// head to head
Deel vs Oyster
Deel and Oyster both cover EOR, payroll, and contractor management, but they differ on coverage breadth, entry pricing, and how third-party reviewers rate them. Deel brings a broader country map, a lower entry price on EOR, and a higher blended score from external reviewers. The figures behind each axis sit in the comparison matrix directly below.
Which one fits you
Choose Deel if
your team needs the wider country list, because Deel covers more countries than Oyster and you are more likely to find the market you need on it. It also documents its own employing entities in many more places, which matters if you want to see local employment set up on public sources. You get a longer integration list and a far larger review base, which gives you more evidence to judge it on. The trade-off you accept is cost: Deel's published EOR starting fee is lower than Oyster's, but it still sits toward the higher end of the market, and Reddit sentiment about Deel leans negative, so read the recent threads before you commit.
Choose Oyster if
your team values community goodwill and a smaller, more focused platform over sheer scale. Oyster's Reddit sentiment leans positive, while Deel's leans negative, and that may count for you if peer opinion shapes your decision. It offers the same four support channels as Deel, including a dedicated customer success manager and round-the-clock support, and it is a certified B Corp. The trade-offs you accept are a higher published EOR starting fee, a shorter country list, fewer security certifications on file, and a much thinner review base, so check that your target countries are covered before you sign.
Where Deel and Oyster can employ
On our coverage data, Deel runs an EOR in 153 countries and Oyster in 116. They overlap in 109, so for 68% of the 160 countries either one covers, you can pick on price and service rather than reach. The difference sits in 44 countries only Deel covers and 7 countries only Oyster covers. If your next hire is in one of them, that decides it.
Only Deel 44 countries
- Americas
- Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Haiti, Martinique, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
- Europe
- Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino
- Africa
- Algeria, Benin, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Lesotho, Mauritania, Namibia, Réunion, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tunisia
- Asia
- Bahrain, Bhutan, China, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Macau, Myanmar, Oman, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste
- Oceania
- Fiji, Nauru
Only Oyster 7 countries
- Europe
- Belarus
- Africa
- Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Togo, Zimbabwe
Own entity or local partner
An EOR either employs your hire through its own local company or through a partner it contracts. With its own entity, the provider controls payroll and compliance directly; with a partner, a third company is the legal employer.
Deel publicly documents its own employing entity in 9 countries (Belgium, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Spain and United States).
Oyster publicly documents its own employing entity in 1 country (United States).
Only entities with a public source (a registry record or the provider’s own legal documents) are counted. A provider can have more entities than it publishes.
What the fee difference adds up to
Deel's published EOR fee is $100 lower per employee per month. That is $1,200 a year for one hire and $12,000 a year for a team of ten, before any volume discount either provider negotiates.
| Employees | Deel | Oyster |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,188 | $8,388 |
| 5 | $35,940 | $41,940 |
| 10 | $71,880 | $83,880 |
| 25 | $179,700 | $209,700 |
| 50 | $359,400 | $419,400 |
Starting fees only, excluding salary and employer contributions. The matrix above lists the setup, offboarding, deposit and FX fees each provider discloses. Model a full hire in the cost calculator.
// reddit reputation, side by side
Deel vs Oyster on Reddit
On Reddit, Deel draws the highest share of negative mentions (40% of 184); Oyster the lowest (28% of 18). Approved mentions only. We screen real community mentions for relevance, then label sentiment, separate from our Select Score.
| Provider | Mentions | First-hand | Positive | Neutral | Negative | Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | 184 | 103 | 23% | 38% | 40% | Mostly negative |
| Oyster | 18 | 12 | 39% | 33% | 28% | Mostly positive |
Most-discussed topics: Deel — compliance · Oyster — compliance
// watch this comparison
// faq
Deel vs Oyster: your questions
How does Deel pricing compare with Oyster?
Both publish a per employee, per month starting fee for EOR, and both sit toward the higher end of the market. Oyster's published EOR starting fee is higher than Deel's. Deel also publishes starting fees for payroll and contractor payments, while Oyster's profile lists EOR and contractor payments, so check the fee-by-team-size table on this page for your headcount.
Which provider covers more countries?
Deel covers more countries than Oyster. Use the coverage breakdown on this page to see which countries both providers cover and which only one does. If your hires are in a market only one of them serves, that settles the choice.
How do Deel and Oyster employ people locally?
Deel documents its own employing entities on public sources in a range of countries across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and South America. Oyster documents its own entity on public sources in the United States only. The entity evidence on this page shows the detail. Where a provider has no own entity in a country, ask how it employs your hire there.
Is it hard to switch between Deel and Oyster?
Moving employees between EOR providers involves transferring employment contracts, payroll data and benefits, and the timeline depends on each country. Both support custom payroll frequencies and integrate with common HR and accounting tools, which eases data transfer. Ask the new provider for a written transition plan and confirm notice terms in your current contract before you start.