Deel vs Oyster vs 4dev.com

Pick Deel if you want the widest menu from one vendor. Per its pricing page, an EOR employee costs from $599 a month, a COR contractor from $325 and a contractor-management seat from $49. Deel also claims 150+ countries and round-the-clock help. Pick Oyster if a shorter price list matters more than breadth. Its contractor tool is cheaper ($29 per contractor a month, free for the first 30 days), although its EOR is dearer at $699. Compare the two on the same product, not plan against plan. For contractor work there is also 4dev.com, a Contractor of Record whose price reads "Service fee: 3% or less per payout".

Begin with who you're adding. Anyone you employ abroad without a local entity goes through an Employer of Record. Deel and Oyster both sell one, so on that product they compete head to head.

Contractors split in two. Contractor management handles paperwork and payments, and the decision on whether someone is truly independent stays with you; Oyster's Global Contractors and the cheapest Deel tier are built that way. Add a Contractor of Record and the vendor takes the middle seat as contracting party. Deel and 4dev.com sell one; Oyster's card lists none. When all you need is for money to land in a contractor's account, a payout tool does the job.

Both vendors started in the same year and both are EOR-first, so the difference is breadth versus focus. Deel's pricing page lists talent search, contractor management, Contractor of Record, US PEO and EOR. Oyster prices EOR, Global Contractors and paid HR advisory. Add-ons such as benefits, visa sponsorship and salary data exist, but Oyster lists no price for them.

The list prices split by product. Oyster's EOR is $699 against Deel's from $599, but Oyster's contractor tool is $29 against Deel's from $49. Oyster also offers annual EOR billing with reusable seats, and it asks for a refundable deposit for EOR team members. Deel bills month to month on standard terms, though its promotional prices carry a two-year minimum. The EOR gap runs against Oyster per head; the contractor gap runs in its favour.

On reach, the headline coverage figures are counted on different bases. Deel quotes 150+ countries and 130+ owned entities, but its country pages document 114 for employees and 136 for contractors. Oyster puts EOR at 120+ countries and contractors at 180+, and its index shows 156 with no split between the two. Whether Oyster employs through entities it owns or through partners is not stated. Deel does, which matters if your counsel asks which company will sit on the payslip.

Security claims also differ in form. On certifications, Deel's card gives ISO 27001 plus SOC 1, SOC 3 and a Type II SOC 2. Oyster's EOR page says only "GDPR and SOC2 compliant" internal practices, plus liability insurance above $8,000,000, so a procurement review should ask Oyster for the actual report.

Support differs on paper. Deel's line is round-the-clock help in your language and time zone. Oyster describes human, expert-led support and country-specific onboarding managers, and sells extra HR time by the hour; we found no published support hours.

Setting Oyster's $29 beside Deel's from $325 is a trap. The $29 buys contractor management, so the classification risk is yours; the $325 buys a Contractor of Record. The like-for-like figure is Deel's $49 against Oyster's $29. On 10 contractors that is $490 against $290 a month, before Oyster's 30-day trial. Each Deel COR contract also needs a deposit of one month of a contractor's payment, per its COR page. Neither vendor publishes an FX markup.

Under contractor management your company signs with the contractor, and judging whether the work is genuinely independent falls to you. Oyster's Global Contractors page offers templates per country or your own contract, and never names a contracting party. Deel's $49 tier follows the same pattern.

A Contractor of Record reverses the paper trail, because your counterparty becomes the vendor, which in turn contracts with the worker. Of the pair, only Deel offers it: you sign a master services agreement and a scope of work with Deel, and Deel signs its standard agreement with the contractor, after an eligibility check of location, job description and work setup. Engagements that fail the check are pointed to EOR. Oyster sells an add-on called Oyster Shell that assesses misclassification risk, with no price listed. Deel's COR reduces the risk of reclassification but does not remove it, so ask to see the contract before leaning on marketing copy.

4dev.com suits a team whose people are contractors, not employees. As with Deel's COR, it is the contracting party for each contractor, but the price follows the payout. The pricing page reads "Service fee: 3% or less per payout"; there is no subscription and the contractor pays nothing.

Put 10 contractors at $3,000 each into the calculator. The 4dev.com bill peaks at $900 a month, while Deel's COR begins at $3,250. That is COR against COR; Oyster lists none to set beside them. Against contractor management, low rates change the picture: a flat $29 undercuts a 3% fee for anyone paid under about $967 a month, and Deel's $49 for anyone under $1,633. At $3,000 each the 3% cap is $90 per contractor, and with the cheaper tools the classification risk stays on your side.

Sign-up includes automatic verification. Contracts come with an IP assignment clause, and closing documents are generated afterwards. A payout can land as a bank transfer (IBAN/SWIFT), on a card or in USDT, across 150+ countries; Oyster's contractor page lists no methods at all. Timing, per 4dev.com, is 1–3 days. Trustpilot rates the service 4.1 across 56 reviews.

For employees, both vendors run EOR, so the question is country by country. Check each hire's country on both lists first; Deel documents 114 employee countries and Oyster states 120+, and a single hire outside a list ends the debate.

Deel's EOR fee already covers benefits administration (healthcare, pensions and similar) localized by country. A US PEO is available from $125 per employee, and payroll for companies with entities of their own is priced on request. Oyster claims an EOR hire can start in 48 hours at best and sells benefits as an add-on; its EOR price includes multi-country payroll in 120+ currencies. Neither onboarding figure is an SLA; both come from the vendors. For wider lists, see global payroll software and EOR providers.

Support. Deel says help is available 24/7, in the customer's language and time zone. Oyster describes human, expert-led support with a Help Center and publishes no hours. 4dev.com support is staffed by people, via email or the Help Center, in working hours.

Onboarding. Deel quotes one day for an EOR employee, with a dedicated onboarding manager, and two days for contractors. Oyster quotes 48 hours at best for EOR, while its contractors prove identity with a government ID and are in within minutes. 4dev.com contractors arrive by invitation or register themselves, clear KYC and then get full access. Every timing above is the vendor's own statement.

Benefits and integrations. Deel prices benefits administration into EOR; Oyster charges extra for a benefits package and lists no price. Oyster's EOR page shows connections to QuickBooks, Greenhouse, BambooHR, Ashby, Personio, HiBob, Carta, Slack and Xero; neither vendor publishes a total.

The ratings are not level. Capterra gives Deel 4.9 across 4,319 reviews and Oyster 4.6 across 91. On G2, Deel has 4.7 from 7,396 reviews and Oyster 4.4 from 1,624. Trustpilot is the widest gap: 4.6 from 9,731 reviews for Deel, 3.8 from 272 for Oyster. Most of Deel's reviewers are paid through it; they like the simple app and quick payouts and dislike withdrawal and conversion fees. Oyster's reviews come largely from employees it engages: they praise an easy portal, smooth onboarding and friendly support, and criticize slow or email-only support. Recent Trustpilot reviews also report delayed salaries.

Moving from Deel to Oyster, or the reverse, means closing one account and opening another. Before you leave, download the signed contracts, scopes of work and invoices, plus yearly payout history for each contractor and the files of EOR hires. Contractors will have to onboard and verify identity again on the new platform.

Employees on an EOR cannot be carried over intact. The old EOR ends the employment and the new vendor's entity takes the person on afresh. That raises questions of notice, accrued leave, benefits continuity and a possible second probation. Start by matching each hire's country against the new vendor's list.

If you are on Deel's COR, ask when its one-month deposit is returned. Leaving Oyster's annual EOR plan, find out what happens to unused seats first. Joining Oyster for EOR, set money aside for its refundable deposit on day one.