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4dev.com vs Oyster

By Aleksandra Popova, Founder & Editor · Updated · 1 min read

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4dev.com and Oyster both help companies pay and manage people across borders. Both offer contractor management. This comparison looks at country coverage, pricing, compliance and verified user ratings — every figure is sourced from each provider's official site, with ratings aggregated from G2, Capterra and Trustpilot.

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4dev.com 3
—
3 Oyster

9 rounds · 1 tied · 2 not comparable

4dev.com

Best for digital-product companies (software, gamedev, AI, creative) paying contractors in many countries, where ownership of the work matters
Not for buyers whose procurement requires a named SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report

Oyster

Best for mission-driven organizations
Not for teams needing a broad standalone global payroll

Round-by-round scorecard

Round 4dev.com Oyster Winner
Country coverage 150+ 120+ 4dev.com
Product breadth 2 of 4 core products 3 of 4 core products Oyster
Lead plan price Service fee: 3% or less per payout $699/mo per employee not comparable
Fastest published payout 1–3 days not stated not comparable
Documents issued Invoices, contracts, closing docs — 1-click export Auto invoices, contracts, tax forms tie
Onboarding time Vendor claim: 'Kick off work in minutes, not hours' — no guaranteed SLA As fast as 48 hours 4dev.com
Security certifications not stated SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, B-Corp Oyster
User rating 4.1/5 4.34/5 Oyster
Our editorial score 8.5/10 8.3/10 4dev.com

Rounds are decided from facts the vendors publish. Where the claims are not comparable — a flat fee against a percentage of volume, say — no winner is assigned. Payout speed is scored on the fastest option each vendor publishes, documents on how many distinct types each one issues.

Side by side

4dev.comOyster
Editorial score 8.5/10 8.3/10
User rating 4.1/5 4.34/5
Countries covered 150+ 120+
Entity model — —
Employer of Record Yes
Contractor of Record Yes No
Contractor management Yes Yes
Global payroll Yes
Onboarding time Vendor claim: 'Kick off work in minutes, not hours' — no guaranteed SLA As fast as 48 hours
Certifications — SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, B-Corp
Support Email ([email protected], [email protected]), Help Center (help.4dev.com) tickets, email, help center
Lead plan Service fee: 3% or less per payout $699/mo per employee
Payout speed 1–3 days —
Documents issued Invoices, contracts, closing docs — 1-click export Auto invoices, contracts, tax forms
Batch payouts — Yes
Payout API Yes —

Facts checked on the vendors' own pages —

Both platforms in detail

4dev.com

A contractor platform that acts as Contractor of Record: 4dev contracts with each contractor and the client contracts with 4dev, which reduces reclassification risk without removing it. It onboards contractors with automatic KYC, keeps IP assignment and closing documents in one flow, and pays out by bank transfer, card or USDT across 150+ countries on a published fee of 3% or less.

8.5/10

★ 4.1 · 49 reviews

Price
Service fee: 3% or less per payout
Payout speed
1–3 days
Documents
Invoices, contracts, closing docs — 1-click export
Contractor onboarding
Self-serve onboarding, auto verification
Coverage
150+ countries
Payout methods
Bank transfer (IBAN / SWIFT), Card, USDT
Payout API
yes

Differs from Oyster: 150+ countries vs 120+adds CORno batch payoutsadds payout API

What stands out

  • acts as Contractor of Record — the contracting party for each contractor — which reduces reclassification risk
  • transparent published pricing: '3% or less' service fee, no subscription, 0% for contractors
  • payouts by bank transfer, card or USDT across 150+ countries, in 1–3 days

Not a fit for

  • buyers whose procurement requires a named SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report
Checked on the vendor's own pages · 3 pages

Read full review Visit site ↗

Oyster

A B-Corp EOR focused on simplicity and ethical global hiring — strong for mid-size teams.

8.3/10

★ 4.3 · 1871 reviews

Price
$699/mo per employee
Documents
Auto invoices, contracts, tax forms
Contractor onboarding
In-app ID verification, onboarding in minutes
Coverage
120+ countries
Batch runs
yes

Differs from 4dev.com: 120+ countries vs 150+adds EORno CORadds global payroll

What stands out

  • B-Corp certified
  • 120+ EOR countries with a 48-hour onboarding claim
  • contractor payments in 120+ currencies

Not a fit for

  • teams needing a broad standalone global payroll
  • buyers who require a disclosed entity model
Checked on the vendor's own pages · 2 pages

Read full review Visit site ↗

Pricing side by side

Product 4dev.com Oyster
EOR — employer of record $699/mo per employee Employer of Record
PEO — $114/mo per employee US PEO
Contractor management Service fee: 3% or less per payout Contractor workflows (usage-based) —
Contractor account No contractor-side platform fee (0%) —
Global Contractors — $29/mo per contractor (free 30-day trial)

A dash means the vendor does not publish a price for that product, not that it has none. The last rows are plans only one of the two sells.

What neither of them does

Comparisons look for a winner. These are the gaps both share — if you need any of them, neither option solves your problem:

  • neither discloses its FX margin

If neither fits

Both may miss what you need. In that case, widen the search:

Frequently asked questions

Does 4dev.com or Oyster cover more countries?

4dev.com states the broader reach at 150+ countries, versus 120+ for Oyster (per each provider's official site).

How do 4dev.com and Oyster user ratings compare?

Across third-party review sites (weighted by review count), 4dev.com averages 4.1/5 and Oyster averages 4.34/5.

What's the main difference between 4dev.com and Oyster?

4dev.com offers a dedicated Contractor of Record while Oyster does not.

How we researched this page

Both profiles are built from the vendors' own pages: every fact carries a source and a check date, and where a vendor publishes nothing there is a dash rather than a guess. Scores are ours and are not for sale. Methodology · Report an error

Represent one of these platforms? We correct an outdated price or fact for free; for placement in our categories, talk to us.