8 Best Employer of Record (EOR) Services to Boost Business Efficiency 

1. What Is the Employer of Record Service?

An employer of record is essentially an entity that agrees to act as the legally responsible business for some or all of your staff for an agreed fee. Usually, they will handle all compliance-related matters as part of the agreement, ensuring that your hiring, firing, and payment practices stay on the right side of any local legislation.

2. What Are the Benefits of Employer of Record Services?

• Helps in the Growth and Expansion of Business

An EOR streamlines and automates the hiring and onboarding workflows. This allows your company to scale rapidly in new territories.

• Compliance with Local Labor Laws

Rather than worrying about local labor laws, you can offload compliance onto an EOR. They will usually already have in-depth knowledge about the requirements for the regions they cover, while staying up to date with any changes in the regulations.

• Improves Administrative Efficiency

EORs take over the time-consuming administration involved in overseeing employees in different geographies. As a result your in-house staff will have more time to focus on future planning and optimizing processes.

• Minimizes the Cost of Setting Up Global Offices

Utilizing an EOR negates the need for your business to set up an entity in each new region you enter. This translates into a reduction in the expense and time that is usually required to submit all the necessary documentation to the local authorities.

• Reduces HR-related Risks

The responsibility for payroll and benefits administration can also be shouldered by an EOR, cutting down the likelihood of any errors or issues with HR-related functions.

3. Overview of the10 Best Employer of Record Services

4. Comparison Criteria While Choosing the Best Employer of Record Services:

• Global Presence

How many countries does the EOR cover? In some cases, your business may only have limited needs that mean you don’t need to worry about the depth of the EOR’s offering, but for companies that could potentially go to market in numerous disparate regions, global reach is an important factor.

• User Ratings

One of the surest ways to gauge whether you are hiring one of the best employer of record services is to check how well they are rated by your peers. You can check whether an EOR has a good reputation online, but sometimes the best way to verify its capabilities is to ask acquaintances in your industry.

• Integration

Make sure that the EOR’s platform can mesh with your existing digital architecture as seamlessly as possible. It’s especially important to check that they can integrate with things like your HRIS and accounting software, which handle human resources and payroll.

• Scalability & Flexibility

If you have plans to continually grow the size of your business, you need an EOR that will be able to scale with your operation. Tied into this is the flexibility of the EOR – can they adapt to your specific company needs, or is there only a standard off-the-shelf offering available?

• Pricing

The employer of record pricing will obviously have an impact on what provider you choose. In some cases, you may have to compromise by choosing an EOR that has less flexibility but that comes in at a more affordable price point. 

• Customer Support

There will inevitably be teething problems when you begin working with a new EOR, so it’s important to understand upfront what kind of customer support you can expect. Some EORs communicate solely via email, while others may also offer call center aid. In some cases, customer support may be more widely provided during the initial phase but later taper off.

5. A Brief Overview of the 10 Best Employer of Record Services:

5.1. Global Expansion – Best Employer of Record for Customization

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Working with 21% of the FTSE and Fortune 500 companies, Global Expansion (GX) offers a white-glove service to implement bespoke solutions for your company’s needs, making it one of the best employer of record services. Working with both your HR and finance team to understand your internal processes, GX can handle all human resources, payroll, and compliance in 214 countries and territories.

Key features:

• Hiring and onboarding

• Payroll and taxes

• Bespoke benefits packages

• Immigration consultation and visa procurement

Pricing: 

Available upon request.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• GX’s platform is highly customizable. 

• The company operates in 214 countries and territories.

• All aspects of an EOR are covered, including more obscure needs like relocation and immigration.

Cons:

• The interface could be more intuitive and accessible.

• The pricing is opaque.

5.2. Deel – Best Employer of Record for Global Payroll

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Deel specializes in payment, hiring, and compliance services for companies that employ FTEs and contractors internationally. This EOR operates in more than 100 nations and has one of the most responsive customer service teams in the business.

Key features:

• Global payroll administration

• Time off and expenses

• Hiring and onboarding

• Document management for compliance

• Offboarding

Pricing: 

From $599 per month. 

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Deel started as a payroll specialist and remains at the top of the game for this functionality.

• EOR services include 24/7 in-app support with response times of under 5 minutes.

• 15 pre-built integrations are available, including Xero, BambooHR, and Greenhouse, plus the Deel API allows you to build your own custom integrations.

• Strong data protection protocols are utilized.

Cons:

• Deel is one of the more expensive options on the market.

• Customer service is markedly better for enterprise customers.

5.3. Horizons – Best Employer of Record for Rapid Onboarding

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Horizons helps you hire and pay staff in more than 180 countries, ensuring compliance through one of its local subsidiaries. The company can also handle health insurance, work permits, and strategic recruitment for an additional fee.

Key features:

• Hiring and onboarding

• Locally compliant labor contracts 

• Payroll and taxes

• Health insurance and visa add-ons

• Offboarding

Pricing: 

From $299 per month.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• New hires are onboarded within 24 hours.

• The company offers in-house recruitment support.

• Pricing is transparent and straightforward.

Cons:

• Customer support response time is on the slow side.

5.4. Remote – Best Employer of Record for Localized Benefits Packages

What makes this employer of record service unique?

As one of the best employer of record services, Remote facilitates the hiring of employees in 80 countries and territories around the world. The company’s consulting services provide advice and solutions regarding local labor laws, and they can also put together a package of localized benefits. Global payroll is available for an additional fee.

Key features:

• Hiring and onboarding

• Benefits administration

• Local HR support on compliance

• IP protection

Pricing: 

$599 per employee per month, plus $55 per employee per month for global payroll.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Remote has one of the more responsive customer service teams.

• Free integrations are offered for customers, including with popular HR software like BambooHR, Bob, and Greenhouse.

• Benefits packages are localized to the various geographies.

• Remote 100% owns the entities in the countries where it operates EOR services.

Cons:

• Payroll is not included in the basic package.

• The range of countries is smaller than other EORs.

• It’s one of the more expensive options on the market.

5.5. Rippling – Best Employer of Record for 360-degree HR

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Rippling is an all-round workforce management service that also happens to have one of the best employer of record services on the market. In other words, you can combine the EOR offering with such diverse HR systems as learning management, pulse surveys, or time and attendance tracking in a single platform.

Key features:

• Hiring and onboarding

• Compliance management

• Payroll

• Benefits administration

Pricing: 

Available upon request.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Rippling is a unified system where you can handle all your domestic and international HR needs in one platform.

• The company offers excellent scalability, so you can easily go from hiring a handful of overseas staff to hundreds.

• Payroll is generally faster than competitors because payments are processed natively.

Cons:

• There’s a fairly steep learning curve for new users.

• The pricing is opaque.

5.6. Omnipresent – Best Employer of Record for Smooth Onboarding

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Working across 160 countries, Omnipresent enables onboarding, payroll, and compliance around the globe. The company also helps you create a comprehensive benefits package that covers statutory requirements as well as supplemental perks to entice top talent.

Key features:

• Locally compliant employment contracts 

• Payroll automation 

• Manage expenses

• Benefits administration 

• Database of remote employees

Pricing: 

Available upon request.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• The user interface is intuitive and easy to use.

• Omnipresent has a very smooth onboarding process.

• The customer service is friendly and timely.

Cons:

• The documentation process could be better customized according to the different countries.

• The pricing is opaque.

5.7. Remofirst – Best Employer of Record for Customer Service

What makes this employer of record service unique?

Remofirst has a slimmed-down business model that allows it to focus fully on its core service as a global employer of record and international contractor. The company works in more than 160 countries and is able to pay salaries in US dollars, euros, British pounds, Canadian dollars, or Singapore dollars.

Key features:

• Compliant onboarding and offboarding

• Payroll management

• Benefits administration

• 24/7 customer support

Pricing: 

From $199 per person per month.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Remofirst is one of the best employer of record services for those on a budget.

• The company supplies same-day onboarding for your new hires.

• Thanks to the streamlined offering, it is able to offer clear customer service support.

Cons:

• The lack of additional functionality might be problematic for companies with more complex needs.

• Employee onboarding could be better managed.

5.8. FoxHire – Best Employer of Record for US-based Companies

What makes this employer of record service unique?

FoxHire specializes in acting as an EOR for US-based countries, which means it has in-depth knowledge pertaining to American regulations around pay, tax, insurance, health benefits, and a whole range of other compliance issues. It can also run background checks. On the international field, it works with a network of partner entities to deliver contractual compliance and payroll.

Key features:

• Onboarding

• Payroll and tax management

• Insurance and benefits administration

• Statutory compliance with US laws

Pricing: 

Available upon request.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• FoxHire is an expert in US compliance requirements.

• The company covers a comprehensive set of features relating to payroll, invoicing, document filings, and insurance.

Cons:

• FoxHire does not directly manage hiring and payroll internationally.

• The pricing is opaque.

6. FAQS

6.1. What are the top companies for employer of record?

Some of the best employer of record services include Rippling, Global Expansion, and Remote, though what solution works best for you will depend on your use case, budget, and other factors.

6.2. Why is employer of record important?

An employer of record is useful because it saves you time and money when you want to hire and pay staff in a country where you don’t have a registered company presence. Instead of setting up a local entity and handling compliance in house, you can pay an EOR to do it for you.