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Oyster

Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
Affordability
Market presence
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Pricing from
$29 per contractor or per employee per month
Free Trial
Free version
User corporate size
Small
Medium
Large
User industry
  1. Public sector and nonprofit organizations
  2. Arts, entertainment, and recreation
  3. Information technology and software

What is Oyster

Oyster is a global employment platform that supports hiring and managing international team members through employer-of-record (EOR) services and contractor management. It helps HR and finance teams onboard workers, manage locally compliant employment terms, and run multi-country payroll and payments from a centralized system. The product is typically used by companies expanding internationally without setting up local entities, and by teams managing a mix of employees and contractors across countries. It combines worker onboarding workflows, compliance documentation, and cross-border payments in one platform.

pros

EOR hiring across countries

Oyster provides employer-of-record services that allow companies to hire employees in countries where they do not have a legal entity. The platform supports country-specific employment setup, including locally compliant contracts and required documentation. This reduces the operational burden on internal HR teams when expanding into new geographies.

Centralized onboarding workflows

Oyster includes onboarding processes for collecting worker information, issuing agreements, and tracking required documents. HR teams can standardize onboarding steps across locations while still accommodating country-specific requirements. This is useful for distributed teams that need consistent processes rather than ad hoc email- and spreadsheet-based onboarding.

Integrated payroll and payments

The product supports multi-country payroll for EOR employees and payment workflows for contractors, helping consolidate cross-border compensation operations. It centralizes pay schedules, worker details, and payment status tracking in one system. This can simplify coordination between HR and finance compared with using separate tools for onboarding, compliance, and payments.

cons

EOR model limits flexibility

As with most EOR arrangements, the legal employer is Oyster (or its in-country partners), which can constrain how some companies want to structure employment relationships. Certain policy, benefits, and contract terms may be bounded by local rules and the EOR framework. Organizations with complex legal or union requirements may still need additional legal review and internal process work.

Not a full HRIS suite

Oyster focuses on global hiring, onboarding, compliance, and payroll/payment operations rather than replacing a full human capital management system. Companies often still require separate systems for performance management, learning, advanced analytics, or broader talent management. This can create integration and data-governance work to keep employee records consistent across tools.

Country coverage and terms vary

Capabilities can differ by country, including available benefits, payroll timelines, and supported employment types. Service levels and processes may depend on local partners and local regulatory constraints. Buyers typically need to validate country-specific details during evaluation rather than assuming uniform functionality across all locations.

Plan & Pricing

Plan Price Key features & notes
Employer of Record (EOR) $699 per employee/month Compliant employment in 120+ countries; multi-country payroll in 140+ currencies; onboarding & offboarding specialists; annual discounts available; refundable deposit required for EOR Team Members.
Global Contractors Free for 30 days, then $29 per contractor/month Instant contracts in 180+ countries; contractor payments in 140+ currencies; identity verification, invoice/expense/contract management; 30-day free trial.
Global Payroll $29 per employee/month Consolidate payroll for global entities; automated payroll calculations; expense/time management; local payroll experts.
US PEO $114 per employee/month Outsource US payroll, benefits, HR; hire in any US state through co-employment; liability coverage.

Notes: Add-ons (Benefits packages, Visa sponsorship, Salary Insights) are available but priced via add-on or Book a Demo. It is free to create an Oyster account and explore the platform; subscription fees apply only once you engage team members. Limited-time promotions (e.g., startup/nonprofit discounts, occasional free-month offers) may apply per site.

Seller details

Oyster HR, Inc.
Wilmington, Delaware, United States
2020
Private
https://www.oysterhr.com
https://x.com/OysterHR
https://www.linkedin.com/company/oysterhr/

Tools by Oyster HR, Inc.

Oyster

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