1. Executive summary
Choosing an Employer of Record is a finance decision as much as an HR workflow: total cost, cash locked in deposit, and who actually employs the person. Oyster Global fits when benefits and employee care are the reason to pay a premium seat, and a partner can employ the person. It is less ideal when the goal is the lowest seat, keeping cash free, owned-entity employment, or a deeper integration and device stack.
Published pricing is $699 per employee per month and $29 per contractor per month, with about 2 months of payroll held as a deposit. Customers report an FX markup of ~1.5% when the invoice is funded in a different currency than the salary. The $699 seat is the premium line. It is not priced to compete on fee. Deel and Remote list $599. Multiplier lists $459. Pay it for benefits and employee care. Confirm which benefits are in the $699, which are passed through, and which vary by partner. Oyster Global claims 50 owned entities and 130 supported countries. Delivery is a partner network. That 50 is not a country-by-country map. A supported country is not automatically an owned entity. The reason to pay this seat is benefits and care, not owned-entity coverage.
Before signing
- Who legally employs the person in each hire country, which partner stands behind that employment, and who you escalate to if payroll or a termination stalls.
- How the deposit is calculated: salary only, or total costs; whether this engagement is about 1 month or up to 2; whether it is refundable and when; whether a raise increases it.
- Which benefits are in the $699, which are passed through, and which vary by partner. Equipment shipping is not in the base product.
- If the hire creates proprietary work: no indemnification amount is published. Write the clause and the cap into this contract, including where a partner employs the person.
- A sample FX markup quote on the currency pairs you will fund, whether funding in the salary currency changes it, and a cap in the contract if that cost is material.
- Whether a routine amendment stays at $0, and a cap on any partner administrative fee or statutory filing outside the $699.
2. Total cost of ownership
The platform fee is a flat amount per person, so a local salary increase does not raise it. The seat is the premium line. Benefits passed through and the deposit are separate. Do not treat the $699 as the all-in cost of care.
| Financial metric | Oyster Global structure | What it means for finance |
|---|---|---|
| Base EOR cost | $699 per employee / month (fixed flat rate) | A local raise does not lift this fee. Salary, benefits, and statutory costs still sit on top. |
| Contractor cost | $29 per contractor / month | $29 matches Remote and sits below Deel’s $49. That line is competitive. The constraint is the $699 employee seat, not this fee. Less ideal only when most of the roster stays contractors and that premium seat is not the brief. |
| FX markup | ~1.5% | What customers report, not a published rate card. On $100,000 of converted payroll, 1.5% is $1,500. Ask whether funding in the salary currency changes it, for a quote on the actual pair, and for a cap if the spread matters. |
| Deposit terms | About 2 months (amount at vendor discretion) | Working-capital lockup of 1 to 2 months of total costs, not salary only. Confirm the basis, whether this engagement is closer to 1 month or 2, whether it is refundable and when, and whether a raise increases it — only if this contract indexes cash to pay. Remote lists no deposit at a lower seat. Two months of a $100,000 salary is about $16,700. That illustration is salary only. Total costs are higher. |
3. Treasury and FX
- Ask for a sample funding quote on the corridors you will fund, whether the markup is a spread or a fee, and for a contractual cap if that spread is material.
- Remote lists no deposit at $599. Use Oyster Global when benefits and care are the brief. Do not use it to keep cash free, or to buy owned-entity employment.
- A standard contract change is published at $0. The fee schedule also leaves room for a variable charge. Cap any partner administrative fee or statutory filing that sits outside the $699. Benefits pass-through and country payroll still need a line in the cost model.
4. Compliance and delivery
- Delivery is a partner network, not owned-entity coverage. Confirm who legally employs the person, which partner stands behind that employment, and who you escalate to if payroll or a termination stalls. A supported country is not automatically an owned entity.
- Local contract templates and KYC checks are included. No indemnification amount is published. If a partner employs the person, that cap may sit with the partner unless this contract says otherwise. If the hire creates proprietary work, have legal write the clause and the cap into this agreement.
- Equity varies by partner. Equipment shipping is not in the base product. Visas are included. Confirm which benefits are in the $699, which are passed through, and which vary by partner.
- SSO is listed. Connectors include BambooHR, HiBob, HubSpot, and Xero — core HR and accounting tools, not a broad ERP or device catalog. A dedicated account manager is listed for enterprise only. Confirm the support response time in this contract.
5. Oyster Global versus the alternatives
- Choose Oyster Global if benefits and employee care are the brief, partner-network delivery is acceptable, and 1 to 2 months of total costs as a deposit are acceptable. A custom enterprise tier is listed — ask whether the $699 sticker moves at this volume.
- Choose Remote if keeping cash free and owned-entity delivery outweigh the care-focused brief. Remote lists no deposit at $599. Confirm that published zero applies to this company and these countries.
- Choose Deel if owned-entity coverage, a deeper integration stack, or a published IP amount matters more than the benefits positioning. Deel lists $599, about one month of deposit, and $1,000,000 IP cover.
- Choose Multiplier if employees and contractors should sit on owned-entity delivery, and the benefits premium is not the brief. Multiplier lists $459 and about one month of deposit.
Strategic recommendation
Use Oyster Global when benefits and employee care are the reason to pay the $699 seat, and a partner can employ the person. Budget 1 to 2 months of total costs as a deposit, and the benefits that sit outside the seat. It is less ideal when the goal is the lowest seat, keeping cash free, owned-entity employment, or a deeper integration and device stack. Do not sign until the employing partner, the deposit basis, and the benefits in the seat are written down.