Deel vs Oyster: EOR price, deposit and exit terms

Deel vs Oyster at a glance

EOR per employee

$599 vs $699Per month, both pricing pages

Deposit

Not published vs 1 monthOyster: at least one month of fees, refunded about 60 days after

Minimum term

Month-to-month vs noneDeel's US PEO promo needs 2 years; Oyster ends on 30 days' notice

EOR score

54 vs 64Deel vs Oyster, out of 100

Deel is the cheaper of the two by $100 per employee per month. Oyster is the one that tells you its terms up front: deposit size, refund timing, no setup or termination fees, no minimum term and 30 days' notice. That disclosure is why Oyster scores higher on our scale despite the higher price. Both also pay contractors and run payroll on your own entities, and here Oyster publishes prices that Deel does not.

Full reviews: Deel review and Oyster review. For every provider's rate side by side, see what EOR providers charge.

Side-by-side: price, deposit, FX, terms and entities

Figures are from deel.com and oysterhr.com pricing pages, Oyster's customer terms (version 2025-02-27) and its support center, checked October 16, 2026. Scores follow our EOR scoring method. Deel earns more on price; Oyster earns more for disclosing its deposit, fees and contract terms.

What one hire, or 25, costs

For one employee on a USD 40,000 salary, using employer costs from official sources:

The deposit on top

Oyster's deposit is "one month of the total cost of services" and never less than one month of fees ($699). If that total includes salary and employer costs, as EOR invoices usually do, the Brazil example works out to ($40,000 + $20,360) / 12 + $699 = $5,030 + $699 = $5,729, and the India example to ($40,000 + $1,360) / 12 + $699 = $3,446.67 + $699 = $4,145.67. Ask Oyster to confirm what the total covers. For Deel, the only figure is secondary: about one month's gross salary, or $40,000 / 12 = $3,333.33.

Model your own country in the international employee cost calculator, or compare employer costs across countries in the employer cost index.

Hidden costs and contract traps

FX

Oyster charges a conversion fee only when you pay in a currency other than your contract currency, and invoices at the mid-market rate on the invoice date. The fee rate itself sits behind a login. Deel says only that it offers "competitive exchange rates". One Oyster reviewer said its conversion rates trailed Deel's (Trustpilot, February 6, 2026). Neither publishes a percentage; every 1% on a $3,333.33 monthly salary is $33.33 a month, or $400 a year. Paying in the contract currency avoids Oyster's fee.

Late payment

Oyster's terms, as read by our automated reader, charge 1.5% of the overdue amount per day after three days, or the legal maximum, and invoices are due five days from issue. We have not confirmed that figure by hand; if it holds, a $5,000 invoice paid ten days late could attract 7 x 1.5% x $5,000 = $525 under that clause. Set up automatic payment and check the clause in your own agreement. Deel's late-payment terms are not published.

Minimum terms and exit

Oyster has no minimum term and either side can end on 30 days' written notice, though fees run until the service agreement actually ends and severance and other transition costs are billed. Oyster may also ask for supplementary deposits, on five days' notice, to cover expected exit costs. Deel's FAQ promises month-to-month pricing, but its US PEO promotion (order forms signed July 15 to December 31, 2026, three months of platform fees credited) needs a two-year minimum and full list price on early exit. Deel's EOR notice terms could not be read.

Severance

Neither charges an offboarding fee, but local law decides what letting someone go costs. In Brazil, dismissal without cause adds a 40% fine on all FGTS deposits. One Deel customer hiring in Mexico said Deel required "the mandatory severance up front" (Hacker News, January 2023). See EOR costs in Brazil and EOR costs in India before you make an offer.

Check country costs against official sources

The official numbers: in India, employer PF is 12% of wages up to the Rs 25,000 monthly ceiling (since September 17, 2026) plus gratuity accrual, about 3.4% on a USD 40,000 salary. In Brazil, INSS, RAT, terceiros and FGTS add 35.8% of pay, and the 13th salary and vacation one-third bring the total to 50.9% of base salary. Ask Deel and Oyster for an itemized estimate for your hire and compare it with these figures.

Who owns the employing entity

Deel's EOR page claims "wholly-owned entities", yet an earlier version of that page put its owned entities at 130+ countries against 150+ covered, so some countries likely run through partners. Oyster says it reaches 180+ countries through "our owned entities" and partner firms, and publishes no count of owned entities.

This matters most at termination. One Oyster reviewer says final pay and accrued leave were not fully paid, with Oyster and its local partner passing blame between them (July 28, 2025). Others report contracts said to break Mexican law (October 22, 2025) and almost a month to get benefits documents in Belgium (February 11, 2026). Before you hire, ask either provider whether the entity in your worker's country is its own, and what it is called. Our best employer of record rankings compare entity claims across providers.

Choose Oyster if

• You want the deposit, refund timing, fees and exit terms in writing before you sign.
• You want no minimum term and the right to leave on 30 days' notice.
• You pay contractors: $29 per contractor against Deel's $49.
• You run payroll on your own entities and want a posted price: $290 per entity plus $29 per employee.
• You can pay invoices within five days, given the late-payment clause.

Choose Deel if

• Price is the deciding factor: $100 less per employee per month, $1,200 a year.
• You want 24/7 in-app support and an onboarding manager for each hire.
• You also want a US PEO ($125 per employee) or Contractor of Record ($325) on the same platform.
• You will get Deel's deposit amount, FX method and notice terms in writing, since Deel does not publish them.

Switching between Deel and Oyster

1. Give notice correctly. Oyster needs 30 days' written notice through its platform, and fees run until the agreement ends. If you signed a Deel promotional order form, find its minimum term before you set an end date.
2. Move each worker on a new contract. The EOR is the legal employer, so the worker signs with the new EOR's entity. Ask both providers how tenure, accrued leave, notice periods and benefits carry over, and whether the move counts as a termination that triggers severance.
3. Plan for the deposit gap. Oyster refunds by credit note about 60 days after the end date, and only once every invoice is paid; Deel's refunds may also come as credit notes. Expect to fund the new provider's deposit before the old one comes back, and ask for cash refunds if you are leaving entirely.
4. Line up the switch month. Confirm who runs the last payroll, who files the final local tax and social security returns, and who issues year-end tax documents.
5. Compare quotes line by line: fee, deposit, FX method, late interest, notice and exit costs. If you have several staff in one country, see EOR vs opening your own entity.

Documented complaints

Oyster

• Late or held wages: "They hold wages, even though the company has paid them" (July 29, 2026); a SWIFT payment about 20 days late (April 2, 2026); late payments in Mexico (October 22, 2025).
• Slow replies: "the only response I keep getting is 'In the coming days'" (October 15, 2025); also December 10, 2025 and January 22, 2026.
• Final pay and accrued leave not fully paid, with blame passed between Oyster and its local partner (July 28, 2025); almost a month to get benefits documents in Belgium (February 11, 2026).
• Contract obligations not respected (March 17, 2026).

Source: Oyster on Trustpilot, 3.8 from 271 reviews (seen October 16, 2026).

Deel

• Getting payroll right: one employer says a raise was left off (October 14, 2026), another says they "must reject it at least once every time" (October 13, 2026), and a Japan-based worker reports resident tax that was not deducted (September 26, 2026).
• An AI assistant that reviewers say stands between them and a human (October 14 and 15, 2026).
• Downtime, and a contract altered after it was signed (October 15 and September 30, 2026).
• High fees for small teams and low-paid contractors (Hacker News).

Source: Deel on Trustpilot, 4.6 from 9,652 reviews (seen October 16, 2026). Deel has far more reviews, so a few complaints are a smaller share of its total.

Other EOR comparisons

Deel is also compared in Deel vs Remote and Deel vs Rippling. For other models, see EOR vs global payroll and contractor management platforms.