TLDR: Affordable Solutions vs Comprehensive Management
- Remofirst: Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses needing a user-friendly and affordable global employment platform. Save time and money with Remofirst
- Atlas HXM: The perfect solution for large enterprises needing a complete Human Experience Management platform with advanced features and compliance support. Try out Atlas HXM today
The main difference between Remofirst and Atlas HXM is their approach to global employment solutions and pricing models. Remofirst offers a more cost-effective option with straightforward pricing. At the same time, Atlas HXM provides a more comprehensive Human Experience Management (HXM) platform with advanced features but at a higher price point.
Remofirst and Atlas HXM are leading global payroll and hiring platforms, offering distinct advantages as Employer of Record (EOR) providers. However, their strengths and limitations make them better suited to different types of businesses, depending on size, complexity, and specific needs.
Remofirst is a robust global payroll and hiring platform that ranks among the best EOR providers I’ve used. Thanks to its ability to streamline global HR processes and provide essential legal resources, it is a top choice for companies looking to hire, pay, and manage international employees easily. However, Remofirst’s capabilities might not scale adequately for very large organizations.
On the other hand, Atlas HXM’s integrated approach—combining HR, IT, and Finance solutions—offers a highly versatile platform for managing a global workforce. While its extensive customization options can be a powerful asset, they may also be overwhelming for businesses with more straightforward needs. Despite its ease of use and the comprehensive tools it provides, Atlas HXM’s pricing could benefit from greater transparency, and there is a learning curve involved.
In this review, I’ll delve into Remofirst’s and Atlas HXM’s key features and potential drawbacks, mainly focusing on their EOR services. I’ll also recommend ideal use cases for each platform and suggest alternatives for organizations with more limited HR requirements. By comparing Remofirst’s strengths and weaknesses with Atlas HXM’s, I aim to help you determine which platform best meets your business needs, whether you’re managing a small startup or a large enterprise with complex global operations.
RemoFirst
Country Coverage: 180+
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
EOR Pricing: $199 per employee/month
Contractor Pricing: $25 per contractor/month
Atlas HXM
Country Coverage: 160+ Countries
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
EOR Pricing: Custom
Contractor Pricing: Custom
Overview of Remofirst and Atlas HXM
Remofirst and Atlas HXM are both global employment solutions that help companies hire and manage international employees. We’ve chosen to compare these two platforms because they represent different approaches to global employment services, catering to various business sizes and needs.
Remofirst is known for its user-friendly interface and cost-effective pricing model, making it an attractive option for small to medium-sized businesses looking to expand globally. It offers a straightforward approach to international hiring and payroll management.
Atlas HXM, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive Human Experience Management platform that goes beyond basic EOR services. It provides advanced features for workforce management, making it suitable for larger enterprises with complex global operations.
Overview of Remofirst: Best For Small to Medium-Sized Businesses
Remofirst is an excellent choice for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a cost-effective and user-friendly global employment solution. Its strengths lie in its straightforward pricing, ease of use, and essential EOR services.
Remofirst is best suited for companies that want a no-frills, efficient solution for hiring and managing international employees without breaking the bank.
Company Information
- Headquarters: San Francisco, United States
- Founders: Nurasyl Serik and Volodymyr Fedoriv
- Funding: Over $39 million
- Founding Date: 2021
Read more in our Unbiased Remofirst Review.
Overview of Atlas HXM: Best For Large Enterprises
Atlas HXM, formerly known as Elements Global Services, is a comprehensive Human Experience Management platform that offers a wide range of features beyond basic EOR services. It’s ideal for large enterprises that require advanced workforce management tools and analytics.
Atlas HXM is best for companies with complex global operations that need a robust, all-in-one solution for managing their international workforce.
Company Information
- Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Founders: Rick Hammell
- Funding: $220 million (Series A & B)
- Founding Date: 2015
Read more in our Unbiased Atlas Review.
Key Features of Remofirst
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.
Key Features of Atlas HXM
Atlas HXM platform offers several key features designed to streamline international employment. Here’s a detailed look at what the service provides:
- Global Coverage: Operates in over 160 countries with direct entities, ensuring strong local presence and compliance.
- Comprehensive HXM Platform: Covers the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement, offering a unified solution for workforce management.
- Direct Employer of Record (EOR) Model: Ensures strong compliance and faster issue resolution through owned entities in each country.
- Global Payroll: Processes payroll directly without relying on third parties, enhancing control and reliability.
- Compliance Management: Provides real-time updates on local labor laws and regulations, minimizing legal risks.
- Benefits Administration: Offers locally aligned benefits packages with multiple tiers, tailored to each country’s norms.
- Advanced HR Analytics: Enables data-driven decision-making for workforce planning and strategic insights.
- Talent Management: Includes performance evaluation and employee development tools to foster growth and retention.
- Global HR Advisory: Offers expert support for navigating complex international employment issues.
- Visa and Immigration Support: Assists with work visa and immigration processes for international hires.
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.
Benefits of Using Atlas HXM
The benefits of using Atlas HXM are:
- Simplified Global Expansion: Enables quick entry into new markets without establishing local entities, accelerating international growth.
- Enhanced Compliance: Minimizes legal risks with direct entities and real-time regulatory updates across all operational countries.
- Improved Employee Experience: Provides a unified platform for consistent global HR processes, enhancing satisfaction and retention.
- Cost Optimization: Reduces overhead associated with managing multiple local HR teams and infrastructure.
- Scalability: Easily adapts to changing workforce needs across multiple countries, supporting business growth.
- Time Efficiency: Automates routine HR tasks, allowing focus on strategic initiatives and core business activities.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Leverages advanced analytics for informed workforce planning and strategy.
- Customization: Offers extensive customization capabilities to meet complex enterprise needs and unique business requirements.
- Local Expertise: Provides access to in-country HR experts with extensive experience in local employment practices.
- Centralized Management: Offers a single platform for managing global workforce, simplifying operations and improving visibility.
Pricing and Plans
Remofirst Pricing
Remofirst offers a straightforward pricing model that is particularly attractive to small and medium-sized businesses. Their pricing is transparent and easy to understand, focusing on providing cost-effective solutions for global employment.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Employer of Record (EOR) Pricing | $199 per employee/month |
| Contractor Management Pricing | $25 per employee/month |
| Annual Discount | Not available |
Remofirst also offers customized pricing for businesses with specific needs or larger teams. They provide discounts for companies hiring multiple employees in the same country, making it an economical choice for businesses looking to establish a presence in specific markets.
Remofirst’s pricing model is designed to be flexible and scalable, allowing businesses to adjust their services as they grow. No long-term commitments are required, which adds to the platform’s appeal for startups and small businesses that value flexibility.
Atlas HXM Pricing
Atlas HXM’s pricing structure is more complex and generally higher than Remofirst’s, reflecting its more comprehensive feature set and focus on larger enterprises. While Atlas HXM does not publicly disclose detailed pricing information, their EOR services typically start at a higher price point.
- EOR Services: Starting at $595/employee/month
- Additional services: Custom pricing based on specific needs and volume
Atlas HXM’s pricing is often customized based on the specific needs of each client, taking into account factors such as the number of employees, countries of operation, and required features. This approach allows for more tailored solutions but can make it challenging for smaller businesses to quickly estimate costs.
While Atlas HXM’s pricing is higher than some competitors’, it reflects the platform’s extensive features and the direct EOR model, which provides enhanced compliance assurance. For large enterprises with complex global operations, the additional cost may be justified by the solution’s comprehensive nature and the potential for increased efficiency and compliance.
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.
Pros and Cons of Atlas HXM
Pros
- Comprehensive Solution: Offers a full-fledged Human Experience Management platform covering all aspects of workforce management.
- Strong Compliance Assurance: Direct EOR model provides high-level compliance across countries through owned entities.
- Advanced Analytics: Provides deep insights into workforce data for strategic planning and decision-making.
- Customization Options: Extensive customization capabilities for complex enterprise needs.
- Global Expertise: Access to local HR experts with extensive experience in each operational country.
- Technology Integration: Proprietary Atlas HXM platform for centralized management of global workforce.
Cons
- Premium Pricing: Potentially higher costs, with EOR pricing starting at $595 per employee per month.
- Complexity: May have a steeper learning curve for new users due to its comprehensive feature set.
- Overkill for Small Businesses: May be too sophisticated for companies with simple global employment needs.
- No Standalone Payroll Service: Doesn’t offer a separate payroll outsourcing option for companies with existing entities.
Customer Reviews and Ratings
When comparing RemoFirst and Atlas HXM’s ratings across G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot, the following scores and review volumes provide insight into user satisfaction levels:
| Review Platform | RemoFirst | Atlas HXM |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.5/5 (147 reviews) | 4.5/5 (35 reviews) |
| Trustpilot | 4/5 (10 reviews) | N/A |
| Capterra | 5/5 (2 reviews) | 5/5 (5 reviews) |
Remofirst vs. Atlas HXM: Summary
A detailed summary of the comparison of RemoFirst and Atlas HXM:
| Feature | RemoFirst | Atlas HXM |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Cost-Conscious and Tight Budgets | Enterprises Seeking Advanced HR Analytics & Talent Management |
| EOR Pricing | $199 per employee/month | Custom |
| Contractor Pricing | $25 per employee/month | Custom |
| Country Coverage | 180+ | 160+ Countries |
| Support Channels | Email, Live Chat | Email, Phone, Live Chat |
| Support Availability | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| G2 Rating | 4.5/5 (147 reviews) | 4.5/5 (35 reviews) |
| Capterra Rating | 5/5 (2 reviews) | 5/5 (5 reviews) |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4/5 (10 reviews) | No Reviews |
| Partnership Discount | 1 Month Free | N/A |
| Visit Website | Visit Website |
Recommendations
Choosing between Remofirst and Atlas HXM depends on your organization’s size, structure, and goals. Both platforms offer powerful solutions, but their strengths cater to different needs. Here’s a detailed look at who can benefit most from each platform.
Who do I recommend Remofirst to?
Remofirst is ideal for businesses seeking cost-effective global workforce management, especially for companies expanding internationally. The following types of businesses are the best fit:
- Startups and SMEs: Remofirst offers affordable Employer of Record (EOR) services starting at $199/month per employee. This provides an easy entry point for small and medium-sized enterprises looking to manage payroll and compliance without heavy investments.
- Businesses hiring contractors: Remofirst supports flexible hiring with contractor payroll services available from just $19/month, enabling seamless onboarding and payment management in multiple currencies.
- Organizations prioritizing customer support: Each client gets a dedicated account manager, ensuring personalized guidance and quick issue resolution while navigating international compliance needs.
Who do I recommend Atlas HXM to?
Atlas HXM better fits larger enterprises with complex compliance needs and global operations. It offers a full suite of services to manage employees in over 160 countries. Here’s who will benefit most:
- Multinational companies: Atlas HXM excels in handling compliance across diverse legal jurisdictions, offering comprehensive payroll and benefits administration tailored to local regulations.
- Organizations requiring advanced reporting: With AI-powered analytics and real-time reporting, Atlas HXM supports better decision-making and workforce trend analysis for data-driven enterprises.
- Businesses focused on operational efficiency: Atlas HXM automates onboarding, payroll, and compliance processes, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring smooth global operations.
When to consider an alternative provider?
If neither Remofirst nor Atlas HXM fits your needs, consider other providers specializing in global workforce management.
| Alternative Provider | Best For | Key Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| Deel | Freelancers and contractors | Flexible contracts, invoicing tools, and quick onboarding |
| Papaya Global | Large enterprises with global payroll | Compliance automation and centralized analytics |
| Remote | Distributed teams | EOR services with seamless international hiring |
| Multiplier | Businesses entering new markets | In-depth local compliance and payroll management |
| Oyster HR | Remote-first companies | Localized benefits for international employees |
Each of these providers offers unique capabilities, so it’s essential to choose based on the specific needs of your business—whether it’s flexible contractor management, advanced analytics, or localized compliance coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Remofirst and Atlas HXM compare in terms of global coverage?
Remofirst covers over 180 countries, while Atlas HXM is in more than 160 countries. Both offer extensive global coverage, but Remofirst edges out slightly regarding the number of countries served.
Which platform is more cost-effective for small businesses?
Remofirst is generally more cost-effective for small businesses, with pricing starting at $199 per employee per month for EOR services. Atlas HXM’s pricing starts higher, making it more suitable for larger enterprises.
How do Remofirst’s and Atlas HXM’s compliance capabilities differ?
Both platforms offer strong compliance support, but Atlas HXM’s direct EOR model, where they own entities in each country, provides higher compliance assurance. Remofirst also ensures compliance but may rely on third-party partners in some locations.
Can both platforms handle contractor payments?
Yes, both Remofirst and Atlas HXM offer contractor payment solutions. Remofirst charges $25 per contractor per month, while Atlas HXM provides custom pricing for contractor management.
Which platform offers better analytics and reporting features?
Yes, both Remofirst and Atlas HXM offer contractor payment solutions. Remofirst charges $25 per contractor per month, while Atlas HXM provides custom pricing for contractor management.
How do the user interfaces of Remofirst and Atlas HXM compare?
Remofirst is known for its user-friendly, straightforward interface, making it easy for businesses new to global hiring. Atlas HXM offers a more comprehensive interface with advanced features, which may have a steeper learning curve but provide more functionality for complex HR operations.