Oyster
Employer of record and contractor payments in 120+ countries
Oyster report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 17, 2026
Best for startups paying contractors in many countries
Oyster employs people for you in 120+ countries and pays contractors in 180+, with discounts for startups, nonprofits and B Corps. Contractors are $29 a month each after 30 days free. But employer of record is $699 a person a month, the highest monthly rate of its kind here, and it's web only.
Who Oyster is for
- Great if you're a startup making first hires abroad, with up to $1,200 off per hire
- Handy when you want to try contractor payments free for 30 days
- Good for nonprofits and B Corps, which get discounts through Oyster for Impact
Who Oyster is not for
- Pricey if you pay monthly for EOR, at $699 a person against $599 at Deel and Remote
- Skip it if you want an app on your phone, as the pages read mention none
- Not for you if you have your own companies abroad and just need payroll run there
Why Oyster gets a 2.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyGraded 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.
- CFree plan and trialGlobal 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.
- CFeaturesEmployer 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.
- CEase of useNo App Store rating on record. Onboarding specialists help, but each EOR hire needs a refundable deposit and setting up with Oyster's team.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Oyster's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/oyster#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/oyster.svg" alt="Oyster: 2.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Oyster stands among payroll services
Oyster's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 2 of 18) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $29 a month for each person, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 4 of the 13 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 19 payroll services we grade, cut by the letter each got. Oyster’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 18
- CFree plan and trialAbove 15 of 18, level with 3
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 18, level with 5
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 18, level with 4
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 18, level with 16
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 14 payroll services. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Oyster, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Oyster you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 16 of the 18 other payroll services grade higher. It costs $348 a year.
What you could make
- Expense tracking: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Slack, Zapier and Ashby among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Oyster’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Oyster?
Oyster lets companies hire, pay and manage people in other countries without opening a local entity. As employer of record it employs full-time staff in 120+ countries and runs their payroll, expenses and time off, and its contractor product issues contracts and pays freelancers in 180+ countries. HR advice, benefits and visa help are sold on top.
Oyster is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $29 per contractor / month, after 30 days free. See every plan
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Oyster pricing
- Starts at
- $29 per contractor / month, after 30 days free
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Global Contractors is free for the first 30 days
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Global Contractors | $29per 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 | $699per employee / month, billed monthly | Employment in 120+ countries with multi-currency payroll, expenses, time off, onboarding specialists and local experts. Annual seats cost less. |
Read from oysterhr.com on Oct 17, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Oyster before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- StartupsStartup 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.
Stated on oysterhr.com - NonprofitOyster for Impact discounts
Certified nonprofits and B Corporations anywhere can enroll in Oyster for Impact for discounts on Oyster's global employment products.
Stated on oysterhr.com - Annual discountLower 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.
Stated on oysterhr.com - Other savingsOyster for Refugees
Companies hiring refugee talent through Oyster can do so at no cost or at a discount, according to its pricing page.
Stated on oysterhr.com
Works with
Oyster alternatives
- Oyster vs Deel
From $29/mo
- Oyster vs Remote
From $29/mo
Common questions
Is Oyster free?
No, Oyster is a paid product, but you can try it first. Global Contractors is free for the first 30 days.
How much does Oyster cost?
Oyster lists 2 plans. Global Contractors: $29 per contractor / month, after 30 days free. Employer of Record: $699 per employee / month, billed monthly. Prices were read from oysterhr.com on Oct 17, 2026.
What platforms does Oyster work on?
Oyster is available on Web.
Does Oyster offer any discounts?
Oyster publicly lists the following: Startup discount of up to $1,200 per hire; Oyster for Impact discounts; Lower EOR fee with annual seats; Oyster for Refugees.
Does Oyster have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Oyster is listed for Web.
Does Oyster have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Oyster is listed for Web.
Is Oyster open source?
Oyster is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
Does Oyster have an API?
Yes. Oyster offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Oyster integrate with?
Oyster's listing names Slack, Zapier, Ashby and Workable. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Oyster?
Oyster is made by Oyster HR, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Oyster?
The closest alternatives to Oyster in our directory are Deel, Remote and Rippling. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Oyster.
How does Oyster compare with other payroll services?
Oyster's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 1 of the 18 other payroll services we grade, and level with 1. It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 2 of 18) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Is Oyster good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Oyster D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $29 a month for each person, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 4 of the 13 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Could I make my own version of Oyster?
To replace Oyster you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 16 of the 18 other payroll services grade higher. It costs $348 a year. What you could not make: Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. It plugs into other products, Slack, Zapier and Ashby among them, and has an API. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 17, 2026.