
Oyster and Remote are global HR platforms. They enable you to hire overseas employees and work with international freelancers legally.
Whether you run a startup or an established business, you can use these platforms to grow your team.
Here, I have reviewed Oyster and Remote platforms to compare their services and packages. The review may help you make a well-informed purchase decision.
Oyster Overview
Oyster offers hiring and payroll services in 180+ countries. You can use it to onboard employees and contractors compliantly and pay remote teams in their local currencies.
The platform is well-suited for both startups and growing companies. For a flat fee, you can generate legal contracts, collect onboarding documents, automate salary calculations, and send bulk payments.
Oyster also provides benefits administration and optional services, like Visa assistance.
One other thing. If you need help with talent finding, Oyster can connect you with local partners for recruitment and interview. It hosts a network of professionals and partners to provide access to the international job market.
Core Services of Oyster Are;
- Employer of Record.
- Contractor management.
- Global payroll.
- Benefits administration.
- Visa sponsorship.
- Talent sourcing.
- SaaS Platform.
You can try the Oyster app for free to explore its products. Alternatively, you can book a demo here.
Remote Overview
Remote, like Oyster, is a SaaS HR platform. It offers managed services and tech support for international workforce management.
Some of the products you can buy from Remote are employer of record, multi-country payroll, contractor payment, and remote recruitment. The platform runs owned entities in more than 60 countries and works with local partners in 200+ countries to provide legal and compliance support.
Other side services provided by Remote include employee relocation and global expansion consultancy. You can engage its in-house team to help you with talent acquisition, risk assessment, and immigration.
Overall, Remote is a good option to hire, onboard, pay, and manage overseas teams.
Core Services of Oyster Are;
- Employer of Record.
- Contractor management.
- Global payroll.
- Benefits administration.
- Employee relocation.
- Talent sourcing.
- Consultancy.
- SaaS Platform.
You can explore Remote services here. You can also get a product demo and free access to its digital platform.
Oyster Vs Remote—Feature Comparison
Oyster and Remote are close competitors. They offer similar services and target both startups and established companies.
What makes them unique is their product features and service quality. There are some areas where people find Remote better than Oyster, and vice versa.
I have compared their core product line and tech support to help you choose the best platform for your company. The list covers their EOR and Contactor services, payroll products, and HR software.
1. Employer of Record
Employer of Record is an outsourcing service for companies that don’t have legal representatives in other countries.
Oyster EOR
Oyster offers EOR service in 130+ countries. It has a large network of local experts and vendors to provide a seamless onboarding and payroll process to the clients.
Core services of its EOR products include legal contracts, onboarding, documentation, and payroll processing. Oyster delivers country-specific salary calculations and benefits administration to ensure your contract terms comply with local laws.
For an efficient onboarding, Oyster’s in-house team contacts employees on your behalf and guides them through the onboarding process. Both clients and their employees receive self-service portals for onboarding and payments, making the entire process quick and simple.
You’ll also get a dedicated manager to help you with anything you need.
Top Features of Oyster EOR
- Onboarding and offboarding.
- Compliant contracts.
- Payroll in 140+ currencies.
- Time off, benefits, and expenses.
- Salary insights.
- Digital platform.
Remote EOR
Remote delivers EOR services in 80+ countries.
Its global coverage is comparatively low, but it has in-house representatives in most of these countries, which reduces the operation challenges.
The EOR package contains everything from onboarding and payroll to compliance and benefits administration. You’ll receive a self-service platform for routine work and expert support on HR matters, such as incentives or termination paperwork.
Compliant contracts and salary calculations are part of the package. The compliance is built into the software, allowing you to generate tailored packages for international teams.
Remote doesn’t charge any onboarding or set-up fee and, in fact, offers a 90-day refund on its EOR product.
Top Features of Remote EOR
- Legal contracts.
- Compliance and taxes.
- Benefits administration.
- Onboarding and offboarding.
- Global payroll.
- Expenses, incentives, and leave.
- Digital platform.
Verdict
Oyster and Remote have their own strengths.
Oyster delivers EOR in more countries and generally has a user-friendly onboarding process. Remote, on the other hand, has owned entities and good tech support.
If your targeted country falls in the list of the supported regions, go for Remote. For better coverage, Oyster is the best choice.
2. Contractor Management
Oyster and Remote provide a legal way to work with contractors. They help you create compliant contracts and manage invoices and payments online.
Below are Oyster and Remote contractor management package summaries.
Oyster Contractor Package
Oyster helps you hire independent contractors for both long and short term.
The platform delivers country-specific compliant contracts and a system to record hourly and fixed rates.
Benefits aren’t included in the package, but you can offer bonuses or paid time off as additional perks.
You’ll get one month free to explore the services and integrate your third-party apps to streamline your workflows.
Top Features of Oyster Contractor
- Contractor hiring in 180+ countries.
- Invoice management.
- Payments in local currencies.
- Compliant contracts.
- Tax forms.
- SaaS platform.
Remote Contractor Package
Remote allows contractor onboarding and payment in 200+ countries.
This service comes in two separate packages, offering onboarding and payments in the basic plan and advanced functions, like misclassification insurance, in the pro package.
You can generate editable localized contracts and choose flexible payment methods to make things easier. With auto-transactions, you can schedule and pay invoices on time.
If your company uses its own contracts, you can upload and send them to your team. You can also offer benefits to your contractors, like health insurance, for an additional fee.
Top Features of Remote Contractor
- Compliant contracts.
- Hiring in 200+ countries.
- Invoice management.
- Perks and benefits.
- Miscalculation Insurance.
- Flexible payments.
- SaaS platform.
Verdict
Oyster’s contractor package contains essential features for easy onboarding. Remote’s contractor package, however, has additional features.
Remote also offers more than one payment method and provides miscalculation risk coverage.
Based on their product details, Remote appears to be a better option for contractor hiring.
3. Global Payroll
Oyster and Remote’s global payroll product is designed for direct employees—existing staff members.
Many companies have international branches and may need help with cross-border payroll processing. Oyster and Remote simplify international payments, helping them process multi-country payrolls with ease.
Here are their package details.
Oyster Payroll
Oyster already delivers a payroll feature in its EOR package. If you hire people through Oyster, you can also outsource both onboarding and salary disbursement.
The global payroll product is for companies that want to pay overseas employees they didn’t hire through Oyster. Via this service, they can access in-house experts for guidance and manage salaries and taxes directly from Oyster.
The product is still in the beta phase and currently supports Spain, Canada, and UK only.
Top Features of Oyster Payroll
- Direct employee salary disbursement.
- Payroll and tax reports.
- Payslip generation.
- Expert guidance.
- Third-party integration.
Remote Payroll
Remote payroll product has similar features. You can process all your staff salaries from one place and manage benefits and taxes.
You’ll receive both expert and tech support in the package, with third-party integrations to sync your employee data.
You’ll be able to manage everything here, from salary and tax calculations to payslips and reports.
Top Features of Remote Payroll
- Direct employee salary processing.
- Payslips generation.
- Tax and compliance management.
- Expert support.
- SaaS platform and integrations.
Verdict
Both Oyster and Remote offer excellent services, but Remote covers more countries comparatively.
If your team resides outside Spain, Canada, and the UK, you should consider Remote for payroll.
Self-Service HR App
Self-service apps are cloud-based platforms via which you can purchase packages and connect with employees. They also provide you with tools to manage day-to-day tasks.
Here’s the summary of Oyster and Remote self-service portals.
Oyster HR
Oyster HR platform has basic tracking and automation tools. You can monitor onboarding, record time and attendance, approve expenses, and send payments.
You’ll receive a main dashboard to oversee daily tasks and an approval system to handle time off and payroll. Contractors and employees will get separate logins to submit expense requests and upload invoices.
You can sign up for OysterHR from the official site and get started right away. The software has a built-in virtual assistant to help you with navigation.
Top Oyster Integrations
- Slack.
- Zapier.
- Expensify.
- NetSuite.
- BambooHR.
- Greenhouse.
- QuickBooks.
- Xero.
Remote HR
Remote’s platform is rich in features.
You’ll get a centralized dashboard with modules to track onboarding and offboarding, send and receive documents, collect timesheets, and process reimbursement. The expense module here is well-established, offering multiple flexible options to manage different perks and benefits.
For the staff, Remote provides mobile apps. They can upload documents, submit requests, and download payslips.
You can create a free account and connect Remote with your company’s system.
Top Remote Integrations
- Slack
- Zapier.
- Gusto.
- Bamboo.
- Notion.
- Zendesk.
- QuickBooks.
- SAP.
- Certn.
Verdict
Based on their software features and integrations, Remote is a better choice.
While Oyster and Remote both have essential tools, Remote provides more integration options and delivers a mobile app for employees.
Prices
Oyster and Remote follow a “PAY As You Go” pricing model. They offer several packages and charge you only for the features you want.
You can book a demo to explore the packages and purchase the products in various currencies [The supported currencies are mentioned on the pricing page.]
Here’s the package summary of Oyster and Remote.
Oyster
- Contractor: The prices start at $29. You’ll get a 30-day free trial to test the features.
- Global Payroll: This is a direct employee package and costs $50 per user. The product is in the beta phase.
- Employer of Record: Most companies prefer this package. The starting price is $599 if billed monthly and $499 per month on the annual plan.
- Scale: It’s a discount package for companies that want to hire more than five employees. You’ll get EOR features at low rates.
- Add-ons: These include benefits administration and visa sponsorship. The prices may vary.
- Digital App: The self-service portal is free.
Remote
- Contractor Basic: The prices start at $29. The package covers essential features, such as onboarding and payment.
- Contractor Plus: It has everything from the basic package plus misclassification risk coverage and compliance management. The price is $99 per user.
- Global Payroll: <span data-preserver-spaces=”true”>Remote charges $50 per user for this service.
- Employer of Record: It’s an annual package. The starting price is $599 per month.
- Remote Talent: For talent sourcing, Remote charges a minimum of $119 per month.
- Add-ons: Remote provides a few optional services such as consultancy, relocation, and stock options. Talk to sales for additional features.
- Digital App: The app is completely free.
Pros And Cons
Oyster and Remote share a lot of common features. They sell EOR and contractor management services globally and offer localized benefits and compliance support.
However, both platforms have some unique selling points that set them apart from each other.
In the below list, I have summarized a few pros and cons of Oyster and Remote to highlight the differences. It may give you the necessary information to make the final decision.
Oyster Pros
The EOR package has more country coverage.
You can get discounts on large volumes.
Oyster Cons
Oyster only accepts US, GBP, EUR, and CAD. Compared to Remote, the billing currencies are limited.
The digital platform is basic.
Remote Pros
Remote has owned entities, making it best for EOR services.
Misclassification coverage.
Mobile app for employees.
Remote Cons
Customer service in each country may vary.
Conclusion
Oyster and Remote has everything you need to successfully manage your workforce. They have global coverage, compliance expertise, tech infrastructure, and good payment systems.
They also manage multi-country payroll for existing employees.
If you run your business from the US, Europe, or Canada, both are excellent platforms for you. But if you operate from outside these regions, or your accounts are in other currencies, I recommend exploring Remote.
Good luck!