Deel vs Remote (2026): EOR Price, Deposits, Contractor Fees and Cost by Stage
Pick Remote if you are pre-seed to Series A and mostly need contractors, or want to avoid tying up a deposit: its contractor plan is $29 against Deel's $49, it says it charges no standard EOR deposit, and Remote for Startups takes 15% off EOR and contractors for 12 months. Pick Deel if you want one vendor for EOR, US payroll and HR, and you are comfortable with a deposit of 1 to 1.5 months of all charges per hire. On the EOR fee itself there is no clear winner today: Deel is $599 per employee per month, and Remote is $599 or $699 depending on which of its own pages you read.
Remote's EOR price: $599 or $699?
We read Remote's pricing three ways on and around October 13, 2026, and they disagree:
- The live Remote pricing page (rendered) says "Starting at $599 employee per month", with no monthly or annual toggle, and its FAQ says EOR "starts at $599 per employee per month".
- Archived copies from August 10 and October 5, 2026 show "$699 per employee/month", also with no toggle. Up to July 3, 2026 the page showed $699 monthly and $599 "Annually (save 14%)", and the price data embedded in the live page still holds both values.
- Remote's own Deel comparison post (April 2026) says "$699/month (billed annually)", which contradicts the toggle it used to show.
Remote does not say today which price applies to which billing term, and its own sources disagree on it. Ask for the price and the billing interval in writing, and budget $699 until you have them. Deel's $599 is month-to-month with "no long-term commitments required".
Cost side by side at pre-seed, seed and Series A
| People abroad | Deel EOR ($599) | Remote EOR at $599 | Remote EOR at $699 | Deel contractors ($49) | Remote contractors ($29) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed: 1 | $7,188 | $7,188 | $8,388 | $588 | $348 |
| Seed: 4 | $28,752 | $28,752 | $33,552 | $2,352 | $1,392 |
| Series A: 12 | $86,256 | $86,256 | $100,656 | $7,056 | $4,176 |
Platform fees per year at list price, 12 months, before Remote's startup discount (15% off for 12 months: $6,110, $24,439 and $73,318 at $599). Excludes salaries, employer costs abroad and deposits. Computed in our payroll cost model with the stage team of 3, 12 and 40 people.
In that model the EOR fees cost 15, 25 and 28 days of runway at $599, or 17, 29 and 32 days at Remote's $699. The employer costs abroad (about $17,000, $38,000 and $151,000 a year) are larger than either vendor's fee and the same at both, because the country sets them. Run your own team to swap in your countries and salaries.
Published prices
| Plan | Price (monthly / billed yearly) | For / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Employer of Record (EOR) | $599/mo | Full-time employees abroad without a local entity; Deel is the legal employer |
| Contractor management | $49/mo | You contract and classify; Deel handles contracts, invoicing, payouts in 120+ currencies |
| Contractor of Record (COR) | $325/mo | Deel is the contracting entity and carries classification liability |
| Deel Payroll: Global | $29/mo | Payroll in countries where you own the entity |
| Deel Payroll: US | $29/mo | US payroll, self-service |
| US PEO | $125/mo | |
| Deel HR Core | $5/mo | |
| Find talent (ATS) | $14/mo | |
| Add-on: EOR deposit | 1 to 1.5 months of all monthly charges per EOR hire (refundable) | help.letsdeel.com/hc/en-gb/articles/15574494993297; higher for removed probation (2 months), extra PTO above legal minimum by more than 8 days (2 months), notice periods over one month (one month per notice month) |
| Add-on: Severance accrual | Monthly accrual, country-specific, separate from the deposit | Listed for Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Poland among others (article 20575602878097); UK not listed |
| Add-on: Employer Liability Cost (ELC) | Per-employee line on EOR invoices, % of gross salary, varies by country; mandatory | help.letsdeel.com/hc/en-gb/articles/48042489452049 |
| Add-on: Non-local currency EOR contract | $50 per employee per month | e.g. Poland paid in EUR (article 15580585431313) |
| Add-on: Late payment fee (EOR) | 0.15% of the invoice per day after a 7-day grace period | article 35680538714897 |
| Add-on: EOR Equity Service | $100 per EOR per month up to 10 EORs; $50 above 10 | |
| Add-on: Benefits Management: Global | $10 per employee per month | |
| Add-on: Treasury | $10 per employee per month | |
| Add-on: Payroll Connect | $5 per employee per month | |
| Add-on: Card funding | $0.30 + 2.9% (US/EU cards), $0.30 + 3.9% (other cards); ACH/SEPA/BACS/wire $5 | article 4407745380241; FX at a bank forward rate, no markup percentage published |
| Add-on: Contractor withdrawals | Local bank $0; cross-border $5; SWIFT $5 to $10; PayPal 2.5%; Payoneer 1% (min $12) | Paid by the contractor (article 14391381019537) |
Prices verified on deel.com/pricing on October 13, 2026.
| Plan | Price (monthly / billed yearly) | For / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Employer of Record | from $599/mo | |
| Global Payroll | from $29/mo | |
| Contractor Management | from $29/mo | Only contractors you actively work with that month are billed; 1099-NEC generation included |
| Contractor Management Plus | from $99/mo | Adds $100,000 misclassification indemnity per contractor, up to $1M per company over the term |
| Contractor of Record | from $325/mo | Remote contracts with and pays the contractor; uncapped indemnity |
| PEO (US) | from $99/mo | |
| Add-on: Remote for Startups | 15% off EOR and Contractor Management for the first 12 months | Pricing page: for companies that raised pre-seed, seed or Series A; 'No deposit or setup fees'. A 2021 help article says only annual plans qualify; not confirmed for 2026. |
| Add-on: Reserve payment | No standard deposit; refundable reserve 'in certain circumstances' | Pricing page FAQ |
| Add-on: FX | Remote FX rate set per monthly billing cycle; no markup percentage published | Contractor payouts: 'We only pass on the amount that our payment provider charges' (support.remote.com article 4406809545613) |
Prices verified on remote.com/pricing on October 13, 2026.
What actually differs
Deposits
This is the sharpest difference. Deel's help center: "The standard deposit is between 1 - 1.5 all monthly charges, including employee salary, employer costs, fixed allowances, and management fees", two months if you remove probation, refunded within 60 days after termination is complete. In our seed model that is $27,919 to $41,879 held for four hires. Remote's pricing page: "We don't charge a standard deposit or deposit fee. In certain circumstances, Remote may require a refundable reserve payment."
Extra invoice lines
Deel adds a monthly severance accrual in Brazil, Canada, Germany, India and Poland, a mandatory Employer Liability Cost line and $50 a month for a contract outside the local currency (see Deel pricing). Remote says "there are no setup or onboarding fees". Neither publishes an FX markup: Deel uses "a Forward Rate provided by its banking partners", Remote sets "one rate for each monthly billing cycle".
Contractors
Remote bills $29 only for "contractors you actively work with that month"; Deel charges $49 per contractor. Remote's Contractor Management Plus ($99) adds "$100,000 indemnity per contractor for penalties, up to $1M per company". If you want the vendor to carry the classification risk outright, Contractor of Record costs $325 at both.
Startup discount and partners
Remote for Startups: "Raised pre-seed, seed, or Series A? Get 15% off Employer of Record and Contractor Management for your first 12 months." A 2021 Remote help article limited it to annual plans; the current page does not say. Gusto stopped selling EOR on May 1, 2026 and now refers new customers to Remote, whose partner page offers Gusto customers "$100 off monthly employer of record plans on full time hires for your first year". If you run US payroll on Gusto, that referral is the cheaper door into Remote. Deel publishes no startup discount; its PEO promotion requires a two-year term.
Free tiers are gone at both
Remote's "HR Management, Free for all direct employees" was last on its pricing page on July 3, 2026. Deel HR was "free of charge" in January 2025 and now starts at $5 per employee a month.
US team and PEO
Both now sell a US PEO: Remote from $99 per employee a month, Deel at $125 or $110/$120 (its own page shows both). For a US-only team either PEO costs several times a plain payroll tool; see payroll costs by stage.
Switching and lock-in
An EOR employee's contract is with the EOR's local entity, so moving a hire from Deel to Remote (or back) means a new employment contract with the new vendor's entity and a fresh onboarding. At Deel your deposit comes back within 60 days of the old contract ending and invoices clearing, so for a short period you fund both deposits if Remote asks for a reserve. Deel's EOR is month-to-month; Remote's annual price, if you took it, runs for the term you signed. Contractors are easier: they can invoice through either platform from the next month.
One vendor-risk item: Rippling's lawsuit against Deel (N.D. Cal. 3:25-cv-02576) is in discovery, with RICO and trade-secret claims past a motion to dismiss and a status conference on November 13, 2026. No trial date is set. See Deel vs Rippling.
Not hands-on tested yet: we have not run a live account on Deel or Remote. Prices and terms come from Deel's and Remote's published pricing pages and help centers, read on October 13, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Deel or Remote cheaper?
For contractors, Remote ($29 vs $49). For EOR, the same at $599 if Remote's $599 applies to you; Deel is cheaper by $100 a head if Remote quotes $699. Remote's 15% startup discount and the absence of a standard deposit tilt early-stage teams toward Remote.
Does Remote require a deposit?
Not as standard. Remote says it may require "a refundable reserve payment" in certain circumstances. Deel's standard deposit is 1 to 1.5 months of all charges per EOR hire.
What is the difference between EOR and global payroll?
With an EOR the vendor's local entity employs the person for you. Global payroll ($29 per employee at both) only runs payroll for an entity you already own in that country.
Are there hidden fees with contractor management?
Remote bills only active contractors. Deel charges $49 per contractor, and the contractor pays withdrawal fees on some payout methods (for example $5 cross-border).
Related: Deel alternatives, SaaS headcount planning, runway calculator.