Our recommendation: start with RemotePeople, then test Oyster on benefits
We would begin with RemotePeople when the main job is employing someone in a country where you have no entity while keeping the service fee down. Its EOR service covers local contracts, payroll and tax administration, statutory benefits administration and ongoing support, with an account manager on both plans.
Oyster’s strongest case is the offer your employee sees. It sells local benefits packages with upgrade tiers and a global health option linked to Allianz. When a candidate is weighing offers on health cover, that can matter more than the service fee.
Before asking either provider for a quote, write down the salary, benefits and start date you intend to offer. Both proposals should price that same package.
RemotePeople vs Oyster at a glance
Our provider ratings reflect our recommendation order for providers overall.
Question
RemotePeople
Oyster
Our rating
Question
Advertised EOR entry fee
RemotePeople
Global from USD 499; Select from USD 199 for selected countries and qualifying salary ranges, per employee/month.
Oyster
USD 699 per employee/month on the monthly plan; annual seats are quoted, prepaid and non-refundable.
Question
Deposit and refund
RemotePeople
One month of the employee’s gross salary before the contract goes out; unused balance refunded within 5 days of the final payment.
Oyster
About one month of gross salary plus employer costs and Oyster’s fee; credit note about 60 days after the end date.
Question
Benefits for the offer
RemotePeople
Statutory benefits administration included; wider benefits packages quoted by country and package.
Oyster
Local packages with Competitive and Best-In-Class upgrades, plus an Allianz-linked global option, sold as add-ons.
Question
What must be confirmed
RemotePeople / Oyster
Check before signing: confirm country price, Select eligibility, annual seat terms, deposit amount, refund timing, benefit schedules and premiums, and the named employer in writing.
Oyster includes setup, onboarding, routine HR expert access and termination processing in its subscription. Notice pay, severance and optional benefits are extra, so ask for them as separate lines.
Compare RemotePeople’s Global and Select offers with Oyster’s monthly EOR price for the same hire. Both figures are US dollar service fees. Add salary, employer costs and benefit premiums separately.
Annual seats and commitment
Oyster’s annual seats are priced by quote, paid up front and non-refundable. You can reuse an empty seat for a replacement hire, but it doesn’t create a cash refund. Quarterly or semiannual payment costs more per seat, and Oyster’s guide caps renewal increases at 5%.
RemotePeople’s country proposal sets the billing commitment and any minimum headcount. Select depends on the country and the employee’s salary range, so check eligibility before you budget at USD 199.
If hiring dates could slip, compare RemotePeople’s quote with Oyster’s monthly price first. Consider Oyster’s annual seats only if you expect to keep them filled for the year, and run a second case with one seat empty for six months.
RemotePeople advertises EOR in 150+ countries; Oyster lists 120+, through its Direct+ mix of owned entities and vetted partners. Ask each provider to name the legal employer for your hire.
Cash needed before the first payday
RemotePeople’s standard deposit is one month of the employee’s gross salary, due before the employee receives the contract for signature. Your proposal sets the final amount, and it can rise if pay, seniority or notice obligations increase. The unused balance is refunded within 5 days of the final payment to the employee, once payroll is confirmed and termination invoices are settled. Deposits are pooled across employees and countries, so unpaid invoices elsewhere on the account can reduce the refund.
Oyster normally asks for a refundable deposit of about one month of gross salary plus employer costs and its platform fee for each hire, due when you sign the service agreement. It can ask for a top-up on five days’ written notice. After the employee leaves, Oyster usually issues a credit note about 60 days after the end date, and may offer a cash refund if you have no team members left with it.
For both providers, budget the deposit separately from the service fee and the first payroll. With Oyster’s annual plan, the prepaid seat fee is a third cash item.
When Oyster could justify the higher fee
Oyster earns a closer look when benefits affect whether a candidate accepts. Its benefits offer runs from Essential statutory packages to Competitive and Best-In-Class upgrades, with an Allianz-linked global option covering 165+ countries. Optional packages are add-ons, so get the policy schedule and price for your employee before you describe them in an offer.
Check how the cover works in practice. A policy is less useful if the employee must pay for treatment up front or can’t use the expected local network.
The annual model can also suit a stable team. If every seat will stay filled, ask Oyster for an annual quote and compare it with RemotePeople’s proposal over the same 12 months. RemotePeople quotes wider benefits by country and package, so ask it to price the same cover.
Two situations where RemotePeople deserves priority
Hypothetical example: a startup needs one engineer in a country where it has no entity. The offer uses statutory benefits, and the start date may move. Start with RemotePeople’s country quote and check Select eligibility. Oyster’s monthly plan is the fair comparison; an annual seat adds risk for a single hire with an uncertain start.
Hypothetical example: a hiring manager has an open role but no candidate. RemotePeople’s recruitment team can source candidates and move the chosen person into EOR employment. Recruit + EOR adds 2% of annual salary per month for 12 months, 24% in total, on top of EOR fees. Ask for the search scope, payment dates and replacement terms separately, and ask Oyster how it would handle sourcing.
Oyster moves ahead when a senior candidate with dependents is comparing health cover between offers. Then compare the actual policy documents from both providers before the fee.
For other pairings, read Deel vs Oyster or Remote vs Oyster, or browse the EOR comparison directory.
Basis for the recommendation
Our comparison draws on our hands-on tests of both providers, summarized in our RemotePeople review and Oyster review. We checked the linked official pages on 8 November 2026. Our preference for RemotePeople is specific to the situations above. The examples are hypothetical, and a negotiated country quote for your hire decides the final fees, deposit and terms.