operations)
- Pros and cons of each service (the good, the bad, and the noteworthy)
- Recommendations for different business types (who should choose which)
By the end of this comparison, you’ll understand the strengths and limitations of both Oyster HR and Remofirst, enabling you to choose the EOR solution that best fits your company’s global hiring needs, compliance requirements, and overall business strategy.
Oyster HR
Country Coverage: 180+
G2 Rating: 4.4/5
EOR Pricing: $599 per employee/month
Contractor Pricing: $29 per contractor/month
RemoFirst
Country Coverage: 180+
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
EOR Pricing: $199 per employee/month
Contractor Pricing: $25 per contractor/month
Overview of Oyster HR and Remofirst
Oyster HR and Remofirst are leading EOR platforms facilitating global hiring, compliance, and payroll management. Let’s take a closer look at each platform:
Overview of Oyster HR
Oyster HR is known for its global reach and focus on compliance, making it a preferred choice for companies looking to easily expand internationally. The platform offers:
- Global Coverage: Operates in over 180 countries, providing extensive international reach.
- Compliance Focus: Emphasizes compliance with local labor laws, offering real-time updates and built-in compliance checks.
- User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive dashboard for easy management of contracts and compliance.
- Comprehensive HR Services: Includes payroll, compliance management, and benefits administration.
Oyster HR specializes in managing remote teams across the globe, providing a comprehensive solution for hiring, payroll, and compliance. Its strong capabilities in hiring talent worldwide, coupled with excellent management of employment laws and regulations, make it an attractive option for businesses looking to expand globally.
Oyster HR recently closed a $59 million Series D funding round, led by Silver Lake Waterman, pushing its valuation to $1.2 billion and total funding to $286 million. This investment will help Oyster improve its product portfolio, ensure regulatory compliance, and support companies in recruiting top-tier talent. The company, which offers global payroll and visa sponsorship services, seeks to provide fair access to global job markets. Over 40% of Oyster’s employees are based in emerging markets, and the company simplifies international employment for clients across more than 180 countries.
Company Information
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack
- Funding: Raised $286 million in multiple funding rounds
- Founding Date: 2020
Read more in our Oyster HR Review
Overview of Remofirst
Remofirst is known for its competitive pricing and comprehensive services, making it an attractive option for small to medium enterprises looking to scale their operations globally. Key features include:
- Global Coverage: Supports hiring in over 180 countries, surpassing many competitors’ reach.
- Cost-Effective Solution: Offers competitive pricing, making it accessible for smaller businesses.
- Comprehensive EOR Services: Provides payroll management, compliance, health insurance, and visa support.
- Dedicated Support: Offers 24/7 customer assistance with dedicated success managers.
Remofirst focuses on providing a seamless experience for global employment, assisting businesses with hiring, payroll, and legal compliance. Its affordability and efficient global payroll services make it particularly appealing to startups and small businesses looking to expand internationally.
Company Information
- Headquarters: San Francisco, United States
- Founders: Nurasyl Serik and Volodymyr Fedoriv
- Funding: Over $39 million
- Founding Date: 2021
Read more in our Remofirst Review
Key Features of Oyster HR
Oyster HR platform offers several key features designed to streamline international employment. Here’s a detailed look at what the service provides:
- Global Hiring Platform: Simplifies hiring across borders, managing everything from job postings to employment contracts in over 180 countries.
- Compliance Management: Ensures adherence to local labor laws and regulations in each country, minimizing legal risks.
- Payroll Processing: Handles payroll calculations, payments, and tax withholdings in over 120 currencies.
- Benefits Administration: Offers locally aligned benefits packages with multiple tiers in most markets.
- Contractor Management: Allows management of both employees and contractors on the same platform, with easy conversion options.
- Global Payroll Solution: Recently introduced for companies with existing entities, expanding service offerings.
- Visa and Immigration Support: Assists with work visa and immigration processes for international hires.
- Oyster Academy: Provides a platform for upskilling employees, enhancing talent development.
Remofirst Key Features
RemoFirst platform offers several key features designed to streamline international employment. Here’s a detailed look at what the service provides:
- Global employment services: RemoFirst functions as the legal employer in 180+ countries, handling all the paperwork and compliance so companies don’t have to establish foreign entities. They generate compliant employment contracts, register employees with local authorities, and ensure adherence to local labor laws. RemoFirst maintains consistent pricing across all supported countries.
- Multi-Currency payroll processing: RemoFirst calculates and processes payroll in 100+ currencies, handling tax withholdings, social contributions, and mandatory deductions based on local requirements. The system supports monthly, bi-weekly, and weekly payment cycles, with monthly being the standard for most countries.
- Global contractor management: For $25 per contractor monthly, RemoFirst provides compliant contractor agreements, handles invoicing, and manages payments in local currencies. The contractor dashboard is separate from the employee section but follows a similar workflow.
- Benefits administration:RemoFirst’s RemoHealth program offers standardized health plans across all countries, with options to add dental and vision coverage. The platform also supports equipment provisioning, allowing companies to purchase and ship laptops and other tools to remote team members.
- Compliance management: The platform automatically handles tax filings, statutory requirements, and employment law compliance across all countries. This includes managing paid time off policies, parental leave, termination requirements, and other country-specific regulations.
- Time off management: Employees can request time off through the platform, with automatic calculations based on local entitlements. Managers receive notifications and can approve/deny requests directly in the system. The calendar view makes it easy to see team availability.
Benefits of Using Oyster HR
The benefits of using Oyster HR are:
- Simplified Global Expansion: Enables quick entry into new markets without establishing local entities.
- Compliance Assurance: Minimizes legal risks with continuous monitoring of local regulations across all operational countries.
- Time and Cost Efficiency: Speeds up the international hiring process and eliminates the need for setting up legal entities in each country.
- Scalability: Supports rapid business growth and expansion into new markets with flexible hiring solutions.
- Centralized Management: Unifies global workforce management in one platform, improving oversight and efficiency.
- Risk Mitigation: Handles complex international labor laws and regulations, reducing compliance risks.
- Ethical Employment Practices: Focuses on promoting fair and ethical employment globally.
- Comprehensive Resources: Provides country-specific hiring guides and educational resources for navigating global employment.
Benefits of Using Remofirst
The benefits of using RemoFirst are:
- Cost savings: Companies typically save 60-75% on international employment costs compared to premium EOR providers. A 10-person international team costs $1,990 monthly with RemoFirst versus $5,990 with other providers—saving nearly $48,000 annually.
- Reduced global expansion costs: Companies avoid the $15,000-$50,000 typically spent establishing each foreign entity, plus the ongoing compliance costs of maintaining those entities (approximately $20,000-$40,000 annually per country).
- Accelerated market entry: Rather than spending 3-6 months setting up legal entities, companies can hire talent in new countries within a week. This rapid deployment capability helps businesses respond quickly to market opportunities.
- Minimized compliance risk: Companies avoid potential penalties and legal issues through continuous monitoring of changing regulations across all countries. Employment law violations typically cost $10,000-$100,000 per incident, not including potential business disruption.
- Simplified global payroll: By automating payroll calculations and tax withholdings across multiple currencies, RemoFirst eliminates one of the most complex aspects of international employment. Companies save approximately 15-20 hours per pay period of manual calculation work.
- Operational flexibility: he pay-as-you-go model with no minimum commitments lets businesses scale their international workforce up or down as needed. This flexibility is particularly valuable for project-based businesses, seasonal operations, or companies testing new markets.
- Benefits Administration: Companies can offer comprehensive health benefits to employees worldwide through a single platform, enhancing recruitment competitiveness without the complexity of navigating multiple local providers.
Pricing and Plans
Oyster HR Pricing
Oyster HR offers a flexible pricing structure that adapts to the size and needs of your business:
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Employer of Record (EOR) Pricing | $599 per employee/month |
| Contractor Management Pricing | $29 per employee/month |
| Payroll Pricing | $25 per employee/month |
| Annual Discount | Available |
Oyster HR’s pricing includes access to its global payroll platform, compliance tools, and HR management features. While it may be pricier than some competitors, the comprehensive nature of its services can provide value for businesses looking for a robust global employment solution.
Remofirst Pricing
Remofirst provides a straightforward and competitive pricing structure, making global hiring accessible to businesses of all sizes:
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Employer of Record (EOR) Pricing | $199 per employee/month |
| Contractor Management Pricing | $25 per employee/month |
| Annual Discount | Not available |
Remofirst’s pricing is generally more affordable, making it an attractive option for small businesses and startups. Their transparent pricing structure allows for easy budgeting and cost prediction.
Pros and Cons of Oyster HR
Pros
- User-Friendly Interface: Offers an intuitive platform that’s easy to navigate and use.
- Extensive Global Coverage: Operates in over 180 countries, providing broad international reach.
- Comprehensive Compliance Management: Strong focus on keeping businesses compliant with local regulations.
- Ethical Focus: Emphasizes ethical employment practices and social responsibility.
- Integrated Cost Calculator: Helps businesses estimate employment costs in different countries.
- Third-Party Integrations: Offers integrations with various HR and business tools.
Cons
- Premium Pricing: Can be expensive compared to some competitors, with EOR services starting at $599 per employee per month.
- Feature Limitations: Some features require additional purchases, potentially increasing costs.
- Limited Analytics: Reporting and analytics capabilities may be less comprehensive than some competitors.
- Potential Overkill for Small Teams: The comprehensive nature of the platform may be more than necessary for very small businesses.
Pros and Cons of Remofirst
Pros
- Lowest EOR pricing available:RemoFirst charges just $199 per employee monthly, making it 60-75% cheaper than competitors like Deel ($599) and Remote ($599). This price difference makes global hiring accessible even for companies with tight budgets.
- Rapid employee onboarding: RemoFirst typically completes employee setup within 5-7 business days across all countries, compared to the 3-6 months needed to establish your own local entities. According to user reports, most employees are fully onboarded within a week.
- Comprehensive compliance handling: The platform manages all local employment regulations, tax filings, and statutory requirements in every country, eliminating compliance risks that typically cost companies $10,000+ in penalties per violation.
- Budget-friendly contractor management: Beyond EOR services, RemoFirst offers contractor payments and management for just $25 monthly per contractor, significantly undercutting Deel ($49) and most other providers by 40-50%.
- No hidden cost surprises: Unlike many competitors who charge different rates by country or add unexpected fees, RemoFirst maintains consistent global pricing with no setup fees, deposits, or minimum commitments. What you see is what you pay.
- Global benefits administration: Companies can provide employees standardized health insurance (including vision and dental) across all countries through the RemoHealth program, boosting recruitment competitiveness without navigating multiple local providers.
- Easy-to-learn interface: The platform has a clean, minimal design that requires little training for HR staff, with most users able to navigate core functions within their first session. This saves countless hours on tool adoption.
Cons
- Basic reporting capabilities: RemoFirst’s analytics tools lack the depth found in enterprise options like Rippling, offering only fundamental workforce data without customizable dashboards or visualization options. Companies need separate tools for advanced workforce analytics.
- Limited integration ecosystem: The platform supports fewer third-party integrations than established competitors, potentially creating manual work when connecting with popular HRIS, accounting, and payroll systems. Users report difficulties connecting with some project management software.
- Early-stage platform limitations: As a newer EOR provider founded in 2021, RemoFirst is still developing features that established competitors already offer, including multi-country payroll consolidation and advanced tax planning tools.
- Minimal country-specific customization: The platform offers limited localization options for employment contracts and policies, potentially creating challenges for companies with highly specialized regional requirements or those operating in highly regulated industries.
Customer Reviews and Ratings
When comparing Oyster HR and RemoFirst’s ratings across G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot, the following scores and review volumes provide insight into user satisfaction levels:
| Review Platform | Oyster HR | RemoFirst |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.4/5 (714 reviews) | 4.5/5 (147 reviews) |
| Trustpilot | 4.6/5 (199 reviews) | 4/5 (10 reviews) |
| Capterra | 4.5/5 (68 reviews) | 5/5 (2 reviews) |
Oyster HR vs. Remofirst: Summary
A detailed summary of the comparison of Oyster HR and RemoFirst:
| Feature | Oyster HR | RemoFirst |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Scaling Companies Focused on Remote Team Success | Cost-Conscious and Tight Budgets |
| EOR Pricing | $599 per employee/month | $199 per employee/month |
| Contractor Pricing | $29 per employee/month | $25 per employee/month |
| Country Coverage | 180+ | 180+ |
| Support Channels | Email, Live Chat | |
| Support Availability | Business Hours | 24/7 |
| G2 Rating | 4.4/5 (714 reviews) | 4.5/5 (147 reviews) |
| Capterra Rating | 4.5/5 (68 reviews) | 5/5 (2 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.6/5 (199 reviews) | 4/5 (10 reviews) |
| Partnership Discount | N/A | 1 Month Free |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Recommendations
When considering global employment solutions, Oyster HR and Remofirst offer distinct advantages that cater to different business profiles and needs. Understanding these differences is crucial in selecting the right partner for your international expansion efforts.
Who do I recommend Oyster HR to?
Oyster HR has established itself as a comprehensive global employment platform, ideal for companies with ambitious international hiring plans and a focus on employee experience.
Here’s who I recommend Oyster HR to:
- Tech scale-ups rapidly expanding their global footprint
- Mid-sized professional services firms hiring internationally
- E-commerce companies building diverse, distributed teams
Oyster HR’s robust compliance features, extensive country coverage, and focus on employee experience make it well-suited for businesses that prioritize building a strong, engaged global workforce. Their platform offers advanced tools for managing complex international hiring scenarios, making it particularly valuable for companies in fast-growing sectors or those entering multiple new markets simultaneously.
Who do I recommend Remofirst to?
Remofirst is a cost-effective, straightforward solution for businesses new to international hiring or those with more modest global expansion plans.
Here’s who I recommend Remofirst to:
- Early-stage startups making their first international hires
- Small software development agencies contracting global talent
- Bootstrapped e-learning platforms expanding to new markets
Remofirst’s appeal lies in its simplicity, affordability, and flexibility. Its transparent pricing model and ability to support contractor and full-time employee hiring make it an excellent choice for smaller businesses or those just beginning their global expansion journey. The personalized support it offers can be particularly valuable for companies without extensive in-house HR resources.
When to consider alternative EOR providers?
While Oyster HR and Remofirst cater to a wide range of business needs, there are scenarios where exploring other EOR providers might be beneficial. Consider alternatives when your business has specific requirements that these platforms may not fully address, such as:
- Specialized industry compliance needs
- Expansion into particularly complex regulatory environments
- Requirements for deep integration with existing enterprise systems
- Need for extensive customization in employment solutions
- Plans for rapid scaling across numerous countries simultaneously
Here’s a table of alternative EOR providers to consider:
| Provider | Best For | Key Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Deel | High-growth tech companies | Extensive global reach and crypto payments |
| Papaya Global | Multinational corporations | Advanced payroll automation and workforce analytics |
| Remote | Companies prioritizing IP protection | Owned legal entities in 100+ countries |
| Rippling | US-based companies expanding globally | Integrated HR, IT, and Finance management |
| Multiplier | Businesses focusing on APAC expansion | Strong presence and expertise in Asia-Pacific region |
| Atlas HXM | Organizations needing customized solutions | Flexible platform with strong advisory services |
Each provider offers unique strengths that might align better with specific business needs. For instance, Deel’s support for crypto payments could attract blockchain companies, while Papaya Global’s advanced analytics might appeal to data-driven enterprises.
The EOR landscape is diverse, and the right solution depends on your company’s specific global employment needs, growth trajectory, and operational preferences. It’s worth thoroughly evaluating multiple providers to find the best fit for your international expansion strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Oyster HR and Remofirst?
Oyster HR and Remofirst offer global employment solutions but have some key differences.
Oyster HR is known for its extensive compliance management and is often preferred by larger companies or those with complex international hiring needs. It offers a more comprehensive suite of HR tools and integrations.
Remofirst, on the other hand, is generally more cost-effective and is often favored by small to medium-sized businesses and startups. It offers faster onboarding and a more streamlined approach to global hiring.
How do the pricing structures of Oyster HR and Remofirst compare?
Oyster HR typically has a higher price point, with EOR services starting at $599 per employee per month for annual plans.
They also offer contractor management at $29 per month per contractor. Remofirst, focusing on affordability, offers more competitive pricing with EOR services starting at $199 per employee per month and contractor management at $25 per month per contractor.
However, it’s important to note that pricing can vary based on specific business needs and the number of employees.
Which platform offers better compliance management?
Both Oyster HR and Remofirst prioritize compliance management, but Oyster HR is often considered to have a slight edge in this area.
Oyster HR is known for its strong focus on compliance, offering real-time updates on employment laws and built-in compliance checks.
Remofirst also ensures compliance with local labor laws across multiple jurisdictions but may not offer as robust a system for particularly challenging markets.
The best choice depends on the specific countries you’re hiring in and the complexity of your compliance needs.
Can both platforms handle global payroll and benefits administration?
Oyster HR and Remofirst offer global payroll and benefits administration services.
Oyster HR provides a comprehensive global payroll solution that handles multiple currencies and offers customizable global benefits packages.
Remofirst also centralizes multi-country payroll, automates tax withholding, and offers customizable benefits packages, including local health insurance options.
The main difference lies in the level of customization and the specific features offered within these services.
Which platform is better for a small business just starting to hire internationally?
For a small business just beginning to hire internationally, Remofirst might be the more suitable option.
Its competitive pricing structure and focus on serving small to medium-sized businesses make it an attractive choice for companies with limited budgets.
Remofirst also offers fast onboarding (within 24-48 hours) and a straightforward approach to global hiring.
However, if the small business anticipates rapid growth or has complex compliance needs, Oyster HR’s more comprehensive services might be worth the higher cost.
It’s always best to evaluate your business needs, growth plans, and budget when making this decision.