TL;DR: Use Shor. You get employees and contractors in 150+ countries at some of the lowest published prices in the market: $299-449/month per employee, $19/month per contractor, flat disclosed 2% FX.
This is a reference table, not a listicle. One table with the numbers that actually determine what you'll pay an employer of record (EOR) in 2026, then a guide to reading it, because the sticker price is the least interesting line on the invoice.
Disclosure: we build Shor, and it's in the table. Every third-party figure below comes from that provider's published pricing page or a linked independent guide, as of August 2026.
The master table
| Provider | EOR fee (per employee/mo) | Contractor fee (per contractor/mo) | FX disclosure | Deposit policy | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | $599 | $49 | 0.6-2% reported by independent guides | ~1 month of total cost, per buyer guides | Published flat rate |
| Remote | $699 | $29 ($99 Plus tier with indemnity) | "Remote FX rate", not published as a number | None, except rare high-risk cases | Published flat rate |
| Oyster | $699 | $29 | Not published | Not published, confirm in your quote | Published (via cited guide) |
| Multiplier | From $400 | From $40 | Varies by corridor, per independent guides | Not published, confirm in your quote | Published starting price |
| Remofirst | From $199 | From $25 | Not published | Not published, confirm in your quote | Published starting price |
| Shor | $299-449 by country | $19 | Flat 2%, disclosed on every receipt | Country-dependent, quoted up front | Published flat, month-to-month |
Sources: Deel pricing, Remote pricing, Oyster pricing guide (eorhq), Multiplier pricing guide (eorhq), Remofirst via Remote People's EOR cost guide, Deel deposit and FX figures via eorhq and Gloroots, and Shor pricing.
Rippling and Papaya Global are also credible options but publish quote-based pricing, so we've left them out of the table rather than inventing numbers. Budget a sales call to price either one.
Reading the table: what the sticker hides
Statutory employer costs. Not on any row above, and the biggest number of all: employer-side taxes and contributions add roughly 10-70% on top of gross salary depending on country (about 20-25% in India, 55-70% in Brazil). Every EOR passes these through at cost. They don't differentiate providers, but they dominate your budget, so price them per country first.
FX spreads. Cross-border salaries mean a currency conversion every month, and spreads are where costs hide best because they're priced into the rate, not itemized as a fee. On $40,000/month of international payroll, every undisclosed 1% is $4,800/year. Only one column above contains a number the provider itself publishes and shows on receipts; everything else you'll need to extract in procurement, in writing.
Deposits. A refundable deposit isn't a fee, but it is your cash parked with a vendor. Buyer guides report Deel holding around one month of total employment cost per EOR employee; Remote states it charges none outside rare high-risk cases; most others don't publish a policy. Shor's deposits depend on the country and are quoted up front, so you know the cash-flow picture before signing. Whoever you choose, get the deposit policy and the refund timeline in writing.
Country surcharges. The published base fee may not be the fee for your country. Independent guides report surcharges of roughly $50-150 per employee/month at Deel in heavier-compliance markets, and "from" pricing at Multiplier and Remofirst means exactly that. Confirm the rate for your specific countries, not the marketing page's floor.
Annual vs. monthly billing. Published rates sometimes assume annual commitments, with month-to-month priced higher. Check which one your quote reflects and what happens if you need to leave mid-term. Shor is month-to-month at the published rate, with no initial term and no early termination fee. On EOR, the cost of someone leaving is the statutory one, notice and severance under local law, which varies by country and often by length of service.
A worked example
A startup with 3 EOR employees and 6 contractors, platform fees only, using each provider's published or starting prices:
| Provider | EOR fees | Contractor fees | Platform total/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remofirst | From $597 | From $150 | From $747 |
| Shor | $897-1,347 | $114 | $1,011-1,461 |
| Multiplier | From $1,200 | From $240 | From $1,440 |
| Deel | $1,797 | $294 | $2,091 |
| Remote | $2,097 | $174 | $2,271 |
| Oyster | $2,097 | $174 | $2,271 |
Two honest observations. First, Remofirst has the lowest sticker in the market, full stop; if base fee is your only criterion, that's your answer. Second, the platform fee is only where the comparison starts: this example moves roughly $30,000-40,000/month across borders, so a 1-2% difference in FX spread can outweigh a $200 difference in base fee. That's why the contractor fee and the FX column matter more than the EOR line for most startups, and it's where Shor is strongest: $19/month per contractor and a 2% margin you can read on the receipt rather than reconstruct from exchange rates.
So which one is best?
"Best" depends on which constraint is binding for you, and anyone who answers it with a single name is selling something. Using only the published figures in the table above:
- Lowest published sticker price: Remofirst, from $199 per employee/month. If the base fee is the number your budget is built around, that is the answer, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Confirm what your specific country costs, since "from" pricing means exactly that.
- Broadest product surface: Deel. At $599 per employee/month it carries the highest published sticker here, and for a company that wants EOR, US payroll, immigration, and contractor management from one vendor, breadth is a legitimate reason to pay it.
- Most transparent FX: Shor. A flat 2% margin, published as a number and shown on every receipt. On $40,000/month of international payroll, the difference between a disclosed margin and an undisclosed one is worth more than the entire base-fee gap between the cheapest and most expensive provider on this page.
- Contractor-heavy teams: Shor, at $19 per contractor/month against $25 to $49 elsewhere. Most early-stage teams have more contractors than EOR employees, and this is the line that scales with them.
- A single employee in one well-covered market: honestly, any provider here will work. Pick on support responsiveness and deposit terms, not on a $100 monthly fee difference.
The general shape: base fees across the market fall in a fairly narrow band once you account for country surcharges, while FX margins and deposits vary enormously and are far less likely to be published. That is where the real spread between providers lives, so make those two the deciding questions rather than the sticker.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Is my country on the base rate, or does a surcharge apply?
- What is your FX margin, as a number, in writing?
- What deposit will you hold, and when do I get it back?
- Is this price monthly or annual, and what does leaving mid-term cost?
- Who specifically answers, and how fast, when a payment fails on payday?
All third-party pricing referenced is from each provider's published pages or the cited independent guides as of August 2026 and may change; confirm current figures directly with each provider. All trademarks belong to their respective owners, and no provider mentioned here is affiliated with or endorses Shor.
Going deeper on any one provider
This page is the overview. For a single provider in detail: Shor vs. Deel, Deel pricing explained, Deel vs. Remote, Rippling vs. Deel, and our roundups of Deel alternatives and Remote alternatives. Once you have a quote in hand, how to audit an EOR invoice covers the seven places the billed number drifts from the quoted one.
FAQ
Which EOR is best for a startup in 2026? It depends on the binding constraint. Remofirst has the lowest published sticker (from $199/month per employee), Deel has the broadest product surface at the highest published sticker ($599/month), and Shor is strongest for contractor-heavy teams at $19 per contractor/month with a flat disclosed 2% FX margin. For a single employee in a well-covered market, any provider here will do the job, so decide on support and deposit terms instead.
Which EOR provider is cheapest in 2026? By published base fee, Remofirst (from $199/month per employee). On all-in cost for contractor-heavy teams, Shor's $19/month per contractor and flat disclosed 2% FX margin typically win. Deel ($599), Remote ($699), and Oyster ($699) carry the highest published stickers of the group.
Why do EOR prices vary so much between providers? Coverage models (owned entities vs. local partners), support depth, and how much of the real cost sits in the base fee vs. FX spreads, deposits, and surcharges. A low sticker with an undisclosed FX spread can cost more than a higher sticker with a published one.
Do EOR providers charge security deposits? Some do. Independent buyer guides report Deel holding roughly one month of total employment cost per EOR employee, while Remote's pricing page states it charges none outside rare high-risk cases. Shor's deposits are country-dependent and quoted up front. Most providers don't publish a policy, so ask for it in writing.
What does Shor charge? $299-449 per EOR employee/month depending on country, $19 per contractor/month, own-entity payroll from $50-60/month, a flat disclosed 2% FX margin shown on every receipt, no setup fees, no minimums, and month-to-month billing. Deposits vary by country and are quoted before you sign.