Top 8 Deel competitors: Alternatives for HR software & global hiring

Managing a global workforce presents a unique set of challenges—from navigating complex international labor laws to handling multi-currency payrolls. 

That’s why HR and global hiring software have become indispensable tools for businesses looking to streamline these processes. While Deel has emerged as a popular choice for many, several strong competitors and alternatives offer comparable—or even superior—features. This article explores the top Deel competitors and the key factors to consider when choosing the right solution for your business.

What is Deel?

Deel was founded in 2019 as a global contractor payments platform. They later added EOR, PEO, and global payroll solutions. Deel now allows companies to hire contractors and employees in over 150 countries without the need to set up local entities. Some Deel benefits and essential features include:

• Global payroll management: Manage payments in multiple currencies
• Compliance features: Navigate international labor laws with compliance news alerts
• Ease of use: User-friendly interface that simplifies tasks like onboarding and payroll processes

Companies often choose Deel for its extensive global coverage, straightforward user experience, and name recognition in the global HR space. The platform is easy to get started as businesses expand their global footprint.

Why to choose a Deel alternative

While Deel HR software is easy to get started, it may not meet all the specific needs of growing or mature global businesses. Here are some reasons companies might seek an alternative:

Compatibility or integration issues

Deel may lack seamless integration with certain HR systems or third-party applications that your business relies on. Compatibility issues with the rest of your tech stack can quickly lead to inefficient workflows and data discrepancies—because Deel relies on brittle integrations to third-party tools, users often need to duplicate data entry into their global HRIS or struggle to report on the insights they need.

Customer support limitations

Some users report that Deel's customer support can be slow or not available during the hours needed to resolve complex issues promptly. Limited support can hinder your HR operations, especially when dealing with global compliance matters. 

Compliance shortcomings

Deel’s compliance is more risk-tolerant than many alternative platforms—and Deel’s risk becomes its users’ risk. Deel launched its US PEO without suitable licensing, and late last year, it was reported that Deel was investigated by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower over questions about whether the company was misclassifying workers and breaking other labor laws to favor faster global growth. Plus, Deel customers have complained that the answers they get to compliance questions can be confusing—or that they receive slow responses or conflicting advice.

Top 8 Deel competitors 

When exploring alternatives to Deel, it's important to consider platforms that not only match but also enhance the features you need for HR software and global hiring. Here are eight competitors that stand out:

1. Rippling

Rippling offers everything you need to run a global team, because managing an international workforce takes more than just hiring across borders and running global payroll. 

Most employers can use Rippling to manage their HQ and global HR, payroll, and IT in one platform—because Rippling built a whole suite of tools on a unified employee data model so you can manage your entire global workforce in one system. This simplifies the complexities of managing a global team—from local compliance and currency conversion to onboarding, offboarding, and everything in between.

Some of Rippling’s key features include:

• Employer of record (EOR) to hire employees around the world, and professional employer organization (PEO) to hire employees in the US 
• Global payroll for employees and contractors in their local currencies—without waiting on transfers or conversions
• 90-second onboarding for both employees and contractors
• Automated global compliance with local employment and labor laws
• Expert local advisors who can advise you on HR rules, local culture, and more
• Access to locally aligned benefits that help attract and retain top talent around the world
• Built-in HRIS to keep all your employee data and important information centralized and accessible
• Robust reporting for data-driven insights across your organization
• Device, app, identity, and access management for stronger security with granular access controls across the user lifecycle
• Unified HR, IT, and finance in the only true all-in-one platform

2. Remote

Remote specializes in simplifying international hiring by providing tools to manage payroll, taxes, benefits, and compliance. Remote has legal entities in every country where it operates, eliminating the need for third-party providers, which offers businesses a compliant way to hire full-time employees and contractors across the globe.

Key features:

• Employer of record (EOR): Hire employees and contractors in over 80 countries without setting up local entities.
• Localized benefits administration: Offer country-specific benefits to attract top international talent.
• Payroll and tax management: Automate payroll processing, tax deductions and filings.
• Employee onboarding: Provide a consistent onboarding experience globally.

3. Globalization Partners (G-P)

Globalization Partners enables companies to quickly expand internationally by hiring talent in over 180 countries without setting up foreign subsidiaries. It offers robust, expert human support, empowering companies to make smooth and compliant global moves.

Key features:

• Employer of record (EOR): Legally hire international employees under G-P's local entities.
• Efficient employee onboarding: Onboard global employees efficiently with localized support.
• Compliant, localized contracts: Use contracts tailored to local laws and regulations.
• 24/7 support: Access continuous support from global HR specialists.

4. Velocity Global

Velocity Global offers flexible global workforce solutions tailored to each client business’ needs. It provides personalized services, whether you're hiring one employee abroad or building a global team. With expertise in international compliance and a suite of services, Velocity Global simplifies global expansion.

Key features:

• Employer of record (EOR): Hire internationally without establishing local entities.
• Global payroll processing: Handle multi-country payroll with ease.
• Compliance and risk management: Stay compliant with local employment laws and reduce legal risks.
• Customized service packages: Choose services that align with your specific expansion goals.

5. Oyster

Oyster is designed for modern, distributed workforces, making global hiring accessible and more streamlined. It appeals to smaller teams looking to expand internationally, especially startups with remote, distributed workforces. Its stated goal is to take the complex, often murky process of hiring across borders and make it simpler and more accessible.

Key features:

• Employer of record (EOR): Quickly hire full-time employees and contractors in over 180 countries.
• International payroll processing: Manage multi-currency payroll with compliance in mind.
• Legal and compliance support: Access expertise to navigate international employment laws.
• Intuitive platform: Simplify HR tasks with a user-friendly interface.

6. Papaya Global

Papaya Global offers a robust platform for managing a global workforce, integrating payroll, payment, and other HR solutions. Its unique value lies in its data-driven approach, providing real-time analytics and insights to optimize workforce management. Papaya Global offers automation tools and integration that can help businesses reduce errors and increase efficiency.

Key features: 

• Global workforce management: Handle onboarding, time tracking, and employee records in one place.
• Real-time analytics: Access detailed reports on everything from payroll expenses to workforce metrics.
• Robust integration capabilities: Connect seamlessly with existing HRIS and financial systems.
• Employee self-service tools: Empower employees with access to their own data and documents.

7. Gusto Global

Gusto Global, through its partnership with Remote, extends its popular payroll and HR services to international teams. What makes Gusto Global unique is the combination of Gusto's user-friendly HR platform with Remote's global workforce management capabilities, providing a seamless experience for managing both domestic and international employees.

Key features:

• International payroll processing: Pay employees across borders with local compliance.
• Global compliance support: Ensure adherence to local laws with expert guidance.
• Intuitive user experience: Navigate HR tasks easily with Gusto's famously user-friendly interface.
• Employee self-service tools: Allow employees to access pay, benefits, and personal information.

8. Plane

Plane focuses exclusively on simplifying global contractor payments, making it a strong alternative to Deel, especially for businesses heavily reliant on international contractors. Its unique selling point is providing a cost-effective and scalable solution tailored to contractor management, with a focus on competitive exchange rates and flexible payment options.

Key features:

• Global contractor payments: Pay contractors in over 240 countries.
• Transparent pricing model: Benefit from low fees and competitive exchange rates.
• Scalable platform: Adaptable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises.
• Multiple payment methods: Support for various payment options preferred by contractors.

What to consider when choosing a Deel alternative

Selecting the right HR software and global hiring solution requires careful evaluation and consideration of what your organization needs from its platform. Here are some key factors to explore and keep in mind when evaluating different solutions:

Natively built platform

Managing multiple standalone systems for HR, payroll, IT, and finance can make your business less efficient and lead to data silos and increased administrative burdens. A natively built, all-in-one platform streamlines processes by integrating different functions. The result? A unified system that enhances productivity and reduces errors.

Here’s what to look for:

• Integrated HR management: Features that cover employee onboarding, offboarding, time tracking, and performance management
• IT and device management: Capabilities to manage employee devices, software access, and security protocols
• Finance and payroll integration: Seamless payroll processing, expense management, and financial reporting within the same system
• Unified employee data: Centralized employee data for easy access and reporting

Only Rippling is built on a single source of truth for employee data, unifying HR, IT, and Finance into a true all-in-one platform.

Global compliance

Each country has its own set of labor laws, tax regulations, and compliance requirements. Non-compliance can result in legal penalties, financial losses, and damage to your company's reputation.

Look for:

• Automated compliance updates: Systems that automatically update to reflect changes in international labor laws and tax codes and provide employee-specific resolutions to potential compliance violations.
• Local legal experts: Access to global legal support to navigate complex regulations
• Customizable contracts: Templates and tools to generate compliant employment contracts tailored to local laws
• Audit support: Assistance with compliance audits and documentation

Choose a platform that provides proactive compliance management to mitigate risks associated with international hiring.

Global payroll automation

Managing payroll across different countries involves handling various currencies, tax systems, and payment methods. True automation makes your payroll processing more accurate, timely, and compliant with local tax obligations.

Here’s what to look for:

• Multi-currency payroll: Ability to pay employees and contractors in their local currencies
• Tax calculation and filing: Automated deduction of taxes and submission of required filings to local authorities
• Multiple payment options: Support for various payment methods preferred in different countries
• Payroll reporting: Detailed, customizable reports for financial analysis and compliance verification
• Employee self-service tools: Portals where employees can access pay stubs, tax documents, and update personal information

Verify that the platform can handle the specific payroll complexities of the countries where you operate or plan to expand.

Employee benefits management

Competitive benefits help your business attract and retain top talent globally. But benefits administration in other countries can be complex due to varying local regulations and cultural expectations.

Look for:

• Localized benefits administration: Tools to offer and manage benefits packages that comply with local laws and meet market standards
• Flexible benefits options: Ability to customize benefits packages based on employee preferences and local customs
• Compliance with benefits regulations: Ensure adherence to and visibility of mandatory benefits provisions in each country

Select a platform that simplifies benefits management while providing flexibility to tailor offerings to diverse workforces.

Automated HR software and global hiring with Rippling

Managing an international workforce goes way beyond just hiring and paying—it’s headcount planning, time and attendance, learning and performance management, device ordering, app provisioning, and more. Other solutions only offer native EOR and HRIS or rely on clunky integrations for these other tools, slowing you down and requiring you to constantly reenter information between systems. Rippling is the only provider that built a whole suite of tools on a unified employee data model so that you can manage your entire global workforce in one system. 

With Rippling EOR, you can compliantly hire and pay global employees:

• Onboard in minutes. Hire and onboard global employees to maximize productivity on day one. Rippling handles everything from benefits enrollment to assigning required trainings.
• Pay locally in days—not weeks. Pay all of your employees around the world without delay. Rippling does the calculations and money movement for you. You’ll be free to focus on what matters.
• Automate global compliance. Double-checking compliance risks takes time. Rippling runs securely in the background, continuously flagging potential risks at the employee level.
• Unify HR, IT, and Finance. Data entry and duplicate systems waste time. Every team has one source of employee data, so speedy automation can take on manual work.

Plus, pay people around the world 3× faster with Rippling:

• Shorten payroll lead times. Rippling has the fastest payroll lead times—just 5 days to payday in popular markets, and 12 days in less common markets. Other EOR solutions typically take 3+ weeks.
• Run payroll quickly. Instead of manual uploads, Rippling speeds up pay runs by auto-calculating payroll inputs for you— like hours worked, expense reimbursements, or time off. 
• Calculate payroll accurately. Rippling has industry leading visibility for both employers and employees. You can see that taxes are taken care of, and trust the money is going to the right place.

Frequently asked questions

Wrap up the article by answering 3-4 frequently asked questions about Deel's competitors.

These may include but are not limited to:

What industry is Deel in?

Deel global hiring technology offers HR software solutions that help companies to hire and pay employees and contractors internationally while ensuring compliance with local laws. It operates in the HR technology industry.

What makes Deel unique?

Deel is unique in how it simplifies the complexities of international hiring while offering an easy-to-use, self-service platform.

What is HR Software?

HR software is a digital solution that automates and manages human resources processes. This often includes employee data management, payroll, benefits administration, recruitment, and compliance tracking.

What is global hiring software?

Global hiring software enables companies to recruit, onboard, and manage employees and contractors from around the world. It addresses challenges like international payroll, legal compliance, and cross-border payments.

Can Rippling handle global payroll and compliance as effectively as Deel?

Yes! Rippling offers robust global payroll and compliance features comparable to Deel. It automates payroll processing across multiple countries and ensures adherence to local labor laws, making it a powerful alternative.

Is Rippling a good alternative to Deel for small businesses?

When considering Deel vs Rippling, the main thing to keep in mind is what your unique business needs, because every business is different. Rippling's scalable platform caters to businesses of all sizes, including small businesses. Its integrated approach simplifies HR tasks, making it a cost-effective and efficient solution for smaller enterprises.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of Oct. 9, 2024. 

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.