Oyster vs Rippling
We give Oyster a 2.0 GPA and Rippling a 2.4, out of 4.0. Oyster grades higher on the free plan. Rippling grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Oyster
Employer of record and contractor payments in 120+ countries
Rippling
HR, IT and finance platform with US and global payroll, by quote
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAOysterFair | 2.4GPARipplingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DGraded against the other employer-of-record services: $699 a person a month billed monthly, $3,495 for five, $100 a head more than Deel and Remote and the dearest here. Annual seats cost less, but the page gives no figure. | CNo payroll price is published. Rippling says plans start at $8 an employee a month plus a base fee it doesn't state, so five people are at least $40 before that fee, and each module is priced on its own. Quote only. |
| Free plan and trial | CGlobal Contractors is free for the first 30 days, and opening an account costs nothing. Employer of record has no trial, so the main product is paid from the first hire. | FNo free plan or trial. Eligible US venture-backed startups can get 6 months free, but that's a program you qualify for, not a trial anyone can start. |
| Features | CEmployer of record in 120+ countries and contractors in 180+, with ID checks and a misclassification checker. Hiring abroad is covered, but the listing shows no payroll for your own entities and no US PEO, which Deel and Remote both sell. | BPayroll fed straight from HR records, pay-run comparisons, US taxes filed, global payroll, an employer-of-record service and contractor payments abroad, plus approval rules and workflows. The whole job, at home and abroad. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. Onboarding specialists help, but each EOR hire needs a refundable deposit and setting up with Oyster's team. | A4.71 from about 16,600 App Store ratings. New hires and salary changes flow into payroll without retyping, though choosing and pricing the modules takes a sales call. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no mobile app in the pages read, but it links to Slack, Ashby and Workable and to 5,000+ apps through Zapier, and there's an API. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite among more than 650 integrations. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | startups paying contractors in many countries | growing companies that want HR, IT and payroll as one |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Oyster and Rippling. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Rippling lists iOS and Android apps.
- Rippling also covers workflow automation and time tracking.
At a glance
| Oyster | Rippling | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $29 per contractor / month, after 30 days free | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Global Contractors is free for the first 30 days | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Oyster HR, Inc. | Rippling |
| Price read from | oysterhr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Oyster
- Startups making their first hires in other countries
- Teams paying contractors in many countries and currencies
- Nonprofits and B Corps eligible for its impact discounts
Rippling
- Growing companies that want HR, payroll and IT in one system
- Teams with staff or contractors in more than one country
- US venture-backed startups eligible for six free months
Worth knowing
Oyster
- HR advice from People Partner Services is billed at $300 an hour, and benefits, visas and Oyster Shell cover cost extra.
- Each EOR hire needs a refundable deposit, and a conversion fee applies if you pay in a currency other than the contract's.
- Covers 120+ countries for EOR and 180+ for contractors; the pricing page does not list them. Billing is in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD.
- It runs in a web browser; the pages read mention no mobile app.
Rippling
- No payroll price is published: Rippling says plans start at $8 per employee a month plus a base fee it does not state, and quotes the rest.
- Each product, such as payroll, benefits, time tracking or expenses, is priced separately, so the total depends on the modules chosen.
- It runs US payroll and pays people abroad through Global Payroll and its EOR; the pages read give no list or count of countries.
Key features
Oyster
- Employer of record
- Hire full-time staff in 120+ countries without a local entity; Oyster employs them and handles onboarding, offboarding and local compliance.
- Multi-country payroll
- Pays team members in 120+ currencies, with expenses, time off and reports handled in the same platform.
- Global contractors
- Generate contracts in 180+ countries, verify identity, approve invoices and expenses, and check the risk of misclassifying a worker.
- Reusable annual seats
- Annual EOR seats cost less than monthly billing and can be reused for a new hire or a backfill when someone leaves.
- Add-on services
- Benefits packages, visa sponsorship, salary bands for 130+ countries and Oyster Shell misclassification cover of up to $500,000.
- Integrations and API
- Approve time off and expenses in Slack, sync data from ATS and HRIS tools such as Ashby and Workable, link 5,000+ apps through Zapier, or use the API.
Rippling
- Payroll fed by HR data
- New hires, salary changes and benefit deductions flow from the HR record into payroll, and taxes are filed with federal, state and local agencies.
- Pay run comparison
- Compare a pay run with earlier ones to catch changes in gross pay, taxes and deductions before approving it. Extra pay runs cost nothing more.
- Global payroll, EOR and contractors
- Pay employees abroad in their local currency, employ through Rippling's EOR where you have no entity, and pay contractors worldwide from invoices.
- Rippling AI
- Adds one-off bonuses, compares payroll costs across entities, answers employees' questions about pay changes and builds reports from a prompt.
- Workflows, policies and permissions
- Set who can view, create and approve pay runs, and automate HR and IT steps with custom triggers in Workflow Studio.
- Accounting and app integrations
- Links to Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite for accounting, among more than 650 integrations.
Plans
Oyster
Global Contractors$29
per contractor / month, after 30 days free
Contracts in 180+ countries, payments in 120+ currencies, ID checks, invoice and expense handling and a misclassification analyzer.
Employer of Record$699
per employee / month, billed monthly
Employment in 120+ countries with multi-currency payroll, expenses, time off, onboarding specialists and local experts. Annual seats cost less.
Rippling
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rippling.com.
Ways to pay less
Oyster
- Startups
Startup discount of up to $1,200 per hire
Companies that raised pre-seed, seed or Series A, or are bootstrapped with under 50 employees, save up to $1,200 per team member on EOR fees in their first 12 months.
- Nonprofit
Oyster for Impact discounts
Certified nonprofits and B Corporations anywhere can enroll in Oyster for Impact for discounts on Oyster's global employment products.
- Annual discount
Lower EOR fee with annual seats
Oyster sells Employer of Record seats billed annually at a reduced fee; the pricing page does not give the figure.
- Other savings
Oyster for Refugees
Companies hiring refugee talent through Oyster can do so at no cost or at a discount, according to its pricing page.
Rippling
- Startups
6 months free for US VC-backed startups
Rippling's startup program gives eligible US venture-backed startups free access for 6 months, depending on their funding status and stage.
